Previous to it, try next time to meet the artist at the place he or she is working. If you expect paradise and they don’t play it that way, ask yourself, why did he do that? I think he did it because Johnson wanted to show us a Hawaii we don’t know–a place where people do not feel it is paradise, where they’re alienated, disenfranchised, cheated. Where it doesn’t feel like a day in heaven.

And with the blurring, also, ask yourself, why is he making it hard here? Is he hiding something? Is he trying to tell me these things turn into each other? Is he saying something about the place these forces meet, or the time? Push against the confusion and see if there’s something in there. Don’t just imagine it’s a failure, in other words, even if you’re disappointed. Try to see what the work is saying, even if you don’t like the work or what is being said.