T i e r r a del Fuego - New York

L a n d of disasters, as has b e e n said. Devas ta ted forests seeming ly felled by s o m e

r ecen t cataclysm. H u l k s o f w r e c k e d ships. Graveyards o f i m m i g r a n t s (why so m a n y

Yugoslavs?) and sailors. B u t t he r e is a n o t h e r disaster he re today, t h e disaster of a

c o m p l e t e l y anachronis t ic m o d e r n i t y - a chao t ic , i n c o h e r e n t c o w b o y - f i l m m o d ­

ern i ty : conc re t e , dust , duty-f ree , t ransistors, pe t ro l , c o m p u t e r s and t h e h u b b u b o f

useless traffic - as t h o u g h the si lence of t h e ends of t h e ea r th h a d to be obl i te ra ted .

All tha t is i n h u m a n he re is sub l ime in its na tura l desola t ion . All tha t is h u m a n is

sordid: civilization's wastes.

T h e r e is s o m e jus t i ce in t h e fact tha t m o d e r n m a n actually treats h imse l f as a

was te p r o d u c t , hav ing previous ly t rea ted t h e Indians that way. A h i g h e r jus t ice ,

w h i c h balances o u t the destinies o f p e r s e c u t o r a n d v ic t im. T h o s e closest t o these

F u e g i a n Indians (and w e k n o w n e i t h e r t he i r n a m e s n o r w h a t c r i m e t hey c o m m i t ­

t ed to be w i p e d o u t as they were) are t h e outcasts , t he cr iminals , t h e inmates of the

o ld U s h u a i a j a i lhouse , w h o s e p h o t o s a d o r n t h e m u s e u m . 2 4 T h i s o n e i n part icular ,

24. T h e Museo Mar i t imo de Ushuaia is located in the old prison building.

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of w h o m a superb p h o t o remains , t h o u g h we do n o t k n o w his n a m e , his c r i m e , his

u l t ima te des t iny o r t h e date o f his d e a t h - t h e p h o t o o f t h e perfect u n k n o w n p r i s ­

oner . O r t h e p h o t o o f R a d o w i t z s k i , t h e anarchis t w h o b l e w u p t h e B u e n o s Aires

po l i ce ch ie f ( the r e n o w n e d Fa lcon) , b r o k e o u t o f jai l , was r ecap tu red , a t t e m p t e d

suicide, was p a r d o n e d after t w e n t y years and e n d e d his days in exile.

R a n g e d against these cr iminals and Indians , t he Salesian missionaries - chari table

parasites of this i l l -s tarred land, w h i c h t hey evangel ize like t h e l i chen that wraps

itself a r o u n d the forests of no thofagus a n d submerges those trees as they are gobb led

u p by it.

On every side is no th ingness , waste land, sterile ho r i zons , infinite vistas. T h e r e is,

in fact, n e i t h e r n a t u r e n o r cu l tu re h e r e , b u t a savage denial of b o t h - a denial of

landscape in t h e no th ingnes s of the w i n d , t h e soo ty sky, t h e Bah ia Inut i l ; a denial

o f cu l tu re i n t h e no th ingnes s o f t h e t o w n s (but h o w else c o u l d i t have b e e n o n c e

those w h o e n d e d u p i n the i r o w n l a n g u a g e call ing themselves ' t he fore igners ' h a d

b e e n ex t e rmina t ed? ) . T h e geographica l r emo tenes s highl ights t h e contras t b e t w e e n

the t w o w i t h o u t g iv ing any m e a n i n g - even a surrealistic o n e - to the i r b e i n g h u d ­

dled t o g e t h e r like this. W h a t y o u discover he r e i s n o t a new, or ig ina l wor ld , b u t the

relentless m i x of a wi ld , e l emen ta l f o r m a n d an equal ly relentlessly des t ruc t ive g r ip

exe r t ed b y t h e h u m a n race.

T h e p h a n t a s m o f the ends o f t h e ea r th . You t h i n k y o u have left t h e w o r l d

b e h i n d a n d cut t h e umbi l ica l cord . N o t a b i t o f it. T h e o t h e r w o r l d i s already the re

wel l before y o u are, w i t h its 'real t i m e ' — in this unreal , t imeless land. You can

receive a fax of an art icle that appea red in Paris o n l y this m o r n i n g . T h e r e is, t h e n ,

no e n d o f t h e w o r l d . Or e v e r y w h e r e i s a t t h e ends o f the ea r th . W h e r e v e r we are,

we are, a t t h e same t ime , a t t he e x t r e m e o u t e r reaches . O n e b e c o m e s , oneself, an

e x t r e m e p h e n o m e n o n - b e y o n d one 's o w n end . N o w , t h e p h a n t a s m o f t h e ends o f

t h e ea r th is a p h a n t a s m of t h e t e r r i t o r y h a v i n g s o m e e x t r e m e furthest p o i n t — t h e

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s y m b o l of a possible e n d and of the o u t e r reaches of t h o u g h t . I t is a fantasy of

verifying that , despi te w h a t they say, the ear th is n o t a sphere and does n o t have that

h o p e - s a p p i n g curva tu re .

T h e Alaka luf d id n o t k n o w they w e r e a t t h e ends o f t h e ea r th . T h e y w e r e

w h e r e t hey w e r e a n d n o w h e r e else — s o m e t h i n g we shall neve r be . F o r t h e sailors,

adven tu re r s and miss ionar ies , i t wasn ' t t h e e n d e i ther : t hey d iscovered a w o r l d

ent i re ly un l ike the i r o w n , b u t o n e against w h i c h they c o u l d pi t themselves , a n e w

frontier. We arr ive he re today w i t h on ly an imag ina ry n o t i o n o f t h e ends o f t h e

ea r th (to w h i c h space travel l o n g since p u t an e n d ) . A n d w h i l e t h e Fueg ians w e r e

neve r p a r t e d f rom the i r fires ( they ca r r i ed t h e m e v e r y w h e r e , even on the i r boats in

t h e f o r m of b u r n i n g embers ) , we take pains to ca r ry o u r artificial coldness w i t h us

e v e r y w h e r e - even i n t o glacial la t i tudes .

After T i e r r a del Fuego , N e w York. After the ends o f the ea r th , t h e cen t re o f t h e

ea r th . A d o u b l e ex t remi ty : t h e p o i n t w h e r e the cu rva tu re o f t h e ea r th c o m e s to an

end; t h e place w h e r e h u m a n t e c h n o l o g y and verticali ty have g o n e as far as they can

go . B u t each gives t h e impress ion o f b e i n g o n a n o t h e r p lane t . T h e archaeologica l

stillness o f t i m e on T i e r r a del F u e g o , its d e p t h . A n d he re in N e w York its superf i ­

cial acce le ra t ion . T h e t w o are equal ly t imeless . A n d if, d o w n in t h e S o u t h e r n

hemisphe re , t he sun lies to t h e n o r t h a t n o o n (wh ich always seems so marve l lous to

a W e s t e r n e r ) , i t seems jus t as s t range tha t t h e same sun rises a n d sets on N e w York,

w h o s e astral t h e m e seems so indifferent to any o t h e r orb i t b u t its o w n .

W h e n y o u are a t t h e tip o f M a n h a t t a n , by Ba t t e ry Park a n d t h e Sta ten Island

ferry, y o u m i g h t t h i n k you w e r e a t t h e furthest p o i n t o f T i e r r a del F u e g o , on t h e

banks o f t h e Beagle C h a n n e l . On a N e w York m o r n i n g , y o u have the same impre s ­

s ion of p r i m o r d i a l energy , of a p r i m a l scene , as a t a d a w n i n g of t h e w o r l d .

E v e r y w h e r e else, t h e ene rgy e x p e n d e d gives an impress ion o f w e a r a n d fatigue, o f

b e i n g c o n s u m e d by t h e activity. H e r e , by contras t , i t regenera tes in hyperact ivi ty.

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O n l y na tura l energ ies give this impress ion of inexhaust ibi l i ty . H e r e i t i s t h e artifi­

cial energy, t h e h i g h vol tage, w h i c h gives N e w York this qual i ty of a p e r p e t u a l

an t i cyc lone .

P r i m a l scene , p r i m i t i v e soc ie ty - p e r h a p s . B u t w h e n y o u g o d i rec t ly f rom

Pa tagon ia t o B r o a d w a y and T i m e s Square , y o u c a n n o t b u t b e terr i f ied b y t h e p r o ­

liferation of t h e h u m a n race. You feel l ike Ishi, t h e last Ind ian , w r e n c h e d by t h e

an th ropo log i s t f rom t h e so l i tude o f his race and h u r l e d in to t h e c rowds of San

Francisco. In his b e w i l d e r m e n t a t t h e n u m b e r o f s imul taneous ly p resen t h u m a n

be ings (he h a d neve r before seen m o r e t h a n th i r ty o r forty toge the r ) , t h e on ly

exp lana t ion he c o u l d find was tha t all t h e dead w e r e p resen t a longside t h e l iving,

since i t was u n t h i n k a b l e tha t the gods c o u l d w a t c h over so m a n y existences a t once .

Ten dead p e o p l e for every l iving o n e seems a g o o d p r o p o r t i o n . As in t h e p r i m a l

forest o f T i e r r a del F u e g o for example , w h e r e t he re i s o n e l iv ing t ree to every t e n

dead ones . H e n c e t h e conc lu s ion that , i n t h e t h r o n g i n g met ropol i ses , n i n e o u t o f

t en h u m a n be ings are l iving dead, are zombie s . T h e i r physical appea rance i s d e c e p ­

tive, for t h e so-ca l led h u m a n be ings w h o no l o n g e r have any physical con t ac t

o t h e r t h a n t h r o u g h c rowds and n o h u m a n rela t ions o t h e r t h a n t h r o u g h c o m m u n i ­

cat ions are t ru ly v i r tua l corpses or ghosts . O n l y a few h u n d r e d or a few t h o u s a n d

pe rhaps m a i n t a i n a secret b o n d , t h e on ly l iv ing symbol i c cha in in this i m m e n s e ,

incapac i ta ted h u m a n g e n o m e .

T h e mi l l ions o f p e o p l e i n t h e streets s e e m to have n o t h i n g t o do b u t be a t t h e

cen t re of t h e w o r l d a n d h e a d off in all d i rec t ions , in a dispersal as spectacular as i t

i s useless. N o t h i n g else to do b u t m a k e N e w York exist in its useless, e ccen t r i c

f o rm. A city of t h e u t m o s t urgency, a o n c e - a n d - f o r - a l l city w i t h no t o m o r r o w -

ve ry far r e m o v e d f rom any d e m o c r a t i c f o r m o f r epresen ta t ion . I n N e w York t h e

p e o p l e represen t on ly themselves , n o t t h e rest o f society. T h e ci ty represents on ly

itself, n o t t h e rest of A m e r i c a . T h i s is w h a t gives it its global i m p o r t a n c e . It is a

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de tec to r , a sensor of prest ige; its c h a r m is to have t r ans fo rmed n o t on ly t h e rest of

the U n i t e d States, b u t the rest o f the w o r l d in to an i m m e n s e p rov ince (wh ich in no

way detracts f rom t h e c h a r m o f t h e provinces) .

T h e r e i s no social b o n d here , no conviviality, no col lect ive sent imental i ty , no

responsibi l i ty towards past or future. Y o u d o n ' t r e p r o d u c e in N e w York . I t isn't a

ci ty m a d e for r e p r o d u c i n g . Yet e v e r y t h i n g h a p p e n s here . H e n c e t h e f o r e b o d i n g o f

catas t rophe w h i c h hovers over the w h o l e city - t h o u g h i t is an upbea t sense of fore­

b o d i n g . D o w n in T ie r r a del Fuego , a t t he edges of the ear th , in t h e lonely Antarct ic

wastes, t he r e is a p o i g n a n t sense of na tura l ca tas t rophe, w h i c h reaches back to t i m e

i m m e m o r i a l , and of g e n o c i d e w h i c h dates f rom recen t history. A w o r l d devastated

by w i n d , ice, h u m a n p reda to r s , t he e x h a u s t i o n of earlier ages - a disaster c o n t i n u ­

i n g even now. A curse w h i c h t h e Fueg ians m a i n t a i n e d w i t h the i r o w n gods , w h e n

they h a d any (it is difficult for t h e gods to find a f oo tho ld in a pitiless wor ld , to

e m b o d y e l emen ta l power s w h i c h are themselves pitiless t o o n e a n o t h e r ) .

T h e sense of ca tas t rophe y o u ge t in N e w York i s qu i te different. I t i s t h e sense

of a vital catastrophe, of w h a t can e n d on ly in excess and prodigality. T h e m a x i m u m

i m m i n e n c e o f p resen t t i m e a n d h e n c e t h e exhaus t i on o f any future, o f any future

energy, w h i c h is ga the red i n t o a single instant , an absolute p resen t .

H a v i n g said this, we no d o u b t have a naive v i e w of energy. An en t rop i c view.

W h e r e a s ene rgy — t h e mi l lennia l e n e r g y o f t h e w i n d in Pa tagonia o r t h e e n e r g y o f

human i ty ' s w o r k i n g s - is doubt less inexhaus t ib le .

1 January 1996

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