June 20, 2011

False Landscape

Natural History Museum: before time there was only beauty

Natural History Museum: Pre-historic Insects and Plants

Art

May 17, 2011

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Entwine!!!!!

The live performance

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150248719398993.364827.173786133992&l=571bc9ec36

Art

May 16, 2011

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This past Sunday we had a dress / on-site rehearsal for Entwine! It was a beautiful day albeit windy and I really got to see what elements the masks can (or cannot) stand up to so far. I also got to see how the performance impacts passerby and picnickers enjoying the sun and warm weather. I became aware of how street performance and art are so very different from entertainment. People who wanted to stay around the Labyrinth area, either having the time or just wanted to soak up as much sun as possible, stayed for most of our rehearsal, sitting on benches or talking on their phones. People who were coming by would stop for a while but soon walk on when they got bored or wanted to move to their next activity. I found that when people did this, I felt some sense of loss or frustration. I did not want people to be bored by what I was doing. I felt like I had failed in some way. When I pointed out people’s reactions to the performance at our meeting at the end, one of the girls stated that we as the artists were not going to be concnerned or bothered by short attention spans.

It was freeing to accept this. People are always looking for instant gratification because they are always getting it. Especially in an area like Georgetown where entertainment, shopping, and other recreation provide vast and diverse forms of instant gratification for people to take advantage of, patrons of the neighborhood come to be entertained. But art is not made for that. Perhaps that is what distinguishes art from entertainment, retail, and design: it is slow. Engaging with art and appreciating it requires patience and the sacrifice of personal time. Many people, myself sometimes included, are often not willing to give our time and energy to appreciate and learn from the things we encounter. And why should we feel this way? If we move on we are guarunteed to find pleasure at our fingertips somewhere else. But I am glad that art is slow. If you are willing to engage you will see things you did not notice before. And you will gain new perspective on your ideas. It will save you from the hold that instant pleasure and cheap rewards have on all of us.

Here are some photos of our rehearsal at the site! As much as I value our thought-provoking and engaging art piece, these photos are pretty instantly gratifying Check it out!

Art

April 20, 2011

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Collective Unconscious

Working on the labyrinth project has made me think more openly about this idea. Moving through the journey of the maze…even though you cannot always see your fellow journeyers, you are all on the same path. Or perhaps living in the city and depending on public transportatoin helped me first notice it, but I can’t shake the feeling that people are angry – and all at the same time. Perhaps angry is not the right word. Perhaps it’s disturbed. I’ve seen more people – strangers – get into verbal arguments over nothing over the past month or so than I have in the past year. Not to mention everywhere I turn in the world news is mass destruction, natural disasters and general chaos; there’s also so much local disruption. Brutally violent and positively distressing events everywhere you turn. They’re not accidents and they’re not over money or power. Or perhaps if there were money issues involved they were disproportionate to the crimes commited. It’s like there is some sort of collective or contagious disturbance of the mind. It’s true that we live in very uncertain times. People can’t get jobs, pay their rent or their bills. People cannot get proper mental health care, we are fighting wars and engaging in “humanitarian efforts” that cost us our lives and our sanity. We are quickly running out of energy and natural resources. When you list and consider all of these things, our world right now is truly precarious.

But there’s always something we can do. Good will, compassion and awareness are not blessed to certain individuals or awarded certain groups. These things must be actively desired and sought out. Goodness is an action and not a feeling. If you are not spiritual, perhaps it sounds overly-zen to accept the idea of minds moving together, or forces of good and evil at work in the physical world. But I think the sooner we acknowledge this possibility, the better. Good fortune is not going to save your mind from anxiety and it will surely overlook your struggling next door neighbor who is dealing with eviction or unemployment. So will the government. Pray for our leaders and be involved in legislation, but don’t forget to take care of your own mind. Then let any small amount of positivity, energy and generosity flow freely in all that you do.