Convocation and Commencement (or Graduation 2012!!!!!!)

Nerd Fibers Thesis 2012!

So here is the final draft of my thesis...

The Awesome That Is Nerd, or The Influence of Popular Culture on My Work

     I want to preface this essay by saying for all intents and purposes, although the two words have slightly different connotations, the terms “nerd” and “geek” will for the most part be used synonymously. I must admit I call myself specifically a “nerd” because of this, among other reasons: the original definition of a “geek” was, as Merriam-Webster puts it,  “a carnival performer often billed as a wild man whose act usually includes biting the head off a live chicken or snake.” I also must preface my essay with this caution:

WARNING: MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS.

     I call myself a nerd. If you don’t really know me, you might not see it – but you must keep looking for the details – a Deathly Hallows necklace, an obscure sci-fi reference, walking down the hall with my nose in a book. But how do people define “nerd” and “geek”? Merriam-Webster has this to say on the subject:

geek noun \ˈgēk\

Definition of GEEK

1: a carnival performer often billed as a wild man whose act usually includes biting the head off a live chicken or snake

2: a person often of an intellectual bent who is disliked

3: an enthusiast or expert especially in a technological field or activity <computer geek>

and

nerd noun \ˈnərd\

Definition of NERD

: an unstylish, unattractive, or socially inept person; especially : one slavishly devoted to intellectual or academic pursuits <computer nerds>

These are not the most attractive definitions. Let’s go to the nerds/geeks themselves for better, more accurate descriptions. So says Simon Pegg, the British actor:

Being a geek is all about being honest about what you enjoy and not being afraid to demonstrate that affection. It means never having to play it cool about how much you like something. It’s basically a license to proudly emote on a somewhat childish level rather than behave like a supposed adult. Being a geek is extremely liberating. ("Embracing the Geek")

As Pegg says, to live such a life means no hiding one’s true feelings and therefore maybe finding easier ways to connect to people (though this is often alienating, as the dictionary definitions imply). John Green, a Y.A. author, vlogger, YouTube celebrity, and Nerdfighter, also has a good explanation:

Saying 'I notice you're a nerd' is like saying, 'Hey, I notice that you'd rather be intelligent than be stupid, that you'd rather be thoughtful than be vapid, that you believe that there are things that matter more than the arrest record of Lindsay Lohan. Why is that?' In fact, it seems to me that most contemporary insults are pretty lame. Even 'lame' is kind of lame. Saying 'You're lame' is like saying 'You walk with a limp.' Yeah, whatever, so does 50 Cent, and he's done all right for himself. 1

Disguised as an insult, to the receiver it can now be taken as the ultimate compliment. I remember the Monday after Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince came out, at camp we were asked who had finished the book already – I was one of a bunch who had raised our hands, and my neighbor called us “freaks” or something similar and then turned to me and said “no offense.” I said, “no I take it as a compliment.” I was so proud to have finished and to be a part of such a group.

Stephen H. Segal, author of Geek Wisdom: The Sacred Teachings of Nerd Culture, can explain the mindset quite clearly:

 Geeks are passionate fans of stuff, and particularly of stuff that lies somewhere along one of two cultural axes: math and myth. The love of math gives us science geeks, computer geeks, chess geeks; the love of myth gives us theatre geeks, literary geeks, ancient-Greek geeks.  (11)

He further explains this with a frequently referred to line from the short-lived, yet enduringly popular sci-fi series Firefly.

‘I can kill you with my brain.’ – River Tam, Firefly…

Geekdom is a celebration of the mind. There are lots of athletic or physically attractive geeks out there, but in the end the geek identity is centered on the intellect and the willingness to be different. Unfortunately, these qualities are not much celebrated in wider society. So how cool is it that in so much of geek literature – science fiction and fantasy, in other words – there are people who can kick ass with brain – and willpower? (Segal 131)

Geek literature reflects within itself. Nerds are most often loyal and truthful, and don’t even try to deny their unpopularity. In addition to these statements, I also attribute nerd-dom to devotion to fandom, and devotion to information/ knowledge/ fact. Thirst for knowledge is ever-important: “wit beyond measure is man’s greatest treasure,” which is Rowena Ravenclaw’s motto, often cited by Luna Lovegood (Rowling).

     I often find myself seeking inspiration from fiction, whether it be book, movie, television, or fine art. By fine art, I mean, for example, Pre-Raphaelite paintings. I don’t necessarily care for the medieval stories behind them, but I love the portrayals of the characters, costumes, and environments. These hold such magic, even if it is not the obvious magic of fantasy. It’s like historicism. Nostalgic or not, it’s fun. That’s what most of sci-fi/fantasy/nerd-dom is: the joy of looking into the past and the future, often simultaneously. Historicism to fiction isn’t a phase but a way of life. It’s a constant influx of knowledge being used. It becomes a way that history is immortalized and no longer forgotten. More people become interested in the true human history when they see glimpses of it in fiction. Nerd is the right mix of logic and creativity, of left brain and right brain. Like weaving - it's part math, part problem solving, part art.  

     My art has become inadvertently historicist and purposefully anachronistic. I can’t help but turn to my favorite things as influences. But I am not afraid of these pop culture references – I embrace them wholeheartedly. It connects me to something bigger and greater than me, and makes me part of the universe and a vast community. When I connect I know that my work will be appreciated at least on one level by some of my outside peers, if not by my geographical peers. Fiction and fandom is like The Twilight Zone, “you’re traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound, but of mind” (Segal 114). Rod Serling may have known how accurately he was describing fiction as a whole as he said this, but it rings true throughout my entire life.

     I feel like I couldn’t’ve always been this way.

Being a geek eats my time and my brain. I wasn’t a huge reader or tv addict until I was introduced to the right things. As a child, I was perfectly capable of reading, but why did I need to? There was no reason. When my mom suggested I read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, I didn’t want to. Reading was useless to me. But now I’m obviously a huge fan and it used to be a big part of my life. But until something proves useful, even though I know it or know how, I feel no need for it. In a way, I can relate to Sherlock Holmes:

Sherlock Holmes: [sarcastic] Oh, you meant "spectacularly ignorant" in a nice way! Look, it doesn't matter to me who's Prime Minister, or who's sleeping with who--

John Watson: [somewhat bitterly] Or that the earth goes around the sun.

Sherlock Holmes: Oh God, that again! It's not important!

John Watson: Not important? It's primary school stuff! How can you not know that?

Sherlock Holmes: Well, if I ever did, I've deleted it.

John Watson: "Deleted it"?

Sherlock Holmes: Listen: [gets up and points to his head] This is my hard-drive, and it only makes sense to put things in there that are useful. Really useful. Ordinary people fill their heads with all kinds of rubbish, and that makes it hard to get at the stuff that matters! Do you see?

John Watson: [brief silence; looks at Sherlock incredulously] But it's the solar system!

Sherlock Holmes: [extremely irritated by now] Oh, hell! What does that matter?! So we go around the sun! If we went around the moon or round and round the garden like a teddy bear, it wouldn't make any difference! All that matters to me is the work! Without that, my brain rots. ("Sherlock (TV Series) - Wikiquote.")

     But I think I can pinpoint some of the big moments where nerd and art connected. It wasn’t until high school that I really got into reading - most of my friends recommended this one author and I finally sat down and fell in love. Tamora Pierce’s books really inspired me. They contained powerful, strong women, magic, and creativity. The first book I read of hers was Sandry’s Book, in the Circle of Magic quartet. Here one can find the root of my college major: Sandrilene fa Toren is a strong young noblewoman who finds her magic in fiber. I found it so amazing that I ended up seeking it for myself, perhaps to find a similar ambient magic within myself. Not long after this, I came into contact with much more fantasy and science fiction, and this was something I could enjoy with my friends, as there is little to do in the suburbs other than watch television, walk around, and make crafts. All of these things also come together in conventions. That is where you can see the real community of nerds, meet new people with your interests, find new books, and learn new things.

     So this brings me to now. First when I was asked to bring in my thesis I misunderstood. I brought in my thesis idea for studio work, which was something to do with futuristic fashions drawing upon history to make an interesting statement on the circularity of fashion, and really just give me an excuse to make fun costumes. Then upon realizing this was not the “thesis” Janet had been asking for, I was given about thirty seconds to come up with a “proper” thesis statement to write ten pages about in art school, to accompany my current, or life’s rather, work. 

     The answer seemed obvious. What is the most important thing to me in the world? What always peeks through when I’m attempting to be proper, or artsy, or normal? Nerd-dom. But as a rule, that’s not quite the proper thing to say, so I wrapped it up in a clever (imho), important sounding title: “The Influence of Popular Culture in My Work.” Sounded simple enough, but really I just wanted to geek out about how all I can think about is connections to other people’s works, math and science puns, and rejections of all that is sane and popular. 

     Your average person might say that this is not normal. But many of my friends are nerds, but in different, and sometimes secret, ways. Some are always quoting Arrested Development, Disney films, or YouTube videos. Some are always LARPing, dressing up to go to movie premieres, or secretly analyzing a situation in a scientific way. But not all of these people openly advertise or even admit to themselves that they are actually nerdy. That may be for lack of realization, companionship, or popularity of such views.

     One might argue, like Felicia Day, for example, that nerds are really cool right now. We're on the rise. The "revenge of the nerd" is at hand. With all this amazing new technology in our hands most people can't help being at least a bit nerdy as they rave about their new "iBerry" or whatever. 

     But there is no denying that we're definitely weird. Like John Green says:

...nerds like us are allowed to be unironically enthusiastic about stuff… Nerds are allowed to love stuff, like jump-up-and-down-in-the-chair-can’t-control-yourself love it. Hank, when people call people nerds, mostly what they’re saying is ‘you like stuff.’ Which is just not a good insult at all. Like, ‘you are too enthusiastic about the miracle of human consciousness’.

I totally have to agree. The weird thing is, that shouldn't be weird. I am super enthusiastic about so many things that my peers haven't even heard of here at art school. Cosplaying excites me. Stupid t-shirts excite me. Doctor Who, Sherlock, Beauty and the Beast and Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure references on the bathroom stall walls excite me (except for the spoilers which are just infuriating and unnecessary). It reminds me that there is a secret cache of nerds at art school, I do have a community to turn to here, if I can only find it.

 art by ngan vo :)

     When I decided to have a "nerd" art show this semester, I got a disappointing number of entries when I put out a call. Afterwards people explained to me that there are so many interpretations of the term "nerd" that they were afraid they were not the right kind. I suppose they also did not want to be labeled a nerd, as it has a certain stigma to it, perhaps because at art school it often pops up associated with horrendous anime fan art. But really what I wanted to do with this show was to meet new people, and bring all of these secret nerds out of the art school closet. Sometimes it seems like there is only a certain type of hipster nerd that is cool here. But I'm happy to say that the show got a great response and at least one exhibitor hoping to repeat it next year! 

     In reality everyone is a nerd. Everyone can find something unusual to get really excited about. I just so much more often find myself expressing it outwardly, loudly, and fervently. As Shirley Manson, singer of Garbage puts it,  “I say, Embrace the total geek in yourself and just enjoy it. Life’s too short to be cool” (“Embracing the Geek”).