I found it in Robert Rankin's The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse. You've probably guessed from the title of the book that Rankin is not a philosopher of any sort. But he does have a way of pointing out the obvious.
I quote:
Why it is that bad taste always triumphs over good is one those things that scholars love to debate, when they don't have anything better to do, such as getting a life and getting a girlfriend.
Is there actually such a thing as 'good taste'? they debate. Or 'Is it all merely subjective?'
Well, of course there is such a thing as good taste! Some things actually are better than other things, and people are capable of making the distinction.
But...
Bad taste will always ultimately triumph over good taste , because bad taste has more financial backing. There is far more profit to be made from selling cheap and nasty products, at a big mark-up, than selling quality items at a small mark-up. And you can always produce far more cheap and nasty items far nore quickly than you can produce quality items. Far more.
Is there actually such a thing as 'good taste'? they debate. Or 'Is it all merely subjective?'
Well, of course there is such a thing as good taste! Some things actually are better than other things, and people are capable of making the distinction.
But...
Bad taste will always ultimately triumph over good taste , because bad taste has more financial backing. There is far more profit to be made from selling cheap and nasty products, at a big mark-up, than selling quality items at a small mark-up. And you can always produce far more cheap and nasty items far nore quickly than you can produce quality items. Far more.
So, there we have it.
It's all about perspective, really. Last week, I saw 4 paintings for sale on the wall of a cafe. Three of them were poorly-represented sea animals and shells. They were all $30 each. Then on top of them all, same size, was a painting of a llama's head. Just staring at us, watching us eat our organic treats. The llama was $110. I immediately googled "how much does a llama cost" and found that I could buy a real live llama for just a little more than that painting of a llama's head. Some day, I'd like to be able to spend that kind of money as a joke, which would proliferate bad taste because the artist would take that as a sign to paint MORE like the llamas. So sad, but I may not be able to help myself. Because- how funny would that be to get a gift of a llama's head painting?
ReplyDeleteHrm, I'm trying to decide if llama painting is worse, equal or better than a plastic pink flamingo. I've always wanted a plastic flamingo. And a real live llama as well!
ReplyDelete