VI: Postmodernism & the Art of Shitposting w/ Ari Schwartz

Note: This episode contains spoilers for the film Gattaca and the short story “Real Artists” by Ken Liu.This week we sat down with Ari Schwartz— a composer, harpist, and all-around experimental artist. We talk about Ari’s talent for shitposting as well as whether or not postmodernism has killed sincerity. And, of course, whether or not you would genetically engineer your kids. Find out who!EPISODE TIMESTAMPS00:00:28 - How has the romantic movement affected postmodernism?00:01:38 - The challenges of conveying sincerity during postmodernity00:06:48 - Ari's attempts to make high art more accessible and interactive00:11:44 - Geidi Primes and speculative lies00:12:48 - But what IS speculative fiction?00:15:38 - Substitute teachers are extremely wack00:21:08 - Gattaca and genetic engineering00:22:54 - Some takes on polygenic embryo selection00:28:22 - Enough talk— would you actually genetically engineer your kid?00:33:28 - The romantic case for uncertainty / indeterminism00:38:18 - Kevin and Gordon are big randomness enjoyers00:40:04 - The art of shitposting00:42:15 - Ari's valiant attempt to describe why a shitpost is funny00:43:02 - The magic of Baman Piderman00:48:47 - The strange coherence of Welcome to Night Vale00:50:04 - Thoughts on art awards and awards awards00:59:59 - Kevin asks Ari a bunch of questions about "objectively good art"01:01:55 - "Real Artists" by Ken Liu01:04:57 - Conclusion and final recommendationsThe screening service we talk about in the episode is LifeView by Genomic Prediction. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit synthesizedsunsets.substack.com/subscribe