This week (and next) I am going to wrap up my Audience Connections Class by grading their papers right here plus showing my gratitude for some recent experiences. Traveling today to Syracuse for concerts though, I couldn’t resist adding to Bill’s Airport Post. I say yes, a phenomenal idea and I think we don’t have to limit it to just airports……
Almost everyday we are held captive in some way by the reality of having to wait for something. It is not that I’m impatient (well we all have our moments), I just think that while captive we can still be set free in some way and that a random act of art might even make people glad for the wait. I have had this idea for a while, I am determined to make it happen one day soon:
Random Acts of Art
You are standing in line or waiting at the bank/DMV/INS/Post Office/Airport or pretty much anywhere. No one is saying much, it’s just that eternal wait with little or nothing to do, just a big nothing moment in which we are all too often held captive by. You notice over your shoulder someone has set up an easel and is scribbling away. You grow curious as this person keeps looking in your direction…you wonder if it is big brother! A short time later he or she comes over and hands you a sketch, an incredible likeness of you and those around you, plus a card that reads:
You have just received a Random Act of Art, It is yours to keep with my compliments, I hope it brightens your day, . if you want to see my other work here is how you can but no obligation…….
Arts organizations in any city could get together and come up with a city wide program that brings beauty and artistic expression to the many who are just standing around waiting for something. It could be a String Trio, a Comedian, a Vocal Group, Bell Choir, Actors, Dancers, pretty much any kind of artist or even a hands-on activity in a year round program of Random Acts of Art. It would be hard to be frustrated waiting if you are in the presence of something so unexpected, artistic and meaningful. I think that it should be a surprise (although it shouldn’t be to the business or agency itself!), and important that it’s not seen as an attempt to just sell tickets or to solicit for donations etc… Sincerely trying to bring beauty of expression to people because you don’t want them to feel frustrated will take care of that anyway because of the gratitude you will almost certainly receive. Simply tell them where they can find you and they probably will! That kind of personal connection with no expectation in return, will potentially turn someone from maybe being occasional patron into potentially being a lifelong friend! This idea could easily start at the college level.
The Joshua Bell experiment Bill mentioned was frustrating to me because it was not attempt to bring beauty but to try and prove a point, which in the end makes us in look bad and worse elitist by the implication that people didn’t stop because of disinterest. When you put a cup out and act as a busker, then many people wont stop because they will feel obligated to pay (less and less people actually carry cash now), plus which I’m sure most had to get to work or to appointments. If an orchestral musician in the National Symphony was on their way to a rehearsal, I am sure it would have been OK for them to stop to listen and be late to the rehearsal right? I don’t think so! Yet others who didn’t stop were criticized because they didn’t want to be late either. That is a double standard, hey but it’s all about standards right?
We should be going to the people on their terms, and not just expect them to come to us on our terms. Here at the Symphony we are doing something related to this idea. I will write about it in the Challenge = Opportunity series, but now that I have put it out there, I am going to try and make Random Acts of Art happen here in Springfield as soon as I can. Instead of the idea of “Paying it Forward”, it’s time we start “Playing it Forward!”