Purple Magazine
— The Brain Issue #33 S/S 2020

entanglement store with paul mccarthy

text by KYLE RAND and PAUL MCCARTHY
artworks by PAUL MCCARTHY

a contemporary artist living and working in los angeles,
paul mccarthy works in many media, including installation,
performance, video, film, and “painting as action.”
his work has been collected internationally and can be
found in the guggenheim museum in new york, the tate
modern in london, and the smithsonian museum of american
art in washington, d.c.

walking it is just before the turn of the century the struggle that is the american empire is what if knowledge was a stage storage of intelligence that became obsolete dead what does who does information utterly transformed human consciousness perfectly suited to its present without the need to protect itself entirely desiring of any fate amor fati invincible dissolute entangled it was so absurd we carried so much burden we needed so many objects santa cloaked christmases in order to function in fact we needed them more than ever we needed them so so badly we created an entire universe university of in and out pathways around the procurement of objects more shoes more pillows more and more we called it an economy a life style of beauty and it became the centerpiece of the family gathering power but worse than all of that we could not communicate without processing replicating are self our constructions a mountain of slurp information active and the storage my god please god the fucking warehouse storage image wear thought phenomenology spirit construction dynamic universe of images image world image art artificial world replica a simulator can you imagine to label a label a brand something the cloud and what if it is really is is is it is thousands of concrete structures the size of city blocks imagine approach the town brain on look lucky luck luke sky walker goose stompers i ask him what it is is it a town he says know its a model as a brain a conglomerate to be exact a path way through the gate the veil to the substructure the basement the haven interior make believe delusional labyrinth as architecture butterfly experience the front is the same as the back a row of buildings a saloon a store a dance hall a jail repetition of each structure as one approaches the center through the alleyways he prefers to walk the streets of down town i meandering situation situational thats what you know he said the image in the brain the brain screen the question might be is and further more lets not forget the central question what is the so called brain i said and he said and then there is chatter thought the ego mask world ostensibly in order to manage it to create more out of it but also to organize it to master it, and to master manipulate the others who are playing the virtual game to make it so irresistible that it overtakes all consumes it into itself so as to appear natural, or more accurately normal as in our dreams we have no choice but to live in it, our brains can imagine little else we take out mortgages buy but buy and buy say good buy by and worry about are pennies from haven pensions work load sack on our back back black the back constantly in order to pay pay and pay the price of admission the brain the economy must grow grow and grow it is a virtual reality that has been created in such a way that there is no such thing as equilibrium teeter toter only an equilibrium growth fat rate the stock market is the hart pulse of this vr the created reality all reality is now created through disorder the libido maps its anxieties and hopes depressive tendencies and manic magic explosion blow outs it tells us what we believe ho ho ho in which progression orgies never ending thrust machine exhilaration forward apple eater amazon, pfizer, disney fascism new and old wal-mart chevron tesla google they eat children attachment to what he demanded that what i know of reality is in part 3d undefined unrealized ephemeral in the brain and nothing more the question might be is this situation binary and further more lets not forget the central question what is i said and he said and then there is chatter thought the ego mask, attachment to what seen through the outside skull with the windows the eye holes lets talk alternative perception auditory brain screen scrambled world vision might say the puzzle anticipates the next movie i find alienation in the transactional relations of each personal encounter the past memory mash potato with the imagination loss of the hear now lets say normality vanished consumed in the now captivating inner controlled of lunacy the love of lunacy i stumble upon false consciousness in casual conversation emotional attachments to specific forms of progress will embedded in the concepts of money not to mention its movement they call it currency river of the human mind the past the imagination loss of the hear and now lets say normality vanished consumed in the now captivating inner controlled lunacy the love of lunacy seen through the outside skull with the windows the eye holes lets talk alternative auditory brain screen scrambled world vision might say the past memory loss of the hear now lets say normality vanished consumed he demanded that what i know of reality the brain screen the question might be is this situation singular and further more lets not forget the central question what is the it is a mystery he said and he said she said practice and then there is chatter thought the ego mask attachment to what seen through the outside skull with the windows the eye holes carlo marx is telling a story math also physics also the drama of the human brain dissected to minutiae but always following the narrative arc resolution we search for choice no no yes no yes yes yes we fear death or do we the brain refuses it this choice is the only one not available as experience we dissect ourselves for answers to this one and only enigma it fills our minds with distractions stories worries hopes desires it is the ghost of our greed but something lurks behind this fabrication of emptiness of unknowability a fear behind a fear posing as a beggar scratching inside at the flea ridden soul the impossibility of knowing what anything actually is the loss of the hear and now lets say normality vanished consumed in the now captivating inner control of lunacy the love of lunacy entangled it was so absurd we carried so much burden we needed so many objects in order to function in fact we needed them so badly we created an entire universe around the procurement of objects, we called it an economy and it became the centerpiece of power but worse than all of that we could not communicate without processing a mountain of information and the storage lunacy the love of lunacy way out i thought sacks of throwing throbbing images as thoughts yes just moving sorting and selling information some kind of cloud a cloud is transference information is exchanged yes, but storage is not is necessary the brain is the map i am walking it is just before the turn of the century, the struggle that is the american empire is succumbing to the potency of fear but the deal will not be sealed until a few years later like on december 31st 1999 when we will be made to understand that technology is without rival and then again on september 11th 2001 when we will be made to understand that the other is a force that needs conquering at all cost without end i am walking down a street in london, 20 years old, i am walking down a street la 30 years old carlo marx is painted all over the inside of my brain, the inside of his brain reading reading reading, everything social maps into the logistics of this systematic organization each piece of the puzzle anticipates the next i find alienation in the transactional relations of each personal encounter i stumble upon false consciousness in casual conversation emotional attachments to specific forms of progress political will embedded in the concepts of money dollar to dollar not to mention its movement they call it currency river of the human mind arrogant consciousness conclusion consolidation what if knowledge what if it 9 was a stage of intelligence that became obsolete information utterly transformed human consciousness perfectly suited to its present without the need to protect itself entirely desiring itself of any fate amor fati invincible dissolute, entangled that river is made of constructed value value is what the water of what language, we must share it in order to speak to one another we make it together but we can also sell it steal it and hoard it and manipulate it it is the first time i perceive the economy as a virtual reality a fabricated community of rules and regulations placed upon the material world ostensibly in order to manage it to create more of what out of it but also to organize it to master it and to master the others playing the game to make it so irresistible fun to flirt with the queen invite her to dinner wash dishes with the king it overtakes all reality, consumes it for black fast into itself so as to appear natural organic or more accurately normal we have no choice but to live and what let live or in it our brains can imagine little else we take out mortgages and worry about pensions or neighborhoods we work constantly in order to pay the price of admission to the game the economy must grow it is a virtual reality that has been created in such a way that there is no such thing as equilibrium only an equilibrium growth rate capitalism must continue to what grow and grow the stock supper market is the pulse of this vr it maps its anxieties and hopes, depressive tendencies and manic magic explosions. it tells us what we believe in which progression forward: more wealth oranges apples apple amazon pfizer disney wal-mart chevron tesla google amazon marx is just telling a story math also physics also the drama of the human brain dissected to minutiae but always following the narrative arc conflict resolution we search for choice no no yes no yes yes yes we fear death that we don’t know consciousness, that is the real disgrace something so close, so perfect so wrong so what the more we dissect the more the enigma grows improbabilities impossibilities uncertainties we know nothing except thousands of concrete structures the size of city blocks sorting and selling information some kind of cloud the brain refuses it this choice is the only one not available as experience we dissect ourselves for answers to this the one and only enigma it fills our minds with distractions stories worries hopes desires it is the ghost of our greed our earthly arrogance but something lurks behind this fabrication of emptiness of unknowability a fear behind a fear posing as a beggar scratching inside at the flea ridden soul and the storage my god the fucking storage can you imagine to label something to create the brand the ranch life style the cloud and what it really is is thousands of concrete structures the size of city blocks sorting and selling information some kind of sky cloud a cloud is as high fashion transference information is exchanged yes but storage is not necessary the brain is the map the impossibility of knowing what anything actually is the untouchability of the phenomenon that pretends as existence that we don’t know consciousness that is the real disgrace something so close so perfect the more we dissect the more the enigma grows improbabilities impossibilities uncertainties, magic carpet cosmic delirium beauty without rival ungraspable unmanageable unknowledgeable perfect every single day endless we accumulate against this unknown

END