In 2016, a robotic arm was installed at the Guggenheim museum in New York as an art piece by Sun Yuan & Peng Yu. The art piece entitled ‘Can’t Help Myself’ was (incorrectly) interpreted by many to reflect the struggles we have as humans to survive. This interpretation was built on a story about the piece that isn’t accurate, but compelling nevertheless and, this is art after all, so what it ‘means’ is up to the viewer, right?
The following is the viral internet story behind this art piece (the false narrative and interpretation).
The arm was commissioned in 2016. It began life with a full tank of hydraulic fluid. The robot can only function with hydraulic fluid in its tank. This is the machine’s life blood. The robot likes to dance and perform to the public and initially, in its youth, it would dance regularly, however the more it danced, the more fluid it would lose.
Fortunately, the robot was blessed with a scraper attachment on the end of its arm, so when it lost fluid over the ground around itself, it could frantically scrape the fluid back into its tank.
As the years passed by, the dancing became less, and its struggle to stay alive took up most of its time, finally in 2021, the robot was out of time. Its lifeblood was all gone, and it ceased to function.
The robot was an internet sensation.
Social media saw thousands of comments mourning over the end of this robot’s life, such as this one:
“Many years later… (as you see it now in the video) it looks tired and hopeless as there isn’t enough time to dance anymore.. It now only has enough time to try to keep itself alive as the amount of leaked hydraulic fluid became unmanageable as the spill grew over time. Living its last days in a never-ending cycle between sustaining life and simultaneously bleeding out… (Figuratively and literally as its hydraulic fluid was purposefully made to look like it’s actual blood).”The robot arm finally ran out of hydraulic fluid in 2019, slowly came to a halt and died – And I am now tearing up over a friggin robot arm It was programmed to live out this fate and no matter what it did or how hard it tried, there was no escaping it. Spectators watched as it slowly bled out until the day that it ceased to move forever. Saying that ‘this resonates’ doesn’t even do it justice imo. Created by Sun Yuan & Peng Yu, they named the piece, ‘Can’t Help Myself’. What a masterpiece. What a message.”
While this interpretation was not the artist’s intention, it is very powerful nevertheless. As one YouTube comment said:
“Endlessly cleaning up the pieces of yourself while you continue to fall apart, isolated and alone, as everyone watches you, refusing to do anything other than use you for entertainment. An outstanding art piece.”
The reality for so many is not dissimilar to that of this robot arm, commissioned(born) , learning the joys of the world, as free as a bird to dance and play, but as time goes on, the time for play dwindles and the struggle for survival becomes life’s main chore, life’s only purpose.
Society has made prisoners of us all, kept chained to our own perception of what it is to survive. The struggle for money, the struggle for perceived success and social acceptance, the struggle to be normal, to be popular, to be something you feel you ought to be rather than want to be. We live in a time where the basic necessities of life have become a daily struggle to provide.
From as young as four years old, still very much emotionally dependent on our parents, we are pulled from their arms and sent to a strange place with hundreds of other children all equally distressed and emotionally upended. A complete stranger then teaches us how to become a good and obedient citizen in society. This process continues for over 70% of your waking life until the age of at least 16.
Once school has adequately conditioned us and popped us out the other side, it is time for the real struggles to begin. In order to maintain shelter and find food, you will need to work every waking hour in a job you may or may not like (probably not so much).
As the years pass by, the responsibilities will grow, children, grandchildren, health problems ect., and so the struggle for survival will become more frantic until finally you die. The cycle then repeats with your children, and your children’s children.
I ask you, is this really living the best life you can?
How much of the struggle is real, and how much is a conditioned perception of the need to struggle?
Also, and this may be the key, are we approaching the term ‘struggle’ from the wrong side?
Humans strive for success, innovation and victory. We are beings who delight in the wonder and experience of new things. We thrive on success and achievement and therefore the act of struggling can be hugely beneficial, if we focus it correctly.
If we detach from this idea that we need to struggle to survive, but more that we ‘should’ struggle to thrive, then suddenly, the act becomes more of a positive action.
A consequence from our struggle and subsequent thriving is of course surviving, but rather than approaching hard work and struggle with the goal of survival, try to approach it from a place of positivity and the goal being for you to better your life.
It is often said that in order to be truly successful, you must hit rock bottom first. The term ‘Rock Bottom’ is a relative term depending on the individual, but ultimately it is the same place for all of us. A place in total opposition to where you were before. Maybe that’s going from being happily married with children, a job, a nice house to having a messy divorce, losing the house and access to your children. Or maybe you made a million, were set for life and then lost it all… (the story of my life!),
Losing everything can be a blessing. What it teaches us is worth far more than anything you could have ever lost (of course, there are a few tragic exceptions to this).
It is true, life is a struggle - but it does not have to be a futile or painful struggle. Be the best that you can be, strive for better, struggle onwards and upwards regardless of what the world throws at you.
They have built an illusion of a cage and chains around us, but for the large part, they are just that ‘an illusion’. Embrace the struggle, rename the struggle if you have to. I prefer ‘strive’, “I strive to do better, live better and be better than what I am today”. That should always be our goal. If you end today without more wisdom than the day before, you are doing something seriously wrong. With the exception of being sedated in solitary confinement, there is no excuse for this.
So, going back to our now deceased robot arm, the world looked upon this art piece as a devastating reflection of ourselves and society. The ever-growing need to struggle to survive in an existence which inevitably results in death. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Unlike our poor robot, friend, we have the mental and physical capacity to prevent the same struggle the robot went through by simply building a system that ensures the fluid could be permanently retained, freeing up our time to dance as much as we want.
Equally, we can work towards something that in our future will free up our time so we can work less and play more. Whether we do this by downgrading our living expectations and lifestyle, or finding ways to earn more money or indeed both, is up to the individual. But my point is it doesn’t need to be a futile struggle to the death. That is a choice you make, a mindset you’ve decided to do nothing about.
**For those that are interested, you can find the real story behind the ‘Cant help myself’ art piece **++here++
The intended message behind it is a great topic for another time.