Coastline Pilot - Chasing the Muse

22 June 2002

 

Sex, Dogs and Design Review

 

Dogs dance in the waves, lovers stroll on a sandy beach, and the Sunday sun drops low on the horizon.   The bar in Splashes at the Surf and Sand provides a respite from the end-of-weekend traffic, and a perfect spot for musing about life, art and the everyday tribulations of work.  Overheard in conversation, yet another round of banter over Design Review.

 

Sex sells.  Ask anybody.  Look anywhere.  Check out Viagra sales.  Are we obsessed or what?  Hell, yes. 

 

Think about the last movie you saw.  And the last book you read.  Chances are, at the heart was a torrid relationship, either star-crossed lovers, aka Romeo and his fair maiden, or a cut to the chase, rip off the clothes - get down to it - sex scene.  I mean, we’re human.  We’ve been overwhelmed since those hormones starting coursing through our blood with the power of male/female relationships. (Does this get to the heart of the dog issue?) 

 

The film industry thrives on sex.  The Internet’s number one search engine word - ‘sex.’  The subtle play of male and female turns the world.  We fight over sex.  We make-up over sex. 

 

Chat rooms make and break relationships.  Email marriages.  Email divorces. ‘Blocking’ programs have been created to protect our children from sexual predators and access to blatantly pornographic sites.  We’ve developed an entirely new venue for sexual bantering.  We don’t need the back room of the video rental shops anymore.  We don’t need plain wrap magazines.  Just a computer, a modem and a phone line.  Log on, link up and get hot.

 

An Argentinean friend of mine purchased two digicams – live modem cameras, so that he could chat with his folks in South America without racking up huge phone bills. When he finally loaded the software that came packaged with the camera, he was shocked to discover that he was transported into a live chat area, on-line video.  Folks with similar devices, cameras directed at various body parts, were engaged in teasing sexual discussions.  My friend was offered many options:  girl/boy, girl/girl, boy/boy.  He was “thrown out” of every room, his camera focused only on his hands, tapping on his computer keyboard. 

 

Advertising almost pales in comparison yet draws its lifeblood from campaigns laced with sexual innuendos - either subtle or overt.   Clothing, travel, automobiles, music, alcohol, vitamins, even financial instruments utilize the power of words and images.  It’s not about the product.  It’s about creating desire.   Sexual desire.  See yourself in the picture desire.  Art directors, copywriters, photographs and illustrators scour the Muse for ever-bolder source material.

 

We were sipping martinis the other night at 230, enjoying the sexual posturing at the bar.  The not so subtle flirtations.  The dance of eyes.  The paused hand on a stranger’s shoulder.  The elevated laughter.

 

A young woman leashed her golden Labrador to one of our cities biggest money makers, aka, a parking meter, to join the fray.  (Maybe we could we collect dog parking fees?)  He was handsome and of sweet disposition, and having quite the time.  Everyone stopped to pet and chat with him.  I shared with my friends, that being a dog seemed like a pretty good thing.   One of the women at our table, a bit tipsy, misconstrued what I said.  Now, as I pass this woman on my morning walk, I get the chuckles when I pet her dog, wondering if she thinks I secretly lust after said pup.  Fodder for strange fiction.

 

The bar conversation grows louder – something about Design Review.  It’s another animated discussion about color, texture and the capriciousness of subjective guidelines.  The architects – (they are artists, aren’t they?) are forced to contend with homebuilders personalities, DRB agendas, and a perceived lack of consistency. 

 

Ah, the poor Muse.  Her wings clipped.  Her choices limited.  She sighs a bit, then brightens as she remembers, that’s more of what makes Laguna unique.

 

Back to work, prepping for the Festival, and now I know what to do.  Include more sex, a couple of dog images, and submit my display to Design Review.  I love this town.

 

Catharine Cooper