Thursday, June 24, 2010 Isolation is A Human Condition

Tonight I got to experience New York City night life with the guys from 5 C6 Caleb, Larry, Daniel and David. Daniel is a jazz drummer and while in the city his professors suggested some names of places he should go that is a must to learn from the best. The Village Vanguard is a luxury place $30 a pop for John Rally who apparently a big name in jazz drums. The Village Vanguard is in Greenwich on 7 Avenue but tonight we went to the Fat Cat on Christopher Street SW of 7th Avenue. The 1 train took us there but we were already nearby at The Markle on 13th Street between 6th and 7th Avenue so we walked a couple blocks. Tonight a band called Eric Wyatt played with Joe Black at 7pm but we arrived late around 9pm. The place was lively with couches surrounding the band while people destress and play pool, chess, or ping-pong or grab a drink. The environment provide down time for New Yorker to unwind from a long day work as we unwind ourselves from our busy schedule. I don't know much about jazz music and structure but can tell this drummer was good at what he does. According to Daniel the drummer played 3 full chorus at the end of a set which is remarkable because 2 chorus is enough to exhaust Daniel. I can't imagine how Daniel felt after the set in awe and eager to want to practice drums going without a drum set for over a month. Maybe I get a chance to see Daniel play one of these nights at a jazz bar while on project.

Today we also had our first critique of our group collaboration assignment. For those who want to know our first collaboration had to center around our stories and our response to the question of "How can unbearable beauty arise hope?" My group went out into the city and took pictures of individuals while asking the question: "What is beauty?" The critique went well we had good feedback and questions to think about after we realize there were some holes in our project. We had a good variety of answers and a diverse subjective answer to the question but the concern was that we are only defending an evidence of pluralism belief. As Christian artists we are subject to seeing God as the single source of beauty and it is hard to see our belief lost in others belief of what beauty is. Good thing this project was simply a prototype and provided we only had limited time, I consider this project as a good warm-up process for our exhibition collaboration. Other people had great ideas for their collaboration:

Tiffany, Joseph, and Elisabeth Group

The Beard Campaign initiative was their idea of a city wide advertisement which will sell the growing of a facial hair spray. This project Tiffany design the chart of "beards" represent the ridicule they aim at media impression of "beauty" in society culture of instant beauty. It is half-hearted funny and ridiculous and entirely serious challenging people to think about beauty more deeply.

Jayson, Larry and Lauren H. Group

They start out by discussing their design model of a gallery space which represent the space which they want to use covering it with mirrors. These mirrors would house images of people they surveillance at public places and spaces. This suppose to have a purpose of getting people reaction as they look at themselves in the mirror. The project tackle the issue of what is beauty whether it is external appearance or internal beauty. Part of the flaw was how would they get people permission to surveillance them with camera hidden in mirrors.

Daniel, Amy, and Lauren Group

Beauty to them focus on compartmentalized parts. Beauty is seen through television and advertisement so they want to fill a gallery with an installation of televisions. The room would be completely dark with texture on the walls of rust and decay as an advertisement of a boy comes on the screen and he laughs as the same boy is repeated with the other televisions until it become an unbearable laughter. This represent how beauty of a single child laugh can turn into something unbearable. The only issue is the overload of sensory, which can conflict with each other and make it hard to discern.

Kristine, Jonathan, Norah and David Group

The project they focus on a painting they did with acrylics of a boy kneeling in surrendering of God. Some comments rise was it sound too Christian and those who don't believe may not relate. Other comments were that the boy looks defeated and not in surrender. The idea was to place the image behind a window screen so only part of the piece can be seen with ashes.

Sarah, Caleb, Whitney, and Adam group

The project they focus on center on their definition of beauty.

Beauty is a response of placing value on things that affect them in different ways and expression of beauty. Some things can create a response than others. We can create beauty that can be appreciate and other times we can create beauty as perverted. Theme of heat condition and what is our motivation of the things we do. beauty is our heart condition than the outer appearance we have. The project focus was on people motivation of beauty. So they had an idea of making a space with a dinner table and incorporate people in a performance of standing up excuse from the table to go to the mirror and as they go to the mirror they see they are connected to a certain string which leads to different motivations.

While on the train to NYCAMS a glee club came on the train and sang a song from the Lion King which I had to document because it drew a lot of smiles in my heart and others.

Theology and Art

Story

Man and the Road painting of a peasant of lower class

Why do we love going to the movies or reading fiction?

Escape reality

We belong something bigger than ourselves

Form of storytelling

Bring up issues about life and understand it

Story by Robert McKee Principle of screenwriting

Help appreciate stories in general and how to view Jesus parable and storytelling

“Our appetite for story is a reflection of the profound human need to grasp the patterns of living, not merely as an intellectual exercise, but within a very personal, emotional experience… Some see this craving for story as simple entertainment, an escape from life rather than an exploration of it. But what, after all is entertainment? To be entertained is to be immersed in the ceremony of story to an intellectually and emotionally satisfying end.” Robert McKee: Story

Going to the movies stimulate real life reaction of certain situations.

What Make A Story Real?

Details

Names and characters of people.

Relevant and related our own experiences

The world is connected not disconnected.

“Story is metaphor for life. A story teller is a life poet, an artist who transforms day-to-day living, inner life and outer life, dream and actuality into a poem whose rhyme scheme is events rather than words-a two hour metaphor that says: Life is like this!” Robert McKee: Story

What make a movie compelling?

Conflict itself and how you can relate to some aspect of conflict and parameters.

Robert McKee

“The archetypal story unearths a universally human experience, then wraps itself inside a unique, culture specific expression.”

“No matter how intimate or epic, contemporary or historical, concrete or fantasized, the world of an eminent artist always strikes us as somewhat exotic or stranger. Like an explorer parting forest leaves, we step wide-eyed into an untouched society, a clichéd-free zone where the ordinary becomes extraordinary… once inside this alien world, we find ourselves. Deep within these characters and their conflicts we discover our own humanity. We go to the movies to enter a new, fascinating world, to inhabit vicariously another human being who at first seems soundlike us and yet at heart is like us, to live in a fictional reality that illuminates our daily reality.” Robert McKee

Do Christians tell good stories?

Do we include our weakness?

Do we show our struggle of becoming a Christian?

Do we vividly show instead of simply telling our story?

Are we telling the whole story of becoming a Christian?

Are we deceiving people of salvation?

Are we making our stories too neatly as a Christian life?

Our lives is not simply to stop sinning but to live dangerously in love of God in other words a risky story just like Christ. Not just for behavior modification.

The Gospel Story

Do you think the gospel boring?

If you were to tell the gospel to someone who haven't heard it, how would you make it interesting yet keep it biblical?

Where is the gospel in the bible?

What was the first conflict?

Rebellion of Man in the beginning.

We see grace by God providing them clothing and protect them and allow to live.

God make a promise to Eve one of her offspring will reconcile to God.

Flashback of conceiving Christ and end with Christ birth.

Second coming of Christ and new creation of earth.

There’s something you picture in heaven in freedom.

There’s no problems, worries, etc.

Doing Story

How can we “story well” in these situations.

In sharing the gospel.

In sharing my spiritual journey story to Christ and with ChrFaist.

In creating works of art.

Favorite Quotes of the Day

“Story can be as abstract as a series of events like cause and effect. Shapes can be a story in our creation of cause of effect.” Caleb

“Story talk to us about human connect is really compelling because you can’t see relationship in it than its not effective.” Kristine

"My favorite movie is Man on Fire about good and evil and there’s sacrifice and passion." Emily D

"I enjoy David Leeches films because story are so typical, but a sense of uniqueness interest me." Jayson Duff

"Stories are like company a good company and invite them back to my home. I like Jean Oslen work and want to continue reading them." Kari H