Working on the "Right" side...
We have shifted our time to meet from the glorious middle of the day to the dawning of the new day. This change to the AMs has made it possible for our once absent brothers to return to our fold, and we rejoice....ok...enough of the sappiness.
So we started our early morning discussion with a brief look at the Village Voice's recent article on The King's College (check out the cover at this link http://www.villagevoice.com/home/index.php?page=toc and the article at this one http://www.villagevoice.com/arts/0615,aviv,72805,12.html). It was a rather positive article for The Village Voice, especially as it is reporting on a conservative institution. Mako posed the question as to whether King's would have a The Village Voice "stand" for distribution at the college...most of us thought not, but then there are surprises in life. Kirk, mentioned that they only had majors in business and politics...or what they call "PPE"...but that they have failed to engage the artistisc realm which launched us into our next topic.
A recent book by Daniel Pink (www.danpink.com
Peace,
Kirk, Mako, Kevin, Bryan, and Ryann...
So we started our early morning discussion with a brief look at the Village Voice's recent article on The King's College (check out the cover at this link http://www.villagevoice.com/home/index.php?page=toc and the article at this one http://www.villagevoice.com/arts/0615,aviv,72805,12.html). It was a rather positive article for The Village Voice, especially as it is reporting on a conservative institution. Mako posed the question as to whether King's would have a The Village Voice "stand" for distribution at the college...most of us thought not, but then there are surprises in life. Kirk, mentioned that they only had majors in business and politics...or what they call "PPE"...but that they have failed to engage the artistisc realm which launched us into our next topic.
A recent book by Daniel Pink (www.danpink.com
Peace,
Kirk, Mako, Kevin, Bryan, and Ryann...
posted by Barnabas NYC | 10:24 AM
4 Comments:
Is this persuit for more artistically driven individuals a function of the need to make everything as adorable and user-friendly as the iPod? Or is it the result of the horrid glut of information our culture is now saturated with, and the ever-present need to have individuals who can quickly process that information and turn it in to slick looking websites, sleek product designs, and ergonomic solutions for life's problems?
Oh, and the whole "right brain/left brain" distinction is a bit outdated. We just stick to calling people "artistic" or "mechanically inclined" now in the realm of neuroscience. ;)
Are you commenting on the King's thing of shying away from artistic pursuits, at least academically? If so, I think this is more an issue as to where a person thinks real and predominant influence in our culture resides. Does it reside in the halls of Capitol Hill, in the Stock Exchange, or in the bohemian studios of the artist?
I lean toward the latter.
As for the Left brain right brain thing...Pink actually uses the phrases "L-Directed thinking" and "R-Directed thinking"...becaue no one ever only operates solely out of one side of the brain.
Ah, I see what you're saying now about the left-right thinking thing.
As for the seat of influence over the culture - if the influence rests more in the bohemian studios of the artist, that leaves us with the problem of what influences the artist. From where do they draw the inspiration for their work that goes on to inspire and influence the rest of our culture? Could it be that they themselves are influenced by the goings on of Capitol Hill and the Stock Exchange? I tend to think so, particularly in the case of politically charged art. In that situation, no one group influences the other more - they all take part equally in a web of influence where each impacts the other.
Now, as to which party the general public is most influenced by... well, that's a matter of who has the best avenue for communication. In this case, it would probably be the artist in his or her bohemian studio, as they are the most accessible (literally and figuratively) to the general public by virtue of the fact that they are entertaining.
But then, you get in to the problem of what happens when artists are hired by politicians and businessmen. In that situation, one has to wonder if it is the artist doing the influencing, or if the artist has become just another extension of the political (or corporate) vheicle of communication, thereby improving their influence on the general public. I suppose that in that case, it may just depend on the artist.
Ezra Pound said that the artists are the antennae of the race. I think he was on to something.
Now certainly they do not sit in environmental vacuums but I think at least in the church and other Christian institutions, artists have not been valued for this...to the churches detriment.
However, this is changing. At least that's what we see here in NYC.
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