How many times have you said to yourself “It’s a doggone crime” in response to some kind of minor (or major) injustice? Actually, how many times have you used the word “doggone?” Crime is a frequently used word. No need to delve into its etymology (although it has a Latin root meaning guilt and accusation), suffice to say since it rhymes with grime – indeed crime is dirty business. It involves breaking moral codes and legal rules, and despite the dubious concept of a victimless crime, no crime is actually without its victims. Somewhere someone is hurt by breaches in the social order. Crime is always deviant behavior. Nonetheless, criminal acts are contextual. The latest issue of The Nose, the creation of Seymour Chwast (with me as nominal editor), takes aim at “Crime Today.”
Its not that Chwast wants to rub your nose in the ills of society, however, crime is a constant. Perhaps a somewhat satiric look at it from an artist’s perspective could prove illuminating. In any case, its no crime to put two-cents back into the discourse, so don’t blow this Nose off. Instead, check it out.
