As we’ve been considering how to understand or perhaps process other cultures I was reminded of artists that I have come across that have worked on doing this in their own ways.
I started listening to the group Pink Martini and have been fascinated by their albums that have trotted around the globe tackling various cultural songs and languages and putting them all together on one album.
http://www.pinkmartini.com/about/pm_about.html
“Pink Martini is like a romantic Hollywood musical of the 1940s or 50s – but with a global perspective which is modern,” says founder and artistic director Thomas M. Lauderdale. “We bring melodies and rhythms from different parts of the world together to create something which is new and beautiful.”
Another artist I started listening to was Idan Raichel, a musician from Israel who dives into other cultures in his music, specifically Ethiopian.
http://www.idanraichelproject.com/en/index.php
“The Idan Raichel Project burst onto the Israeli music scene in 2002, changing the face of Israeli popular music and offering a message of love and tolerance that resonated strongly in a region of the world where the headlines are too often dominated by conflict. With an enchanting blend of Ethiopian and Middle Eastern flavors coupled with sophisticated production techniques and a spectacular live show, the Idan Raichel Project has become one of the most unexpected success stories in Israeli music today”
One of my favorite artists is a visual artist named Makoto Fujimura. “After 20 years as a successful artist in Japan and the U.S., Fujimura has become a voice of bi-cultural authority on the nature and cultural assessment of beauty, by both creating it and exploring its forms. His paintings address the creative process and explore what it means to see. The work moves the observer from cognitive categorization to visceral experience”
http://www.makotofujimura.com/
The work that he does melds two cultural views with a sense of depth and beauty that moves me deeply.
In listening to and looking at these artists and others it gives me a sense of hope that there can be beautiful things made from cultures sharing. As I have interacted with international students and lived with people from other countries I have realized that we can often see the world in very different ways – but that there is so much that I can learn from those who see the world in other ways.
Last year one of my students in 207 was from Saudi Arabia and I have been so blessed by our friendship that has emerged from last semester. We come from different sides of the world and yet there are so many basic things we can connect on and in and enjoy the ways in which we can learn from one another. The exciting concept of being an artist is to think how we can enrich our lives by studying not only the people around us but those who live very far from us as well. And in learning from others learn to appreciate the things that are good and wonderful about our own cultural environments as well. And in the sharing of experiences we can create new ways of seeing the world
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Your caption says it all. We truly can obtain inspiration from others just by respectful and curious observation and listening.
I've been thinking about class Thursday and the staging we did. A white female portraying a black male. A black female, clearly visible, portraying the "unseen." The whole scene provided an interesting visual for me. The idea of the "unseen," the ancestors(past/present/future), fueling the demand for equality, understanding, acceptance of something different from Western European culture was really powerful. I think the visual, cross cultural in it's presentation, captured the essence of looking, listening and respecting other's perspectives and beliefs.
I remember asking last week, the publication date of this play. 1996. I asked that question because it occured to me that Tess Onuweme, cross cultural herself, might not have been writing for a black audience. I think she targeted white audience members, as well. Which means, she EXPECTED whites to experience this work. Which also means, that some whites are looking for this experience, understanding, respect, of the African (by extention the African American) culture.
Perhaps that's another reason why Tess has that quote on her website comparing her to Ibsen. She's has that revolutionary quality in her writing. The one that makes you see a depth of reality by taking you into fantasty.
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