By Andrea Macko
Gaudy Christmas lights not an evening delight
Most of us aren’t too familiar with the art world. Sure, we’ve seen the stereotypical, darkly dressed, blasé movie characters or caught a Picasso exhibition at the National Gallery, but many don’t know much about this distant world.
But we do have one annual chance to let our creative juices spew. The holiday season gives us free licence to decorate our homes with reckless abandon. But that mystifying notion of “art for art’s sake” doesn’t apply to glowing plastic Santas that sing or festive slide shows on the garage door.
Just because you can decorate doesn’t mean you should throw caution and taste to the wind.
Christmas, thanks to clever marketing, runs from roughly 5 p.m. on Halloween to New Year’s Eve. Again, through clever marketing, many see this as the time to deck the halls till the boughs break and blow a fuse.
Inevitably, there’s one artist in the neighbourhood who seizes this opportunity like a late-night nativity scene thief, determined to win best of show.
Disgruntled passers-by always call it “that house.” A hypnotic extravaganza of 10,000 coloured bulbs, fingers of icicle lights and animated reindeer questions the charter right of freedom of expression.
Does a neighbour have the right to decorate as they desire because it’s on his or her property?
Technically, yes, provided the decorations don’t hurt anyone or suggest anything that’s offensive to the community.
Only a true grinch would call a modest display of Christmas lights offensive, considering the season provides enough opportunity to be tacky (office parties, spiked eggnog, mistletoe and a misused photocopier).
But when a house is lit up like Las Vegas, it’s an infringement on society’s rights — not only their personal safety, but their right not to look at a violent display of festivity.
Hydroelectric power concentrated into extension cords and power bars, then plugged into outdoor sockets that are only used during the most wonderful time of the year is a safety risk. Considering all the other decorations using the same hydro line, the potential for power shortages increases. This wouldn’t be a problem in mid-June when it’s light until 9 p.m. and plenty warm, but face it, winter in Ottawa isn’t the best time to be without power.
Outrageous Christmas lights are also visually disturbing. It’s like the television commercial where the child comes downstairs to tell daddy she can’t sleep.
He tells her it must be because she’s excited about St. Nick’s arrival. Then we see her home’s exterior — it’s bright enough for X-rays. We may laugh, but is this commercial that far from the painful truth?
All art isn’t meant to be pleasing to the eye, which explains masterpieces like Voice of Fire, the red and blue striped enigma at the National Gallery. This is why questionable art is in a gallery instead of sprawled across someone’s front yard — we have the choice to look.
But when it comes to questionable Christmas lights, we can’t help but stare at them in their distractingly gaudy glory and wonder why the artist inflicted this on everyone.
This Christmas, I’m wishing for a midnight clear.