I realized, when I climbed inside a car yesterday, that it was the first time in six days that I had been inside a moving vehicle. At first, I thought that this shouldn’t seem odd at all, until I realized that, quite possibly, never in my adult life (since college) had I gone that length of time without getting into a car, a subway, a train, a bus, or onto a bicycle. I’m in the mountains of North Carolina and have been teaching, practicing, socializing with other faculty, and taking hikes – but all within the space of that which I could reach with my own two feet. I must say, there’s a kind of (ironic) freedom I’ve found in being released from our ready-to-go modes of ushering ourselves around the planet. A pattern of simplicity, attention to detail, and general sense of comfort in my own skin has ensued.
Getting into a car to drive into town, yesterday, felt fast; everything went by in a blur. I noticed a subtle sense of regret, as things sped by me, that I couldn’t stop and admire them more. I think we’re all generally resigned, or even inured, to this reality of our lives. Most of the Western world live in societies that “go” based on the basic premise of motorized transportation. I just read a statistic that the average American spends 90% of his/her lifetime inside buildings. I daresay that at least 8% of the remaining 10 are spent in modes of transportation. Maybe 2% of the day is spent outside (my guess). Well, if that’s our reality, the question that I would want to ask is: What effect does this have on the way we approach music and the arts?
I titled this blog “Arts and Entertainment” because that’s the name of one of the sections of the New York Times; it’s also an apt description of how we have become consumers of the Arts. Most Americans probably view music as either advertisement or entertainment. As such, it seems omnipresent. Small wonder, then, that so many people are oblivious to how distracting a lively conversation can be when it’s within three feet of a person making music (and how many countless times have I experienced that?). I’m not opposed to the idea of entertainment. We all need down time when we can be amused. The difficulty arises when I recognize that I, for one, did not develop my musical gifts so that I could be an entertainer. Entertainment implies passivity. But the Arts demand a response, a reaction. The power of the Arts, including the ability to be transformative, healing, challenging, even educational, is only partially employed when relegated to entertainment.
I began this little blog thinking about speed and modes of motorized transportation. I propose that being overwhelmed by sensory stimulation, brought about by speed of transport, is at least partially responsible for the diminution of the power and effectiveness of the Arts. But, given that transportation needs will not perceptibly change in the near future, I believe that all artists need to address their audiences about the subject of intentionality, active engagement with the art form they are encountering. What does the art bring to mind/heart? How does the art change one’s view about something or someone? Is the art experienced as beauty, and if so, how are we touched? Is the art transformative? Does it incite us to do something? Is it healing? Does it open an interior vision of the cosmos? Is there any way the audience can respond directly with the artist? If not, how does my immersion into beauty effect my civic awareness? (The subject of neuroesthetics tackles this very issue.)