Comments | nyquest: You All Need To Read This!

nyquest

You All Need To Read This!

Apr 18, 2007 10:27

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

links

Comments 5

elfgirlmccue April 18 2007, 18:14:52 UTC

...wow.

wow this got long! sylphbranching April 18 2007, 22:39:57 UTC

I generally like the Washington Post and they've done a pretty lengthy discussion here, but I'm sort of disappointed in their analysis. The findings don't surprise me one bit. In our culture, we're bombarded with information and multimedia -- ads, music, video, flashy lights and signs, and people -- and so it's natural we have to filter it and focus on our individual priorities, such as getting to work on time. To cast the reaction in the light that somehow people have no taste or culture is a tad ridiculous. I'd really like to see some sociologists go at this piece and start analysing the event. For the first thing, classical music isn't that popular, and often provides a backdrop in public places, so we're conditioned to tune out, and train stations are loud whether there's music or not. They're not fun places to just hang out, generally speaking. They're dirty, they stink, and music is like any art form -- there's a time and place for everything. People who pay 100 bucks a ticket to see this guy perform aren't just paying ( ... )

Re: wow this got long! nyquest April 19 2007, 03:32:51 UTC

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 ( ... )

Re: wow this got long! sylphbranching April 19 2007, 04:20:20 UTC

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 May 7 2007, 15:43:50 UTC

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.