Apidae

neophilia vs. neophobia

I feared that in Israel there might be lurking,
sweetly and insidiously,
the nostalgia gathered like some sad treasure
during the centuries of dispersion
in cities of the unbeliever, in ghettoes,
in the sunset of the steppes, in dreams,
the nostalgia of those who longed for you,
Jerusalem, beside the waters of Babylon.
What else were you, Israel, but that wistfulness,
that will to save
amid the shifting shapes of time
your old magical book, your ceremonies,
your loneliness with God?
Not so. The most ancient of nations
is also the youngest.

Jorge Luis Borges, Israel 1969

SECURITY GUARDS – The security guards will represent the main disenfranchised ethnicity of the city. As consistent with the subconscious discourse of museum-going, the museum-goer will feel elevated — in a liberal way, of course — from the rest of society; they will see these unfortunate people, nodding in-and-out of sleep at minimum wage, and think “Yes, I know who Jeff Koons is. They don’t. College.”

— Jimmy Chen, Modern Art Museum Guide

keeping your eyes gently closed, close your eyes tightly.