Art that examines how religion functions within our culture could do us a lot of good. Every psyche, however secular or even atheist, remains heavily populated with what Saul Bellow called “large numbers of highly individual ghosts”—and few of those are uninfluenced by prevailing religious beliefs.

Let me begin with the words of one contemporary philosopher: “There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns. That is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns—the ones we don’t know we don’t know.”

Eighty-five years after Gatsby attempted to create himself purely from one pre-existing idea and a whole lot of money, the character feels as real and as heartbreaking as ever.

Art critics constantly get flak in this town for using a lot of $10 words. But, I mean, if you know the meaning of a word like “percipience”—even if “perceptiveness” works just as well—why not show it off?

I once knew a guy who, when he was on LSD, couldn’t handle being in nature. All that exaggeratedly twining, entangling growth was just too creepy for him, so he only took the drug in visually sanitized city spots, surrounded by concrete and steel.

You are what you do. You are what you eat. Let’s face it, you probably are what you google. But for your sake and mine, I hope you don’t end up resembling Jason Salavon’s “Spigot (Babbling Self-portrait)” video and sound installation.

The newest SITE Santa Fe biennial, The Dissolve, hit the city’s art scene in a string of previews, parties and performances last week. But the show itself proves that all this fuss is about more than the production of fuss. It’s also about the production of an all-video exhibition that still feels human.

Remember the Being John Malkovich scene in which John Cusack’s character discovers the portal to the inside of Malkovich’s head? He’s at work in that 7th floor office, surrounded by floor-to-low-ceiling rows of filing cabinets filled with index cards. It’s his job to put the cards in order. Then, in one leap, he’s in the interior of another man’s brain.

Here’s a thought experiment for you: Start with a society that has a long creative tradition and take the “market” out of its art market. You could, for example, establish a Communist state and do away with all art galleries.

In his artist’s statement for Winterstate, David Nakabayashi says the inspiration for his new stock of paintings is a near-death experience: a wintry car accident that left him stranded on the side of the road in Ohio. These kinds of stories can represent truly life-altering moments that catalyze a personal re-evaluation.