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observation letter |
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observation letter |
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We want to thank all of you who took the time to write to us, it is a lot of fun getting feed back from you. All response was positive and one writer from Parishville asked why she was receiving this letter, and that I shouldn't be trying to convert the converted. That I'm surly not trying to do, I jhust hope to introduce some new thought to old discussion and perhaps inspire all of us to speak up at every chance to make the are movement that is happening in the Adirondacks a central part of each county, town and school board agenda. There is a movement growing here. Many people are working hard to bring the arts to the forefront in this partk. It will eventually benefit the working artists here, and we should be helping the councils and institutes wherever we can to achieve their goals. Another response from Wilmington was very positive and the writer expressed much appreciation for the Adirondack Crafts Center. I agree the enter in Lake Placid is important for the regions craftspeople, now that is is in private ownership. I never did approve of a state subsidized crafts center when ANCA and a committee of craftspeople ran it. I've had too much experience with committees to know there's nothing like free enterprise and a committee of one. I also truly believe the State subsidized craft center in Lake Placid helped to put out of business at least two other craft stores in that town within three years of the center coming together. This same writer from Wilmington thinks that videos focusing on the "the creative joy - energy and passions of what we do" would be a good idea to spread the word. Oh, I totally agree! I believe that if the arts could be de-mystified the creative joy would be quite contagious. Energy and passion are essential components to having a wonderful meaningful life. As I said somewhere else the interpretation of art cannot be limited to mere craft and two and three dimensional portrayals. It has to be carried into many aspects of life and occupations. The energy and passion of daily living will make all people appreciate the same in other individuals and hence an increse in the purchasing of original art. True or False, what do you think? Another writer from New York City and Au Sable Forks writes to us that he agrees with our comments concerning the New York Museum of Modern Art, "but I don't see why you pick on MoMa. After all it's only a middling size museum with a few billionaires on its board. And, it's a private institution. So let them chase the dollar if that's what they want. My quarrel is with the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This is a museum that is substantially funded by taxpayer money. Not every one remembers this, but entrance to the museum used to be free. You could come and go as you please, stop by on your way to someplace else to visit a favorite painting, or stay the whole day. It was a calm haven of beauty and tender human feeling. And it still is> Nor do I begrudge them a few bucks now and then. But in those days there was no guard at the door, no barrier, psychological or otherwise, between the public and the art. I ate a lot of art in those days, I can tell you. But now things are different. By the time you've stood on line at the cash register to plunk down your money; by the time you've put on your button that proves you've got some discretionary income, and walked past the guard who looks you up and down, I mean it can spoil your appetite. I realize this many not be a burning issue in the North Country, but this is only one example of the kind of officail or cultural intrusiveness that one has to fight these days in order to eat art. It's a barrier. It says to people, "Don't do this too often, it's expensive", it says, "You'd better get the most of this, cause you paid for it." Maybe that explains the popularity of the recorded audio tours. People walk around with a cassette that murmurs mysterious words of wisdom into their ears while they look at paintings. It's as ludicrous and intrusive as going to a concert and reading the program while the musicians plan. It's the equivalent of taking a walk in the woods while listening to a recorded history of the forest. It many be informative but experiencing nature it's not. And when your walk is finshed, do you get to simply walk out of the woods? No. The only way back to the road is through the gift shop! And there you're bombarded with posters and postcards of the very landscape you've just seen, but printed in revolting garish colors that threaten to wip out any authentic experience you might have had. Buy a postcard! They're better than the real thing! It'll prove you were rally here! Spend Your Money!. Thanks, I feel better now." Thanks for the letters, they help to open my eyes to other situations I am not aware of and in some instances they have been inspirational to me. |
Guerrilla Girls The Guerrilla Girls are a group of woman artists and arts professionals who make posters about discrimination. Dubbing themselves the conscience of the art world, they declare themselves feminist counterparts to the mostly male tradition of anonymous do-gooders like Robin Hood, Batman and the Lone Ranger. They wear gorilla masks to focus on the issues rather than their personalities. They use humor to convey information, provoke discussion and show that feminists can be funny. In 10 years they have produced over 70 posters, printed projects and actions that expose sexism and racism in the art world and the culture at large. Their work has been passed around the world by kindred spirits who consider themselves Guerrilla Girls too. The mystery surrounding their identities ahs attracted attention and support. They could be anyone, they are everywhere. I personally came across the Guerrilla Girls for the first time on the internet, they have very informative pages, including a page where you can buy gg stuff. You can find them at guerrillagirls.com I urge you to attend their pages, for those who can't I will include some information one can find there....... (editors note: In the actual letter I wrote in comments from the Love Letters & Hate Mail link on guerrillagirls.com I don't need to to that here, for you can go there yourself. We might feel removed from such discrimination here in the north country, I personally am not aware of it, and I am probably totally wrong about that. I haven't been looking for it, and I am certainly not in the mainstream of society. I am pretty well self contained these days. I have found a lot of strong women who express themselves and promote the arts to the highest degree, here in the north country. I knew that some day a revolution was coming, a renaissance if you will. Just as creative and consciousness expanding as the art and science renaissance of the 15th century. This time the world would learn from thepent up energy release of woman. This history of the world has not experienced the point of view of the woman to the same degree as that of the man. What have we been missing? We are finally seeing and hearing more of this energy and I believe it is only a miniscule beginning and that the generation of our children will finally throw off the chains of this mult millennium long submission of man over woman. Walt Whitman wrote in "Leaves of Grass", "I am the poet of the woman I once had a dream and in this dream I was a woman and pregnant. I became lucid realizing I was dreaming and the unique situation I was in. That of being a man in earthly reality and experiencing the being of a woman. I concentrated on the life inside me and I knew what a special dream gift I was given. That experience and others has formed my personal opinion of woman and that is that they experience a different life from that of men. One that is more soul enriching and enables them to perceive life on a different plane than men.
Oliver Day Night
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