telephone art

It’s true that anyone can be an artist. Of course it can be argued, and I wouldn’t be able to pick a side, that anything with an expression is art. But what about instructed art? Where some person, or some people, are given an idea – with parameters of course – and told to create it. I would say that’s still art. 

Think about it. Take a few moments away from this blog before you continue so really develop a position.

In my opinion, it’s art. The artist receives instructions from their creative mind anyway. The only difference seems to be that instead of the artist’s mind to the artist, it’s the artist’s mind to the artist to whomever decides to act upon the instructions. It’s almost like the game telephone but with art. 

I first received my taste for this type of art from a trip to Mass MOCA (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art). There was much dedication to the artist Sol LeWitt – an artist who wrote instructions for 2D and 3D art. Mainly they were calculated lines and shape, but ambiguous enough where whoever was recreating the art could personalize it. Oone such piece would be, “5 lines, 6 inches apart, shades of blue, red, green.” There’s a lot of room for such a piece. First, there’s no length or direction to the lines. It could have the span of a vehicle, or of Dostoevsky’s the Idiot. And it never says how the lines are stacked: vertically? horizontally? diagonally? Even with the boundaries the artist has set, there’s still so much creative control. 

 

This comes up because my college, Ithaca College has a very similar display of art going on. I’ve seen a piece where there were 100 red items placed within their separate boxes separated by red tape. A piece where a favorite book, they chose the Catcher in the Rye, was to be recreated larger – I forget the actual dimensions – with different colored markers placed adjacent so during the gallery, people could highlight, underline, cross out, or add little drawings. There was actually one spot where in order to enter the other side, you had to hum a tune before you approached the (because I can’t think of the word I want) worker working the entry way.

And even out of the Handwerker Gallery, there were places all over the campus with instructions. I saw a place with two paddles, paddle A and paddle B, and you have to kill bugs by smacking the two paddles together. Perhaps the most popular was a wishing tree. People wrote wishes on little slips of paper and tied them to leaves. There were so many, it was as if autumn didn’t apply to that tree because the wishes caused the leaves to stay.

If I had a working camera – first world problem – I wouldn’t have flooded this blog, but there would be enough for you, my audience, to get a better idea of what I’ve been going on about. It’s one thing to read about art like this. Without being able to see it, there’s more room to cast doubt. That’s why I wanted you to take those moments to really think about what I was saying. I honestly didn’t even make up my mind that this was art until I started writing this. I accepted it as art because I was told it was. Now I accept it as art because I’ve witnessed it. I didn’t participate in any of them. There was no reason for me to or not to. I’m an artist yes, but, I also like to be part of the audience too.

Why We Need Music?

I do agree that the world needs music. I mentioned in an earlier post that I used to play an instrument, clarinet and bass clarinet. But, because I was so young, I don’t really remember how much of an impact it made on me. But, if I were to think now, music does impact me now. 

It helps to connect with the world. Every day, conversations occur, as well as interactions, but, many times feelings and deep thoughts are not included. Art is a way to express oneself. Music, allows that to happen abstractly and concretely. I’m not saying music is the dominant art, but, I am saying music is probably the most dominant art form in people’s everyday life. 

Music is everywhere; attract crowds, workout buddy, provoking contemporary thoughts.

And, I even feel like with the many genres, a lot of music is really saying the same thing. Personally, I’m a hip hop fan. I enjoy the way lyricism reacts fluidly with the beat. The lyrics are for the mind to digest, while the beat causes a reaction to the body...

But, aside from that sort of talk. I think music is different for everyone. Of course there will be similarities but, none to much to be identical. For some, music is educational; soothing; expressive; knowledgeable.  I don't believe this is one of those topics where I can endlessly talk about with myself. We need discussion as much as music is needed...

Ok... Allow me to imagine life without music. Instead of music pouring in my ears during walks or workouts, my mind would be overrun with thoughts. Thoughts would be everywhere. Poetry would still exist, but, would the rhythm still be alive? What about dance? Music is connected to so many things, to contradict myself, I would need hundreds or thousands of pages to expound.

Audience Member, again

The other night I sat in an audience, and reflected on what it meant to be Black in America now. That night I was sitting in an audience full of other college students and family members, tuned into Anna Deavere Smith's Fires in the Mirror. For those that don’t know, it covers the opposing perspectives between the Black community and Jewish community in Brooklyn, New York. The young black boy, killed by a Jewish driver, and the young Jewish student killed by young Black adults. 

Watching the play, you could see how these two different communities disliked each other, but also, curious. The beginning doesn’t really cover the two killings but, how life is like living closely together or, just how life is being them. It’s almost like two different worlds in that one neighborhood. The play uses that with one set. There were some props: benches, table, streetlight memorial where the child had died. And those props were interacted with by every character – Jewish or Black. I believe this to be one of the Director’s decisions (I wish I had a program but, when you’re late you lose out). In the original play, Smith has each character in their natural habitat. By choosing to change the setting, the Director has brought the characters, indirectly, together in the center of the conflict.

 

Another way they’re brought together is that some characters, from both sides, bring items to place down in the memorial. The first killing that sparked the riots, the characters seemed to forget about the loathing and hatred and were consumed by much melancholy. The play is supposed to be intense. But, which set of emotions are supposed to be the dominant? That’s any critics’ decision, and it seemed the Director wanted to play up the sadness. The biggest contribution and change made, I’d have to say, would be the ending. The majority of the characters come on set with lit candles, standing in front of the memorial. Everyone has come together, in mourning. While they seem to be mourning the death, I think that the Director also had in mind the mourning of how their communities could never seem to interact with each other positively. I think that scene was meant to invoke a sort of hope into the audience. Despite all the disparaging that happened within the play, at the end, there can be events, hopefully not as devastating, that can bring enemies together.

Seeing this play was, for me, another glimpse at Black history - a lot of negative emotion in it. Back in Springfield, I probably have heard of Smith. Some of the names mentioned in the play, I know about. If watching the play wasn't a requirement for a seminar, there's actually a good chance I would have gone on my own. I've seen many plays where Black people are tied to social conflicts. This past year, I saw Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison's masterpiece remade into a play that was as captivating as the novel itself. I want to keep up on my history and see the hidden struggles. I'm happy this was the first play I saw as a college student