Monday, April 09, 2007
There Is Beauty All Around
I don't usually write blog posts about articles I read like some people, but today I read an article that really made me think, so I have to share. Here's the link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html#video1
This is an article about a social/musical experiment the Washington Post carried out. They convinced Joshua Bell, one of the foremost violinists in the world, to take his 1713 Stradivarius violin to the L'Enfant Plaza metro station in DC and play some of the most beautiful music in the world for tips, just to see what would happen. As you can read for yourself, only a handful of the hundreds of people who walked past him even seemed to notice, and he only made $32 in 45 minutes.
I particularly was struck by the portion of the article that points out how context means a lot in art. One of the greatest violinists in the world struggles to get people to even notice he's there when you stick him in a metro station. A million-dollar work of art might sell for $150 off the wall of a local cafe. Obviously, then, part of what we value about art isn't just the artwork itself, but the context in which the artwork is found. We pay hundreds of dollars to hear Joshua Bell perform partly because we get to go to the symphony hall and say we heard him perform.
But the fact of the matter is that there is great art and great beauty all around us. As I read the article about the violin experiment, I wondered whether I, a self-described music connoisseur, would have noticed the music, or stopped to listen. I usually do notice when I hear musicians outside of my metro stop, but I never stop and listen. Is it because I truly don't think the art is worth my time, or because I'm hurrying off on my way to work? Honestly, I doubt I would have stopped to listen to Bell. What else am I missing? What else is going on around me that, if you put it in a somewhat more formal or more costly environment, would be easily recognizable as high art? What am I hearing or seeing or even tasting that is a high-level sensory experience, but that I don't recognize because I'm not paying attention, or because I don't expect such an experience in such a context?
The message I take away is: stop to smell the roses. Fairly literally. I need to stop more often. Pay attention to the beauty around me, whether it be musicians in the metro, a well-made TV commercial, or the shape of a leaf. As you read about all the people who passed by Joshua Bell, not knowing what they were ignoring, you feel a sort of pity for them. I don't want that to happen to me on a regular basis.
This is an article about a social/musical experiment the Washington Post carried out. They convinced Joshua Bell, one of the foremost violinists in the world, to take his 1713 Stradivarius violin to the L'Enfant Plaza metro station in DC and play some of the most beautiful music in the world for tips, just to see what would happen. As you can read for yourself, only a handful of the hundreds of people who walked past him even seemed to notice, and he only made $32 in 45 minutes.
I particularly was struck by the portion of the article that points out how context means a lot in art. One of the greatest violinists in the world struggles to get people to even notice he's there when you stick him in a metro station. A million-dollar work of art might sell for $150 off the wall of a local cafe. Obviously, then, part of what we value about art isn't just the artwork itself, but the context in which the artwork is found. We pay hundreds of dollars to hear Joshua Bell perform partly because we get to go to the symphony hall and say we heard him perform.
But the fact of the matter is that there is great art and great beauty all around us. As I read the article about the violin experiment, I wondered whether I, a self-described music connoisseur, would have noticed the music, or stopped to listen. I usually do notice when I hear musicians outside of my metro stop, but I never stop and listen. Is it because I truly don't think the art is worth my time, or because I'm hurrying off on my way to work? Honestly, I doubt I would have stopped to listen to Bell. What else am I missing? What else is going on around me that, if you put it in a somewhat more formal or more costly environment, would be easily recognizable as high art? What am I hearing or seeing or even tasting that is a high-level sensory experience, but that I don't recognize because I'm not paying attention, or because I don't expect such an experience in such a context?
The message I take away is: stop to smell the roses. Fairly literally. I need to stop more often. Pay attention to the beauty around me, whether it be musicians in the metro, a well-made TV commercial, or the shape of a leaf. As you read about all the people who passed by Joshua Bell, not knowing what they were ignoring, you feel a sort of pity for them. I don't want that to happen to me on a regular basis.
Comments:
Oh my gosh! That experiment & Post article are astounding. I'm glad I read that & could think about that. But I have to say I blame the anal-retentive East Coast for turning people into these unfriendly, in-a-hurry, grumpy, career/work/money-oriented people that couldn't even listen to the world's greatest violinist! I just have a feeling that in a location with a slower pace of life, there would have been a crowd. I remember standing on a balcony in Nordstrom with my best friends when I was a teenager in California listening to the live piano player & stopping to enjoy it. We were the only "audience," but when it was done we clapped. When Ferris Bueller's Day Off came out in theaters in CA, during the parade scene, people actually got up and danced in the movie theater. You know, I enjoy DC for different reasons, but at times you just want to trade that for a lifestyle where you might dance in a movie theater or (gasp!) watch a street performer! I hate what the DC area has turned me into. I won't even let Eli look at ants or flowers if we are headed somewhere. Anyway, thanks for the link to the article. I hope that it makes us more aware.
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