Currently on Display @Kibbee Gallery
A Celebration of Imagination
by Chris Neuenschwander
Imagination, it is what we
use to explain the things we do not understand. It is how we open a jar
of octopus while riding down the highway on a peanut butter and jelly
sandwich. Sometimes we do not want grape jelly, sometimes we just want
strawberry. That is important, we always like to have that choice.
Life is funny and far too stressful to take seriously. That is why,
when given the option, we all chose imagination over butterfly wings.
Looking back on it I do not think the butterfly wings would have been a
bad choice. That’s my one regret. Now, if only we had a can opener.
Pareidolia, the psychological phenomenon of lying on your back,
staring at the sky and turning vague, random pieces of cloud information
into things that we can understand. Things we want to see, things we
hope to see, things we wish existed, things we think exist, and things
we think we thought we saw. Stories unfold and plots play out. Hippos
can fly, and penguins should dance. The moral of the story is whether
something is supposed to be in the air or not, we have to suspend
disbelief and accept it for what it is. Where there is a will and a
way, there is a walrus who can operate a jet pack. Let us not take that
away from him. He worked hard to get where he is, and where he is, is
about 10,000 feet above where he should be. Do not define yourself by
limitations set by others. Define yourself by popsicles and Broadway
musicals. The absence of a ground plane will make your imagination go
wild. There is nothing to limit and define what you are thinking or
experiencing. With no frame of reference, and nothing familiar, go wild.
Just make it quick, my parents will be home at eleven. Ethereal.
