I was recently asked by Julie Horner of Papier Creatif to work with her new "20Twelve" components. This is my effort.
The name Emma Brant on the calling card is not her name. I don't know who this woman is, but I do know that she had a love of music her whole life. I know this because she posed with her violin as a young woman and again as an older woman.
In January of 2007 the world famous violinist, Joshua Bell, Ava Maria Performance, posed as a street musician, giving a performance to morning commuters at a metro station in Washington DC.
No one knew it but the fiddler standing against the bare wall outisde the Metro in an indoor arcade at the escalators was one of the finest classical musicians in the world. And he played some of the most elegant music every written on one of the most valuable violins ever made. This was done as an experiement in context, perceptions, and priorities: IN A BANAL SETTING AT AN INCONVENIENT TIME WOULD BEAUTY TRANSCEND? WHAT ROLE DOES CONTEXT PLAY IN OUR ARTISTIC PERCEPTIONS? TO WHAT DEGREE IS OUR PERCEPTION OF BEAUTY INFLUENCED BY OUR MINDSET AT THE PARTICULAR TIME WE PERCEIVE IT?
While performing for commuters that January, Joshua Bell received only cursory attention, or none at all, from the majority of commuters who passed him by. A few people tossed money into his open case, but never slowed their pace. This is a man who only days earlier played at a Boston theater where ticket prices averaged $100 each.
In spite of the fact that he used his outstanding ability to the full and performed some of the most beautiful music ever written, only a few people noticed and even fewer people momentarily stopped to listen.
Stop and listen. Appreciate your surroundings. Appreciate what you see and what you hear.
Check out my interview in the Creatif Spotlight: Karen Burns/Creatif Spotlight
