Spitting in the Wind

Sometimes when teaching my class I have my doubts. Am I the only one that thinks this  material is important? I’ll mention books in class that none of my students have heard of, then the next day find them on a list of important books that the Library of Congress has put together. When I first asked my class about Twitter, no one had heard of it. Now Twitter has half a billion users, including many of the students I teach. For years I have been showing the films of George Melies in class, then Martin Scorsese creates the movie “Hugo” and wins five Oscars.  I’ve been showing the photographs of Lewis Hines in my class for several years now. I came across this item from CBS. It made my hair stand on end.

Wonderful Video Contest

Here is a link to a page that combines two of my favorites – indie music and videos. http://saidthegramophone.com/contest_winners.php

It seems like such a great idea. Perhaps there could be a cable channel devoted to nothing but music & videos. My favorites are the ones that show why technology and money are never the limiting factors. You can do whatever you can imagine.

No Boundaries

When I was a young lad I thought art was something you went to a museum to see. It hung on a wall in a frame, or perhaps as statue on a pedestal. Then one day I opened a magazine and saw a picture like the one above. I had heard a description of "Running Fence" and thought "give me a break - that's not art". Then I saw the pictures. It was a life changing experience. For me, it removed so many boundaries of what art could be, but also the boundaries of what I could be. The act of viewing this picture gave me permission to be creative. I found out the artists name were Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Their website describes their work as "temporary large scale environmental works that include elements of painting, sculpture architecture and urban planning". I would describe their work as surprising, lyrical and powerful.

I've been lucky enough to see one of their works in person. In 2005 I drove to New York City in a blinding snow storm to see "The Gates". Here was a work of art so powerful that it made jaded New Yorkers behave nicely towards tourists. You can see that work at Christo's and Jeanne-Claude's website. The Smithsonian American Art Museum is currently holding an exhibition entitled "Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Remembering the Running Fence". The exhibit ends September 26th, 2010. While it is not the same as seeing the work in person, it is probably the next best thing. Go.