inside out.

I wish for you to stand up for what you care about by participating in a global art project, and together we’ll turn the world inside out.
                                                                              - JR

The breadth of JR’s TED Wish is masterful: a global art project about the stories that tend to stay hidden amongst the crammed houses and skyscrapers of our cities, that tend to remain overlooked amidst the hustle of business and consumption of the internet. To be part of this feels wonderful; however solitary the project might be, being initiated from one’s home, from the very machine that has secluded more people than it has enchanted, the knowledge that there are, at this particular moment just above 3000 of us spread rather sparingly across the globe, allows a sort of admission of a new community: a community on the fringe; a community of expression; a community of those who want to tell a story (maybe even a story they never knew they wanted to tell) but have had no one to listen.

I find it remarkable that JR has been able to pull these stories out of so many people with nothing more than a simple request.

“You know you’ve been here for a few hours, trying to understand, discussing with your fellows. During in that time you haven’t think [sic] about what you are going to eat tomorrow. This is art.”

There are so many stories we should be aware of. Browsing the Inside Out website gives you a very real glimpse of this, but what’s more interesting is the awareness of how many stories you realise are not being told.

How many people who don’t have an outlet, or are unaware of those outlets available? How many people result to living in their own torment? In their own self-imposed exile?

What’s so important about this project is that it’s not about JR; his portrait’s not up there. It’s only you. And a trend I keep running into while browsing the portraits and reading their statements is that these are 3000+ people who believe in beauty.

And that’s a wonderful thing indeed.

Please check out JR’s INSIDE OUT Project. Browse the portraits. Read some stories. AND JOIN! It's not too late! It’s still only in its starting phases, meaning they’re printing the portraits and should be shipping them to us soon. I can’t wait to see them posted all over the place.

And here’s the link to mine if you can’t find it amongst the crowd.

…crooks in the Senate.

Things I learnt about politics in Canada from Debate 2011 (the English one):

1. Saying something like “What Canadians need to understand is...” instils me with a rage and contempt for whoever the speaker is. Don’t tell us what we want or need to understand. Tell the facts and we’ll decide on our own.
   
2. TELL THE FACTS! We want to hear truth... which... I’m pretty sure is the reason we’re in an election in the first place...
   
3. If everything the other three (and all the citizens are asking you about) is “simply not true” I think you need to take a minute and ask yourself “Why does the vast majority keep spouting fiction? I think I’ll have a good look at what’s actually going on here. Maybe I’m not allowing myself to listen to what they’re actually saying.”
   
4. And, after you do that, if it actually isn’t true don’t just leave it at that. INFORM THE PUBLIC AS TO WHY IT’S NOT TRUE. We want details.
   
5. Our leaders have a hard time looking into each others’ eyes (Layton and Duceppe are  better than the others). FOR THE LOVE OF GOD look at the person you are answering a question of. You’re not debating the camera (unless you’re the first to answer the question). You’re debating the three others in the room.
   
6. I’m glad the respect I gained for Gilles Duceppe in ‘08 continues its upward growth. He’s the most level-headed of the bunch. A shame his goal is to divide the country...
   
7. ...although this brings up another important point: Gilles Duceppe is fighting tooth and nail to represent the Quebec people. That is his goal (or objective in theatre-speak). His passion is his people (and he’s essentially representing a whole nation). And that’s where he stands apart in the Canadian political climate. Mr. Duceppe hasn’t lost sight of why he’s allowed to lead; his people put him there and he is grateful. Harper, Ignatieff and Layton need to reassess their objectives in this election. It’s clear to anyone watching (at least I hope it is) that their top priorities are not to represent their people. Harper’s driving force is more power while Layton’s and Ignatieff’s is to oust Harper (and essentially obtain Harper’s objective). And while these are fine goals they just aren’t as grounded, nor do they allow the kind of impartiality that Duceppe is allowed.

a new enchantment.

 
First, a video:

 
Next, an article by Michael Kaiser, the President of the John F. Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-kaiser/the-millennials-project_b_844309.html
 
Lastly, a quote from p.69 of Daniel Clowes’ Wilson:

“When you imagine the future, you always think there’s going to be more stuff, but really there’s just different stuff. And it’s never the stuff you were hoping for.”

 
A small response:

As David J. Loehr states in his 2amt response to the article above, the phrasing of Kaiser’s question is inverted. The reasoning (in the question and, arguably, the entire article) is not quite attuned with the realities of his social surroundings. Art is constantly evolving; it needs to in order to remain relevant. So please, I guess this post is an invitation to Mr. Kaiser and anyone else who finds themselves in a position of artistic influence to go out and explore the world around you in a new context. Break the walls you’ve personally erected and experience something you wouldn’t normally experience because if you just sit there and wait for the next Vaudeville circuit to come along you’ll be severely disappointed. Everything has a time and a place. The same things that were relevant, astonishing and truly influential today are not going to be tomorrow (and sources of influence sometimes can’t even be recognized for their value until well after their time has come and gone). Loehr asks you to come and have a conversation with the missing artists and the absent twenty-somethings and I wholly agree. Come out and talk. Please. Don’t just advertise with us and expect us to obey. It’s real easy to see through dishonesty.

“While the conscious mind writes the autobiography of our species, the unconscious mind does the work.”
                                                    - David Brooks, The Social Animal