Incredible, But NOT Impossible

Despite my aversion to internet hyperbole, I watched this particular posting of the runner-up dance troupe at the Vibe XIX 2014 competition. I'd seen friend after friend post it and caved. After all, it was dance, which is something I enjoy watching, thanks to my parents' influence. Different sites had different hyperbolic statements, usually alluding to superhuman or impossible. The routine is tight. The dancers are strong and the synchronization is top-notch. The secret?

They are neither superhuman nor impossible. The only secret is that they are human and many things are indeed possible.

This is what happens when you have a group of people passionate about one thing. It would not work if each of the people did not have this thing in common that they prized greatly. This is the result of artists working in concert with each other. This is rehearsal. This is practice. This is trial-and-error. This is putting down the video game or hurrying home from school or the McJob because you don't want to be late for practice. This is picking yourself up over and over again. This is result of countless meals of nothing but love-work-and-sacrifice sandwiches. This is doing it "just one more time" when someone in charge tells you, "No. That's not it. Do it again."

This is what happens when a group of somebodies chooses a passion over a soul-crushing rat race. The reaction of the people who watch is part of the payment: the feeling that onlookers are left carrying with them that may hopefully inspire them to pursue a passion instead of caving to fear or an idea of propriety. This is only one reward of The Arts.

There may be no money. There may be no fame. But recognition for the results of the work and the impact on the public is the biggest payoff. I should not blame people for their inability to convey the impact this had on their blown minds, but rather laud/applaud the work and hope that it shakes some people up to pursue a passion and thereby make the world all the richer for it.

WAMA: Awards Shows and Art

I have not seen the most recent Oscar Awards. I only saw friends' posts and live tweets and the video of Shirley Bassey singing "Goldfinger" (a must-see event in my book). Although I was inspired to make a tongue-in-cheek comment about the "saving white people movie" (Argo) beating out the "saving black people movie" (Lincoln, but I also was unaware that Django Unchained was nominated), I wasn't really inspired to chime in on anything until a comment thread on a Twin Cities arts community associate's page evolved into one commenter going into full Angry Black Person mode. Not only was this individual 1) not really listening to anyone else [understandable, given the strength of emotions] and 2) calling the academy racist [hyperbole] and out of touch and not very diverse [as if we didn't already know that], but in the slashing and burning and flailing of rage-arms 3) essentially suggested that because the Oscars are the domain of the powerful, monied, famous crowd who cares only about accolades, what they do is insignificant as art [an insultingly reductionist and childishly simplistic statement that qualifies more as a tantrum than as an actual argument].

The stream of comments by that person eventually led me to type this comment that I feel proud of and falls perfectly in the realm of "who asked me, anyway?". I treasure my point of view because it is one that I grew into believing and I feel it helps me maintain perspective as I pursue my own goals while hoping to encourage and inspire others to do the same. It is something I often ponder these days.

"Later parts of this thread also bring up the long-standing question of why do we equate poverty in artists with artistic integrity? Why do we feel like we must ignorantly and arrogantly enforce that limitation of creative slavery? Why, if someone has been working for years and decades to be recognized and to maybe reach a broader audience, are they suddenly a sellout when their efforts bear the fruit they were seeking? Not only is art subjective, but to subject artistic media to the limitations of "obscurity = excellence" or "breadth of audience = lack of so-called artistic integrity" is gatekeeping, exclusionary trash. Yes, awards shows are just another big prom, but sometimes art is thought-provoking and maybe a bit fuzzy and other times it's eye-candy drawn in broad strokes and primary colors."