The Perfection of Imperfection

According to Leland in, Hip: The History, the Beats believed in the perpetual present in order to not have to deal with anything they had done in the past, because neither the past nor the future exists. Personally I’m all for letting your freak flag fly and your flaws being tattooed to your forehead, but art for me should have some rules and structure, your life should have some of the same.

Beat It Caveman:

I don’t think that the Beats were seeking imperfection, it just wasn’t important to them for it to be perfect. That is how living in the present affects the aesthetic; you don’t worry about the imperfections. Maybe we shouldn’t see the Beats as the golden age of hipness, we should see them for their lack of evolution, the Neanderthals of hip, and learn from their mistakes and not to strive for perfection, but considering the future when acting out in the present.

 It is easier to get through life if you accept your imperfections but it is irresponsible to live your life never thinking about the consequences of your actions. Look what happen to the Beats, they died at young ages, depressed and addicted.

Now For My Rant:

I feel like a preaching mom, but addiction and mental illness is not hip, it’s painful both to the afflicted and to the ones that love them, not only living in the present but carried through to the future.

In the book Leland says, “To live in the present tense is to claim forgiveness as you go, making peace with your flaws even as you erupt in new ones” (158). I do not think that the Beats did this, they may have been asking for forgiveness for their flaws, but they were obviously not at peace with themselves. They lived in a world contradictory to what they preached, drowning out their sorrows with drugs and alcohol, even Kerouac tried to pass “On the Road” off as flawed or imperfect for its lack of revisions, when he indeed did revise.

Neither people nor art needs to be perfect, some of the greatest creations may come from someone’s mistakes. I also do not think that art should be treated carelessly, or I guess for that matter either should you treat yourself.

Art In Today’s World:

I think you would be hard pressed to find someone like the Beats in current artists today. There are artist today who are terribly flawed as people, but in their art they do strive for perfection. Maybe artist today learned from the Beat generation, and know how to embrace mistakes when they happen, but also know that there are consequences in the future for these mistakes. For me if I was to choose someone who reminded me of the Beats it would be:



Courtney Love, flawed on the inside and out, her music is raw and fearless, she is self-destructive, she makes no excuses for herself, and has no concept of any time other than right now in the present.