What do you hear right now? This moment may be painted with the noise of daily life; the patter of a child's feet across the kitchen floor, the barking of a dog, the of song birds that welcome a new day breathe the harmony or discord of life. The noise of modernity is also punctuated by the chatter of a keypad that types thoughts to be let loose into the virtual world, the ear buds of an iPod drilling personal sounds into a detached listener, or the notifications of text messages or "updates" to a life lived through virtual interactions.
The 1936 film Modern Timeswritten and directed by Charles Chaplin shows the effect technology has on the factory worker clad in striped overalls, Chaplin's representation of the average citizen trying to fit into a world driven by mechanization. The eye of the film maker sees what society could not yet fathom; technology is an advanced state of chaos meant to ease life for those who dare step into the future.
The 2011 film The Artistdirected byMichael Hazanavicius is not a true "silent picture" in the classic representation of the genre. What I find ironic is the enormous crescendo each film makes in different spaces in time. The Artisttells the tale of an actor from an era of silent films who looses his voice as a representation of a time gone by. Has that time gone by, or is it now that is losing identity to the virtual world? How is humanity represented ~ by the technology it is using or the past that it longs to feel again in its simplicity.I long for simpler times technology relied on thoughts spoken words written, and the beauty of art that conveys a message. Did I agree or disagree, and was my opinion worthy of a voice.
Watching the Golden Globe Award Ceremony I am reminded that there are dreamers in the modern world. Filmmakers like Michael Hazanavicius make noise without words, and scream within the silence of technology. A dog barks, saves a life, and love triumphs against all odds. Are we returning to Modern Timeswhere happiness walks into the sunset? Love triumphs in art, and The Artist proves that in order to be heard sometimes the silence of classic cinematography, costumes, set design, lighting, and expressive acting leads Peppy Miller from the jail of love into the light of hope with her leading man. Life is a contrast of black and white, and it is the challenge of the audience to color their world.
I find it intriguing the embrace of the simple life that is being used to define the complexities of modern times. In my childhood a telephone that can be used to see the person on the other end of the line was a bit of science fiction to be ridiculed. My grandfather told stories of traveling from the east to settle in Wyoming, riding in a covered wagon. Innocence lost with the passing of mystery, has humanity exchanged childlike wonder for an apathetic perception tainted by some sense of righteous egomania?
Over the next few weeks I will be taking some time to comment on popular culture or what representation of the populace is being reflected in culture today. Let the discussion begin!
Thursday, January 5, 2012
An interesting question was posed to me a little while ago. What song was at the top of the charts when I was born. Being a child of the sixties it seemed that I was blessed with an array of sounds and feelings that changed a country preconceived ideas about culture. Musicians such as The Beatles, The Who, and The Rolling Stones helped pave the way for the original "indie" artists like Bob Dylan, blues rocker Janice Joplin, Jimi Hendricks just to start. Harmonies set to fly by artists such as Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young changed musical history on much the same level as the early blues musicians Slaves began to sing and generations later civil rights had the new "slaves" singing about peace and free love.
I have been observing the world culture lately as most of us have. One of the proven lessons that I learned while studying humanities in order to earn my (wait for it) B.S. Degree from Northern Arizona University is that social change is always prefaced by periods of incredible literature, art, and music. These can be broken down further to include movements such as surrealism or literature from poets like John Keats. Mary Shelly created a monster and published a novel in an era when women were slaves to the social constraints of propriety having no rights of their own. Women were slaves in a "civilized" bondage. Somehow I have digressed, as music is the focus today and the power of art on human culture.
The Caves at Lascaux in France were mentioned the other day. If you have not checked out the artwork left on the cave walls in France I suggest you do. I am humbled by the beauty of art in all forms. Human beings have always found an outlet in art. Periods of great change create the to experiment with new mediums and forms; new meaning is felt by those artists and musicians looking for a new voice all their own. With this thought in mind, what is on the horizon in the world today? Culture is driven by instant gratification either by the ability to be "aware" of all the mundane to sublime and incredible circumstances in individual lives. I saw first steps of an eleven month old baby on Facebook today brought to the world by the magic of Youtube. My first thought was would that child be able to read, or is that boy going to need to go back and crawl someday. Society seems in a hurry, to do what I am not sure, be there faster, and know more than their competitors. But is life really become a competition to get to the end first? The wireless generation is no longer attached to cords plugged in to a wall, or headphones plugged into a turntable. The moments blur together in an endless dance of the next best great thing. I want to slow down and wait for a modern day Monet or Michelangelo. What is the hurry in life anyway?
Here we are, back in the midst of change. Political shifts in power are being driven by a crumbling economy. There is no middle class in America today. I am excited to see the renaissance that will come of the inevitable destruction of our institutions and what beauty springs up out of the chaos.
ART AND ME by Lisa Whealy
It is a difficult thought, pondering the world and my life without art. Humanity would be silenced by the deafening sound of nothing; music of song, voice, and instrument would share the abyss with a lack of poetry’s limerick or literature’s voice. Colors which fill a painting would be absent in the blank that shared no glory or form, a palette of nothingness. Photographs would live eternal in the memories of yesterday, holding court with all the past moments in my life. In my world, art is a significant foundation of who I am as a person. Architecture crafted by Michelangelo or Falling Water that is art, my life is simply a reflection in the process of becoming alive.
As a child I was fascinated with music; play was melodic notes soaring from clarinet, piano, and oboe in pursuit of my own melody. Beyond swinging Goodman’s sound, blues colored a world of social contrast. Vision imported from international protest gave rise to crescendos of change affecting political art. Beatles, Bullocks and a Bullet in a Bible, every good boy deserves fun. Empty space filling silence with beauty artistically, balance and key craft revolutionary song. Vibration heard within a soul, this is the soundtrack of my life.
Art is life, passion, love, lust, colors undefined, seasons brimming with rain, and burning with sun. Art is something which defies definition, yet empowers all who experience the shades of its brilliance; whether liked or disliked, good art creates reaction. Masterpieces can be accidental, laborious, or a challenge among friends as was Mary Shelly’s monster. Ears that do not hear can create symphonies lasting through the ages resonating brilliance. For me to question what place art shares in my heart is to deny the very clay that has molded me into the woman I am.
Well so far the world has not ended in 2012, contrary to suspicions and fears. Nasa states that the theories proposed by Mayans are not true. Does it really take an authoritative institution to tell humanity what they can experience for ourselves? Fear is an odd state of being. It lives in the dark parts of our culture, growing on suspicion and ignorance into a force of incredible deception. Like lichens on the cave wall, the exposure to truth becomes the weapon that kills the mystery.
In today's culture is it possible to live without the gripping vice of fear? I know for me it can be a daily exercise in looking at the truth. According to the Mayans humanity has until December 21st of this year to figure out what is real fear or imagined suspicions. The Cave Paintings at Lascaux LascauxCave Painting View Cave Paintings allow individuals to walk in the world of the ancient civilizations. Dating back thousands of years, I note that the primary goal of early man was survival. Seeking shelter, food, and protection from rivals created a simple life. With this simple life the expression of being was the telling of stories through the medium of art. In my observation, does man create or wallow in fear of the unknown, paralyzed to do anything? What medium shares your stories or has our culture forgotten how to thrive the with the transmission of individual truth?
I am powerless over many circumstances in my life. My humanity holds me captive in many ways, and like many others I focus on food and shelter in order to find peace. So where are my cave paintings, the outlet that helps me stay centered in my memetic state of being? Lately I am disgusted by the disconnection of our culture from the roots of its being. Much of society is walking along through life with eyes on smart phones, ear buds in, disconnected from interactive reality. It is a wireless generation lost and separate. Technology has swallowed humanity in countless ways, making conversation a series of digital interactions through social media.
Wandering the cave paintings of Lascaux is a double edged sword as the Internet allows visitors from around the world to marvel at the ancient expression of life, preserving the fragile ecosystems in the dark. It also makes me long for a cup of coffee with friends at a cafe along the Seine, no smart devices other than the creativity of souls coming together to stop and talk, face to face. I would hate to see our culture smother like lichens on the cave walls of our minds.
Friderich Nietzsche stated that an artist has no home in Europe except Paris. I also know that as a culture it is time to get back into the cave, start painting life so the stories that are told do not need anything more than our minds and souls to transmit an image of our life.
Well so far the world has not ended in 2012, contrary to suspicions and fears. Nasa states that the theories proposed by Mayans are not true. Does it really take an authoritative institution to tell humanity what they can experience for ourselves? Fear is an odd state of being. It lives in the dark parts of our culture, growing on suspicion and ignorance into a force of incredible deception. Like lichens on the cave wall, the exposure to truth becomes the weapon that kills the mystery.
In today's culture is it possible to live without the gripping vice of fear? I know for me it can be a daily exercise in looking at the truth. According to the Mayans humanity has until December 21st of this year to figure out what is real fear or imagined suspicions. The Cave Paintings at Lascaux LascauxCave Painting View Cave Paintings allow individuals to walk in the world of the ancient civilizations. Dating back thousands of years, I note that the primary goal of early man was survival. Seeking shelter, food, and protection from rivals created a simple life. With this simple life the expression of being was the telling of stories through the medium of art. In my observation, does man create or wallow in fear of the unknown, paralyzed to do anything? What medium shares your stories or has our culture forgotten how to thrive the with the transmission of individual truth?
I am powerless over many circumstances in my life. My humanity holds me captive in many ways, and like many others I focus on food and shelter in order to find peace. So where are my cave paintings, the outlet that helps me stay centered in my memetic state of being? Lately I am disgusted by the disconnection of our culture from the roots of its being. Much of society is walking along through life with eyes on smart phones, ear buds in, disconnected from interactive reality. It is a wireless generation lost and separate. Technology has swallowed humanity in countless ways, making conversation a series of digital interactions through social media.
Wandering the cave paintings of Lascaux is a double edged sword as the Internet allows visitors from around the world to marvel at the ancient expression of life, preserving the fragile ecosystems in the dark. It also makes me long for a cup of coffee with friends at a cafe along the Seine, no smart devices other than the creativity of souls coming together to stop and talk, face to face. I would hate to see our culture smother like lichens on the cave walls of our minds.
Friderich Nietzsche stated that an artist has no home in Europe except Paris. I also know that as a culture it is time to get back into the cave, start painting life so the stories that are told do not need anything more than our minds and souls to transmit an image of our life.
How people feel about life is always a matter of expectation and perspective. Are my expectations realistic or unrealistic, and do I need to find a new perspective on an old idea? A Streetcar Named Desire written by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Tennessee Williams is driven by the desires present in 1940’s post-war America. Reality and insanity is brought about by the trauma of truth in all of the three main characters. Williams’ social statement about the power of memetic influence on culture and perception is still relevant today.
The power of a patriarchal structure and a protagonist that contains elements of both genders is significant as it gives voice to a cross section of American culture; all characters immigrate into the setting of the play from various socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. Strong use of metaphor and symbolism fuel the language of Williams’ play, and social relevance equates a sense of reality to relevant issues driving the characters and their actions. The desire for equality, reality, and the ability to be “real” in all aspects of life regardless of gender or sexuality drives the streetcar in Tennessee Williams’ play, and these desires still drive individuals, culture and society today.
I see a need for a perspective that is aware of the challenges presented in our world today. Truth can be very traumatic, especially when a person is unwilling to shed light on unrealistic expectations. Fear has become a safety net, the ever present catch all to keep individual paralysis the norm.How does fight or flight play into fear in the modern world? In my observations Fear has become the task master creating the illusion of control.
So what is next? I have spent the past twenty two years making a conscious choice to Iturn on the light and illuminate fear and dishonesty. Mark Twain stated "the fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time." Back to the question are you afraid to die or just afraid to live? Looking at life with a new set of glasses, filtering the unrealistic expectations of others makes personal happiness and peace as an achievable inside job. Tennessee Williams built a microcosm of dysfunction for the audience to see. Truth can be ugly. Truth can be elusive, slipping under cover of what keeps us unchanging.
Straight? What's 'straight'? A line can be straight, or a street. But the heart of a human being?
Welcome to the new year real or imagined individuals. After going on a recent rant regarding how individuals have ceased being, well, individuals I thought I might as well start there. In 2012 I am setting my goals high, that is to say that there will be an overwhelming tide of human beings that want to make the world a better place for all of us to live. Take this in any context you see fit, we can get into that discussion as we get to know each other.
Sad to say I think many people have lost their way, and many of those individuals will have NO IDEA that only through creating a life of personal integrity will this concept transcend from the individual into the family, neighborhood, community, and well you get my drift. Feel free to argue or agree. I challenge you to think and to help me do the same.
The Dalai Lama stated that today, more than ever before, life must be characterized by a sense of Universal responsibility, not only nation to nation and human to human, but also human to other forms of life The key word that I see is UNIVERSAL which by definition deletes a hierarchy based on anything other than genetics. We are all human, each beginning life as a baby in need of others to help us thrive.
For some odd reason with the rise of democracy world wide I have noticed a rise in personal apathy. Institutionalization of thought process has permeated our culture in America. Economics are in an incestuous relationship with Politics and Education, making baby MBA's. Our country is crawling on its knees. Read about this all the time you say, that is if the glut of information has not tuned you out? My responsibility as a member of the human race is to embrace life, express my personal truth, and hope that others out there in the universe feel the same as me. Time to quit crawling and rise together.
