farmdoc's blog post number 652

Wikipedia says ‘Life imitating art’ is the reverse of the normal process whereby art is made to resemble life; and though the concept derives from an Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) aphorism ‘Life imitates art far more than art imitates life’, Wilde follows Ovid (43 BCE-18 CE) who in a poem depicts a scene where ‘Nature in her genius had imitated art’. In the TV series Mad Men, there’s one character named Herman (i.e. Herman ‘Duck’ Phillips) and another character with a double life (Don Draper/Dick Whitman – pictured) and consequent, or at least associated, sexual adventurism. That’s art. The real life equivalent began to play out early last week with the disappearance of Melbourne businessman Herman Rockefeller. By week’s end, revelations were emerging of Rockefeller’s parallel double life of, you guessed it, sexual adventurism. I haven’t closely followed the unfolding Rockefeller saga. But from the first moment I heard of it, I knew he was dead. Sweetheart Vivienne, on the other hand, has been more fascinated by it. Perhaps that’s due to her criminology training; or perhaps by her artist’s fascination with the quirks of personality; or likely by both. Whilst the full story of Rockefeller’s demise isn’t yet public, it’s already clear its ingredients include money, pseudo-respectability, sex and murder. Which makes it simultaneously lurid and tawdry – and thus compellingly irresistible. Me? I’m content to get my kicks by watching Mad Men.