what is cool

who defines it? this one goes out to Nobu.

In our recent trip to PEI, I had the sheer joy to reconnect with Nobu.

Nobu, for those of you who don’t know him is a bit of a wizard.

We were in a gallery / cafe space where he shocked me with this bomb:

I have no idea what’s cool anymore

This coming from perhaps one of the coolest people I know.

My reply:

You define it dude.

He wasn’t so certain.

In a society obsessed with youth and critique, this is not surprising. Cool is still often defined by the next young person thing.

I think that's a load of shit.

In uni, it used to be cool to criticize. It was super cool to find flaws, be a critic and write about all of the problems you could find.

It was really fucking cool to complain.

Also?

It’s really fucking sophomoric.

Many university professors (convinced by their own self importance) and art critics (convinced of their own utility) contribute very little of value to the world.

Some, who are helpers of those making change are great. I met a good many who helped me refine my voice, find my audiences…