Are the arts essential? If your answer is yes, what is your reasoning? If you think the world would be just fine with less art, why so? Last month the LA Times published an article titled “What makes the arts ‘essential’? Let me draw you a picture.” The byline of the article reads: “Experiencing art is a crucial to producing young people who can understand the world’s complexity. That’s something philanthropic leaders should remember.”

Click here to read the article.

What do you think? Like the story of the 17-year old girl who learned to express herself in the article, do you have a story, either a personal experience, or something that you witnessed, that makes you a believer in the arts?

I came to a firm realization that arts are essential through high school theatre. It was a place for everyone: dancers, singers, loud kids, quiet kids, misfits, the cool kids-everyone. Students took on rolls of actors, directors, make-up artists, dancers, set builders and more. They were incredibly dedicated (most didn’t receive any kind of class credit, and they all spent two nights a week in the theatre, and even more during “hell week”). They used a massive amount of creativity to produce shows. They worked together, found friends, developed confidence and esteem and expressed themselves in ways they couldn’t in any other place. That is just one of the reasons why arts are essential…why we should care. Add to the list.

 What does it really feel like to have a rich and clear understanding of a work of art? According to my Art Fitness trainer, this is not a feeling familiar only to art critics, collectors, and curators. It is up to you to come up with your own interpretation, using your own system of active engagement.

Does this sound scary? Definitely. Personally, I was a bit alarmed at the thought of producing my own analysis of a piece of art, since I am a far cry from a decent art critic. My artistic background includes one drawing class in college, a slightly artistic eye for design, and a whole lot of conjecture. But as I went through Art Fitness training last week at the Contemporary, I was taught about my own natural ability to appreciate a work of art.

We are all trained to put art into categories. This one is abstract art, that one is post modern, the other is cubism, et cetera et cetera. This is art fat, my Art Fitness trainer told me; and just like that, everything I’d learned in art class was destroyed. But as my world was spinning, the trainer continued, explaining that lumping a work of art into a group takes away from the piece itself. Art is not created in relation to other art; it is its own thing.

For example, I like impressionist art. But wait, does that mean I like ALL impressionist art? What about that one painting that is considered impressionist, but that I think looks like a bowl of macaroni painted by a two-year-old? In Art Fitness training, I learned that categorizing a work of art interferes with my ability to really SEE the piece itself. Instead of seeing the details of the painting, I was seeing that it was an impressionist painting and assuming that I liked it because I’ve liked other pieces that might be just a little bit similar to it.

Art can take all forms. It can be straight lines or wavy madness; it can be paint, pastel, sculpture, or crayon on loose-leaf paper. But we don’t have to think about what kind of art it is. All we need to do is see the work itself, see the details, the process, the final product of an artist’s creativity. We don’t need to judge it, we only need to really look at it. And if we take away all those factual distractions, we can personally comprehend a work of art and appreciate it for what it really is: simply art.  

Contemporary staff members during Art Fitness training

From being a typical museum visitor, to an intern on the “inside,” here are Caroline’s thoughts:

Over the past few years, I have occasionally visited the Contemporary as a casual observer, and as I finish up my first week as an intern, I can’t help but look back and see how my ideas have changed.

Outside, I was struck by the beauty of the building’s minimalism, the outer façade wrapped in a futuristic metal mesh. Within, the interior is a sparse collection of white walls, crisp angles, and strategically-placed skylights. Such simplicity contrasted sharply with the imposing grandeur of the typical conception of a museum, elaborate stone monuments that commemorated the great art of the past. But as its name implies, the Contemporary is all about now. There are is no permanent artwork to gather dust or become overly familiar after years of visits. Exhibits change every few months, and The Front Room features exhibits as fleeting as a single day, true to the constantly shifting, blink-and-you’ll miss-it nature of contemporary art. 

On my first visit, I quickly realized that on the whole I understood contemporary and conceptual art about as much as a third grader could comprehend Moby-Dick. I saw a whale and a crazed captain, but that they remained. Used to “traditional” art, I was content dissecting the minutiae of mythology and obscure symbolism. But confronted with a pile of Mylar Christmas trees, a floating mass of black wires, or a room empty save for a strategically-placed rug, I only saw objects. It was over my head, even literally in some cases.  Only after investigating the artist’s background or intentions could I start to get a feel for what was happening in the space around me. I realized that trying to understand contemporary art requires digging just like the comprehension of a centuries-old painting does.  Instead of searching for outward-referencing symbols, though, conceptual art requires searching for the artist’s own personality, message, or philosophy and then applying it to what you see on the surface of their works. 

Of course I can’t pretend to be any kind of expert, but this is what I have come up with so far. And as I continue to learn about the inner workings of the Contemporary as well as the public exhibitions, I’m willing to keep an open mind for whatever new experiences come my way. What’s that? There’s currently an exhibition that takes place entirely over the phone? And another one that includes a room filled with TVs, each showing a different film by the artist? I’m there.

This past weekend I was in a wedding, and believe it or not, this topic popped into my head as I was preparing for the day. A group of girls were getting their hair done when overheard someone tell a hair stylist that the hair of one of the girls looked like a work of art. I started to pay attention as she used a comb to tease part of her hair then place bobby pins in strategically to hold each piece of hair in place. The stylist would step back every so often, comb in hand and a spare pin in mouth, to observe what she was creating. Then she would get back to work. As I was filling in a friend on my observations, she completely agreed…everyone is an artist. She works in a local pizza joint (and has for some time now, so she knows what she is talking about). She went into some pretty strategic details about the way the sauce should be spread, the way the cheese is laid, and where is piece of pepperoni should be placed…she is a pizza making artist.

Carey Young believes this as well. In her exhibition, Speech Acts, at the Contemporary, Young created a call center where you, as the visitor participate in the creation of the work of art by picking up a phone and choosing which number to press, which questions to ask and so on. Young also chose two Charter Communications call center agents to take part in this exhibition. These are the voices guests hear on the other end of the phone. These call center agents…also artists.

I love thinking about the art in everything we do and how each person qualifies as an “artist”…construction workers as they intensely use their tools to create a wall or a shelf or a home; chefs as they add just a little spice, and a little garnish to create a food masterpiece; top executives as they think creativity to work out a deal with a new client; and telemarketers as they develop a speech to say to the consumer and figure out exactly how to phrase to each comment and response…who else?

On Museum Tours
By a new Contemporary intern, Megan

After visiting the Contemporary, I usually leave with many new thoughts swirling around in my head. For me, experiencing art is like opening the door to a room full of new thoughts and ideas. Each artist has a different way of thinking about art, emotion, gender, politics, religion, and even life itself. These ideas, when expressed in many different forms of art, have the capability to stir my imagination, to make me think about things differently. One thing I had never really thought about, though, was the process of giving a tour at the Contemporary. I recently followed a museum employee as she led a small group of high school art students on a tour of the works of Chantal Akerman and Carey Young. While watching her speak, I realized the hard work and passion that goes into leading each tour.

Contemporary tour guides act as instigators of ideas. They know each exhibition thoroughly, they understand some of the artists’ motives, and they have their own interesting ideas about each work. However, guides are not there to push their ideas; instead, they prompt visitors to think of their own. They explain, make comments, ask questions, and encourage each visitor to actually think about what they’re viewing.

The current Contemporary exhibitions aren’t of the “normal” types of art, works that can be seen or touched. Chantal Akerman’s show, Moving Through Time and Space, is a video installation in which visitors walk through galleries of movies and sounds. And in Carey Young’s exhibition, Speech Acts, visitors personally interact with call center agents through a telephone connection. At first, I didn’t know how to react to these unusual forms of art. But that’s where the tour guide came into play. She explained some of the artists’ ideas, introduced a few of her own, and then asked me to think about how I felt about the works. She pointed me in the right direction, then nudged me down the path of my own realization.

Art isn’t only something that can be seen, touched, or heard. Art is also created IN you, when you actively view it, and when it initiates the production of your own ideas. Viewers don’t have to accept everything they see or hear as the complete truth. Instead, they can form their own opinions; and the ability to do so is what makes each person, and his or her reaction, a work of art.

The tour guides at the Contemporary have introduced me to many new forms of artwork and prompted me to come up with my own ideas about everything with which I come into contact, whether or not it is normally considered “art.” And do you want to know one of my new ideas? Perhaps giving tours is an art form in itself.

The last review was by ArtReview, this one is by a visitor. This is not your typical museum visitor, as she has never once set foot inside the Contemporary. She instead, viewed the exhibition virtually by looking through the museum’s website pages, watching videos, and reading blog posts. Here is what she had to say:
My Arms Are Tied Behind… My Computer

For those of you who had the opportunity to see Gedi Sibony’s exhibition My Arms Are Tied Behind My Other Arms, consider yourselves lucky. I, unfortunately, was unable to visit the Contemporary during the exhibition; however, I was inspired by Sibony’s work after simply viewing the links on this blog.

While unable to fully appreciate the way Sibony uses space, angles, light and shadow, I was struck by the concept of the work. This exhibition was created from useless, discarded waste. Things that were originally thrown out as trash were reinvented and reshaped into something so much more. Sibony did not “create” art, but rather, he maximized things that were already there.

Another thing I loved about this exhibition was the idea that you don’t have to do something for it to become done. By not doing it, you end up doing it. This reminded me of a project I was assigned in eighth-grade art class. I was painting a landscape, and I wanted it to be perfect. I painstakingly dabbed for just the right amount of paint, playing with colors and brushes and blending techniques until I finished the work. Then I stepped back and saw, not my finished painting, but the scrap of paper I had used to swipe off my brushes. I saw beauty in the mess of colors carelessly blotted on an unremarkable background. It was that scrap, not my actual painting, that I hung on my wall at home. And that’s what I think is illustrated in Sibony’s exhibition: The art finds the artist. You just have to be ready to see it.

The Contemporary is lucky to have an incredible group of people ready and willing to give the museum their time and support. Contemporary volunteers contribute to the success of Opening Nights, Family Days, the promotion of events, obtaining museum memberships, fundraisers, and so much more. They deserve a big pat on the back and are incredibly appreciated by museum staff members. Way to go.

Click here for information about our volunteer program.

Just the other day, I went downstairs to purchase lunch from our café, Tempt, for the first time…I have avoided buying lunch there before because I thought if I do it once, and realize how easy it is, I will “forget my lunch” every day and just “have to” order food from the café. But after all the raves about our new café owner, Steven Becker Fine Dining, I decided it was something I need to try out. I had fantastic tomato bisque soup, a piece of bread, and an awesome fresh fruit granola bar. I’ve always enjoyed the atmosphere in the café; there is a giant window looking out toward our courtyard, cute, café style tables and chairs, and free Wi-Fi. It is a great place to just come in and have lunch or even a cup of coffee and read or work. Here is Tempt’s new look:

Our Facebook profile page was becoming very popular and lots of people were friending us everyday…and then it was deleted! Luckily, we have a group page and a fan page and hopefully all of our “profile friends” will now become our “fans” and “group friends” so they can stay updated on museum happenings (click here to do this). We have added new images to both Facebook and MySpace, and just changed our MySpace music list with Alex’s (PR/Marketing intern) top music choices…check it out.

Today, staff, interns, gallery attendants, and members of the installation crew came together in the museum’s conference room to view the inauguration of the 44^th President of the United States. I was sitting toward the back, so had a good view of faces. Most were focused intensely on the TV (the kind from high school, big…not the screen, just in general…and on a cart). There were even a few tears. As the time for Obama’s inauguration came closer, more and more people walked in and grabbed a chair to also become fixated on what we were all witnessing. Then it happened…we applauded as if we were there and realized that we just were a part of history.