I’m still thinking about human fascination with size – that bigger means better. It’s size that makes us in awe of the ancient civilizations in Egypt and the Americas that built gigantic pyramids. How did they do that? we ask, shouldering aside the fact that these structures were tributes to beliefs and ways of knowing that were the actual shows of advancement. Today, our nations continue to stunt on each other by constructing skyscapers, each tall enough to cast a shadow on the last. The technology may have evolved, but our basic compulsion to wield might with hugeness has not.
“Ten thousand visitors is nice, but why don’t we go for ten million?????” asked a board member about the SmithsonianAPA Culture Labs. I get her sentiment. Scaling up is ingrained in us, perhaps even innate. But to imagine an art show that draws a population greater than New York City is not only unfeasible, I find it ridiculously undesirable. In that moment, I thought about all of the 50 artists involved in our massive productions, and couldn’t think of a single soul who would have been elated by even more visitors to interact with, more hours spent in the venue, more demands that would come with the pressure of the “stakes” beholden to such a spectacle. SCALE UP! the humans said, forgetting that not long ago we were meek creatures in the savanna, waiting behind brush for the hyenas to finish eating so we could pick at their dregs.
Even though it may be unreasonable for me to expect others to reflect on our prehistoric dispositions at board meetings, we don’t have to think that far back to recognize that bigger is usually not better. SCALE UP! said Napoleon and Columbus, as they pillaged continents for the sake of ever-expanding dominion. SCALE UP! said the oil and auto industries, as they drilled pockmarks into the earth and coated the land with tar. SCALE UP! said the tech companies, as they vacuumed our memories into the cloud, paying no mind to all the backdoors left ajar. Size does matter, and it usually matters more than we honestly know what to do with.
But what if we scaled deep? What if, instead of thirsting for bigger and bigger audiences, we ventured to forge more intimate connections with the ones we had? What if, instead of craving more square footage or dollars, we learned to hone our appreciation and thoroughness? What if, instead of amassing knowledge, we aspired to become more attuned and reflective of what we already knew? Maybe our uncivilized ancestors actually had it right. When they emerged from the brushes, approached the skeletons of what had already fed the other creatures higher up in the food chain, and slurped the marrow tucked into the bones. There is always more within, you just have to know to look for it.
PS: After writing this, I did a quick search for “scaling deep” and *of course* someone else has already created an entire thing around it. Oh well, there goes my TED talk.