* mental pollution (8/22/2003)

I go to great lengths to remove any words, brands, logos, or other
unessential markings from things that I have to look at on a regular
basis.  The monitor I'm looking at right now has two pieces of
electrical tape at the bottom of its face covering the brand name and
model number.  The synthesizers to the left and right of that monitor
have had their entire front panels sanded down or treated with
solvents to remove all of the markings.  I replace absolutely crucial
legending with a simple label gun.  There are still a few brand names
and logos I have not yet gotten to, as the time and patience I have
for this mania has lessened over the last few years.  My mouse still
says "Microsoft" on it, for example.  

Put it in your mind that every advertisement you see, every brand name
you see, every corporate logo you see, every jingle you hear, every
sensory experience engineered by someone who wants to sell you
something in modern America is a lie.  It is like spam or junk mail
injected directly into your brain through your eyes without your
consent.  It is pollution.  It is a crime against your mind.  It is a
rape of your subconscious thoughts.  It is someone who does not give a
damn about you trying to convince you to do something you almost
certainly don't need or want.  Usually they want you to buy something,
but it can be so much more awful.

It is not hard to begin to reverse this process.  Just get some black
electrical tape, a black permanent marker, and some nail polish
remover.  Remove brand name tags from clothing.  Remove price tags and
advertisements from book covers.  Tape over brand names on appliances,
especially things that remain in your field of vision for a great deal
of time.  Throw out all your clothes that are actually advertisements
you paid to wear.  Set up junkbuster, a web proxy that helps block
banner ads and other poison memes.  Turn off your television, or build
a PVR that will enable you to easily skip advertisements.  Get some
spam filtering happening on your email, even if it's just the Mozilla
mail client.  Go out and get a copy of Adbusters and really dig into
their head space.

Then, finally, go make your own art. You're actually the only artist
that matters anyway.