Prince Rama at Farm 255, Athens, GA, Dec. 4, 2011
Taraka and Nimai Larson, the sisters behind the band Prince Rama, have a song on their latest album entitled Welcome to the Now Age. What is not well known is that the Now Age is more than a song, it's a philosophy.
"The Now Age cannot be named, for once named, it becomes part of a fixed moment in time, and is thus lost. It is not to be confused with the New Age, because there is nothing new about it. It is, always was, and always will be."
Taraka recently gave a lecture at the Brooklyn Museum on this philosophy, which began with a discussion on the devolution of the cross and the triangle into kitsch (kitsch being a symbol divorced from its original historical context) and continued onto an examination of the mirrorball as panopticon ("the closest thing the Now Age has to a deity" as it does not create but only reflects) and Now Age aesthetics, which seek to embrace the potential of beauty through the rejection of actual beauty.
It would be hard to imagine Taraka simply speaking in front of an audience for an hour, and the lecture did not disappoint. It included dancing, face paint, and a lot of glitter.
Not to let Taraka do all of the explaining, here's an amusing little essay written by Nimai.
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