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Curtis White's avatar

But, Ted, I don't want to live on Substack. Old art cultures thrived because people lived in the same place, in cities, on the Left Bank, in the Village, in the Haight, with Expressionists in Berlin in the '20s, in universities, in university towns, in city neighborhoods. We've been priced out of cities, and priced out of universities, and the media has been conglomeratized everything that used to go on in universities and cities. That is exactly as you say. I want counterculture just like you do, countercultures driven by art, music, poetry, and whatever else we invent. I very much like your taste in the arts. But dang, man, all we have to hope for is Substack? Or do you see a way for Substack to be a vehicle that somehow or another brings not only the avant culture but the people back together. Or are we just condemned to this arid deadliness?

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Lapwai's avatar

Yes. Not just living in the same places but rubbing elbows, eating and drinking and conversing, becoming collaborators, critics, audiences.

Capitalism and car culture have salted the creative earth.

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John Lumgair's avatar

I agree, but may be Substack can help us find people to work within the real world. Ted opneed up the chat recently and I wonder if that could facilitate that.

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SirJo Cocchi's avatar

You're right! It won't be big cities anymore, nor suburbs. It will happen in small villages. Cities will only be a source of stimulations you go to get your "cultural shots". Or people from the city visiting the villagers, taking a break from the chaos: this way villages will become cultural hubs that are truly independent, as people will have a face to face, almost daily, relationship.

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