You All Need To Read This!

[nyquest]

For anyone interested in culture, music, art, urban life and the current state of the human species might be interested in this.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html

Comments

Re: wow this got long!

[nyquest]

What struck me about the article was not the analysis into how people ignored with because they're busy, which is an effect of our society, but when the article goes into context. To answer your question, I think if this happened on a sunny Saturday in a park or square the reaction would be the worst case scenarios that the reporters feared. As a designer/artist it made me step back and look at my own work and the role context plays in it, especially in theatre where context is the heart of the moment as it were because we are playing off of people's perception of context to tell a story.

The other thing that struck me was how all of the children wanted to stop and listen, which made sense on the surface, they're not caught up in the world their parents are yet. What intrigued me about this was that it was fairly obvious that the children were drawn to the music, but the adults weren't. So at what point is this "want for music" as it were conditioned out of us? There's an educator named Ken Robinson that has some interesting ideas on this point, which I should go dig up.

Re: wow this got long!

[sylphbranching]

Huh, interesting. I don't really think the "want for music" is conditioned out of us -- look at the amount of time people spend in their headphones. But I think, it's true, kids don't have a lot else on their minds and so they are freer to look at their surroundings, while adults tend to get stuck in the cerebral abstract world in their heads and filter or forget what's around them. But I've noticed that when people are more relaxed, they are more likely to focus on and interact with the world around them. So my estimate would be that in a park on a Saturday, more people would stop and watch. At least, I've noticed that happen in other places, in urban and suburban areas.
Anyway I haven't heard of Ken Robinson but I'd be interested to hear his ideas.
:)

Re: wow this got long!

[leers]

A bit late posting but you know how I roll, ;) First, this article was amazing. I've forwarded it to a few friends who were also very impressed. I tend to lean towards the judgment and interpretation of the author. People, including myself, frequently spend significant portions of our life not aware of the present moment. It also seems that even many people who are "art" people are also, to a large extent, out of touch with "the point" of art. But my first thought as I was reading the article was damn, I picked the wrong time not to be riding the DC subway. I've been through that stop many times. I should buy the violinist's CD.