Just Google It!

            I discovered this artwork in my English 111 class in a discussion about rhetoric. Essentially the argument was that if Einstein was alive today, he would be driven into alcoholism by his frustration over the availability of information because of Google. I think graffiti is now the purest form of art, when done properly. Music is individual, but every band makes decisions about what their audience will like best because, well, that’s what sells records (or downloads from iTunes). Modern art is crap in my mind; it requires no skill. It really is just a contest to determine which artist can piss more people off. Contemporary art is dead, since most people just recreate pre-existing classics from Monet or da Vinci.  However, graffiti is meant to please no one except the artist. It exists to critique society or to pay respect to those who deserve it, but it is never created to be sold, and that makes all the difference.  Unfortunately, graffiti is often the work of misguided ruffians with nothing better to do than spray-paint explicit language on a highway overpass. I fully support the illegality of such action, but if there was a way to graffiti while abiding by certain laws, I think that we would see a burst of thoughtful and artistic youth creating art with meaning.  The greatest example must be the Berlin Wall. Sections of the Wall still standing are covered in extremely relevant graffiti, criticizing (and praising) religion, government, and society in general. The wall is the largest piece of artwork with any credibility. So, with my approval of certain graffiti explained, I return to Einstein. This wall is illustrated with Einstein clearly defeated, drinking straight from a liquor bottle. The caption reads, “Just Google It.” Google is the single most visited search engine in the world, processing over one billion searches per day. Google makes information freely accessible to pretty much anyone. And it’s fast –in the range of 25.3 billion results found in one fifth of a second. Google is perhaps the greatest thing in the world. It makes essentially all of the information published searchable to anyone. It is the largest collection of factual information in history. To criticize it would be stupid, since it does exactly what I want whenever I want it. I don’t necessarily agree with the message –that Einstein would be driven to such a state by Google –because the accessibility of information would likely excite him. I think he would find such a wealth of information useful and constructive to the new minds and ideas of today. That aside, I think this piece is astoundingly insightful, wonderfully original, and carefully critical. I quite like it.