The
Art and Wit of Rube Goldberg (through June 9, 2019)
Frank
E. Schoonover: American Visions (through May 27, 2019)
Norman Rockwell Museum (Stockbridge,
MA)
I
have fond childhood dreams of chortling over syndicated cartoons featuring the
improbable inventions of Reuben (“Rube”)
Goldberg (1883-1970). In part that was because of my obsession with his
board game “Mousetrap,” but it was also because of Goldberg's backdoor social
commentary. As a college student I learned of the philosophical principle known
as Occam’s razor*, which is often shorthanded as “the simplest solutions are
the best.” That’s not quite what it means but any way we look at it, Rube
Goldberg was the anti-Occam’s razor. There was no small task Goldberg couldn't
transform into an antigodlin contraption.
I
wonder what Goldberg would make of today’s app society. He was one of the first
to lampoon self-photography, so I’m sure he’d find lots of fodder in a world of
selfies, useless apps, and latter-day Rube Goldberg inventions. I think of
Goldberg whenever I read that some investor with more cash than commonsense
sinks money into things such as “smart” water coolers, iBeer, and apps that
sound like an electric shaver or a flushing toilet. My car’s user’s manual is
over 400 pages, which means there’s a lot of senseless gadgetry involved when all
one really needs to do is turn it on and put it in gear. (If you’re wondering
about the navigation and music systems, those are separate tomes.) We also have such mind-boggling
inventions such as microwave scrambled eggs–which take twice as long as making them
from actual eggs–underwear built for two, and a putting green you can use when
you’re using the loo. (I suppose now we need a virtual putting green that
synchs with the flushing toilet sound app.)
Where’s
Rube when we need him? Lord knows we need someone to make us laugh at our
foibles. For a few more weeks his work will be at the Norman Rockwell Museum.
There
is also an exhibit that explores the connections between Rockwell and his
friend and one-time therapist Erik
Erikson. Erikson has long been among those psychologists whom I most admire.
His stages of life theories of psychological development has always made more
sense to me than theorists such as Jean Piaget who claim that our basic
personalities are already shaped about the time we enter primary school. Who
knew that Erikson also sketched and painted? My assessment? As an artist, Erik
Erikson was a great developmental psychologist.
Rob Weir
*Razor means “principle” in philosophy and has nothing
to do with removing body stubble!
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