The Tree of Codes by Wayne McGregor

(Opéra Bastille, 13 July 2019)

One never sees the full picture. Any literal interpretation is a misrepresentation. One sees the symptoms, while the phenomenon is hiding in between the broad brushstrokes. And yet one must have a model.

To maximise freedom, one may choose to curtail property rights and cultivate public spaces. The critical feature of property rights is not their absolute nature but their clarity and enforcement. (Historically, clarity and enforcement have been the easiest to achieve when property rights are absolute.) Noncritical features of property rights can be redesigned to suit the circumstances (as is routinely done—not necessarily well—in the case of intellectual property rights). Public space is property rights management on behalf of the unborn, underinsured, and those suffering from the collective action problem.

A conflict, international or domestic, can be akin to an autoimmune disease. There is no moral imperative to the democratic process, less so to the autocratic one.

To feel like an octopus is to experience agency in a group project. To feel like an octopus is to choreograph. To feel like an octopus is to play, converse, dance.

Art is never about capturing a moment. It is about capturing an idea, which is never at rest. Dance is a sculpture in motion, a Rodin sculpture.