By editor-in-chief Morten Grønborg
In this double issue of our magazine, the artist Goodiepal points to something crucial about Western society. Born, as we have been, in the right place on earth in the best of all times, we have never had more surplus – but never have there been so few original thoughts as today. This is not just a paradox: it is also a problem. At least, if we believe that in the future we will have to make our livings from our intellectual abilities. Goodiepal is right in saying what he does, and not just because he – like the rest of us – has freedom of speech. He also has the moral rights that accompany anyone who actually acts on his words. Goodiepal doesn’t (just) make inspirational talks. He dares do things. He invests himself and his life in a project that has every opportunity for failure and which is so difficult for most people to grasp that he can’t even tune into the support and understanding of his contemporaries. Only a few people will be able to follow what he’s up to. For most people, he is just strange. Outré. But Goodiepal is also original in the best sense of the word – he is the opposite of a copy. He is unique. And even if his project may fail, it may also succeed – the future will tell. However, the point is not whether one or the other happens. The point – at least to us at this magazine – is to showcase and respect the attitude behind his work – the radical desire to do something because it is right and important – even if it is hard, and also even if it may seem a ludicrous project to his contemporaries. For though Goodiepal probably enjoys being in the role of the outsider – and even though he truly is a master of self promotion – one should not underestimate the human sacrifice inherent in using your talents for something as uncertain and not immediately useful as what he does. If more people were as insistent as he is, in their own fields of work, the world would become a more interesting and probably also a better place. We would also have more to make a living from in the future, because more truly new things would be developed. And, as always: profits follow those who don’t think in terms of profits. If you have something original to contribute, the chances at least are greater. Enjoy reading.
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