Why We Make Beauty Sun, 30th March, 2014
In this concert weekend here in Kansas City with the Men's Chorus, we are enjoying artistic expression in all its forms. The highlight of yesterday's free time was our tour of the Nelson-Adkins Museum of Art. There, we saw human artistic expression ranging from a 3,000 year-old relief carved into limestone to elegant 19th Century sculptures, and so much more.
I can't help but wonder what common threads connect the Mesopotamian limestone carver and the 185 men who sang the Midwest premiere of the I Am Harvey Milk oratorio so beautifully last night.
The answer could probably be many things, but for me the answer is the dual human desire for self-expression and community. Both sculpture and choral singing are by their nature public art, celebrating the individual artists or performers while simultaneously celebrating communal values - and in some cases pushing the envelope on our shared values.
Best of all, art shared publicly creates many beautiful conversations, both spoken and unspoken, as the art intertwines the life experience of the viewer or listener. Thus the art speaks not just with the voice of the creator but with many voices - both today and throughout the millennia to come.
In this concert weekend here in Kansas City with the Men's Chorus, we are enjoying artistic expression in all its forms. The highlight of yesterday's free time was our tour of the Nelson-Adkins Museum of Art. There, we saw human artistic expression ranging from a 3,000 year-old relief carved into limestone to elegant 19th Century sculptures, and so much more.
I can't help but wonder what common threads connect the Mesopotamian limestone carver and the 185 men who sang the Midwest premiere of the I Am Harvey Milk oratorio so beautifully last night.
The answer could probably be many things, but for me the answer is the dual human desire for self-expression and community. Both sculpture and choral singing are by their nature public art, celebrating the individual artists or performers while simultaneously celebrating communal values - and in some cases pushing the envelope on our shared values.
Best of all, art shared publicly creates many beautiful conversations, both spoken and unspoken, as the art intertwines the life experience of the viewer or listener. Thus the art speaks not just with the voice of the creator but with many voices - both today and throughout the millennia to come.
