Tag: art

Art for Hope’s Sake

heathersavage1

Sitting around with artists discussing art is a very special experience.

I have been doing this on a regular basis the last couple of months through working on a collaborative project with a visual artist and a poet.

We each bring a unique perspective to the topic, not only because of our different personalities but because our modes of creating change how we perceive and communicate about art.

Our project is about hope. Hope through storms. Hope through tragedy.

Initially inspired by environmental catastrophes like Hurricane Helene and California wildfires in 2024, the project encompasses much more than that. It also is about war, injustice, and civil unrest.

Last week, we were talking about how art is an act of resistance. Hope, also, is an act of resistance.

It’s not necessarily a political resistance, though it could be.

More broadly, it is a resistance against despair. Against cynicism.

This week, I read a couple of newsletters which directly address this topic.

Benjamin Cremer wrote in Why Do the Wicked Prosper? that hope sustains resistance.

He continues,

This is where hope still lives. Not in denial, not in silence, but in faithful refusal. Hope looks like lament that tells the truth…Hope looks like compassion that does not grow numb.

Dr. Russell Moore wrote in Don’t Weaponize Your Patience about the need for “hopeful patience” which “recognizes delayed outcomes but does not decay expectations.”

He says,

Hopeful patience does not refuse to bear witness. 

It is “full of lament but not despair.

Later, he comments that

a waiting that isn’t energized by both hope and lament will lose heart—and give up.

A waiting that isn’t energized by both hope and lament will lose heart – and give up.

That reminds me of Proverbs 13:12 which says that hope deferred makes a heart sick.

The newsletters I read this week fell right in line with what Mary, Cara and I were discussing in regard to our project.

Our project follows this very path of lament and hope.

It is an artistic remembering. An acknowledgement of difficult times. Telling the truth. Refusing to dismiss suffering as either normal, excusable, invalid, or insignificant.

At the same time, we don’t stay there in the pit. Artistically, we point to a time of renewal. Where seeds sprout in the rich soil left behind by sediment and ash.

Life comes again even after death. The human spirit will be revived.

This week, a friend reminded me of Olivier Messiaen’s piece Quartet for the End of Time, which he wrote and performed with other prisoners while he was in a camp during WW2.

Art helps people get through difficult times, at once acknowledging adversity while also uplifting the spirit by pointing toward what is beyond. When safety, freedom and peace come again.

Art is an act of defiance that refuses to let the darkness define us.

Artists, we may not always be at the front lines of the fight against oppression, and we may not be the first responders in a tragedy.

But this we are called to do: sustain hope and combat cynicism and despair.

Onward we go!

The Necessity of the Avant-Garde

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The avant-garde is defined as “new and unusual or experimental ideas, especially in the arts.”

A lot of people don’t enjoy avant-garde art because it is weird. This is to be expected. The avant-garde doesn’t exist to be widely appealing. That’s not the point.

So, who needs it?

I can hear that question forming in the minds of some of my readers.

Why should art that few enjoy even exist? And, more so, why should it be funded?

This essay is an answer to that question.

The “avant-garde” is, essentially, made up of artists who are the “inventors” of the art world.

Inventors are strange people, always tinkering away at stuff in their garages, or laboratories, or computers. We don’t know that they are doing, we don’t understand it. We might think that the end results are useless, unnecessary, or just straight-up bizarre.

The difference between inventors and avant-garde artists is that most inventors end up with a final product that “works” before demonstrating it to the public. But in the art world, especially in the performing arts, the invention – the art – cannot be tested until it is brought before an audience.

Avant-garde art is an exploration, an innovation of a new way of making art discovered by the artists while they are at work in their studios.

Like many inventions, the avant-garde is quickly embraced by those who are fascinated by newness. It may not gather enough fans to be sustainable and become a movement. However, like some inventions that become normal household items, some avant-garde may catch on as the broader public warms up to it.

Again, like many inventions, it might not be the first iteration that engages the public. It may be that improvements made upon it are what make it more appealing.

Even today, many people may not know that most modern film scores incorporate aspects of what was once avant-garde music, from highly dissonant music to the use of electronics. That is just one example of how avant-garde art (specifically, music) has garnered wide enthusiasm.

I do not consider myself an avant-garde composer, but I use material that has been mined by avant-garde composers who have come before me or work concurrently in the present day.

I use that word “mined” purposefully. In my mind, the avant-garde composers have gone spelunking and have discovered unusual things long hidden, which no one has ever seen before now.

I, though, am claustrophobic and will not go spelunking. That’s not my role.

But I appreciate seeing what they have brought out and how they can be used, then having the privilege of choosing which discoveries I wish to incorporate into my own music.

I have pet names for the type of avant-garde music that is, essentially, 100% extended techniques. You may recognize the music by these nicknames: Plink-Plonk, Scratch-and-Dent, and Quack and Cluck. Don’t take these terms as disparaging. I love my Siamese cat, Paulie, but I also affectionately call him a weirdo. It’s not the word so much as the tone.

I use some of these extended techniques in my music. Not a lot, not every single kind of extended technique. I have my personal favorites. I usually write music inspired by extra-musical ideas, and I judiciously choose extended techniques based on what I believe will best bring out the idea behind the music I’m writing. Sometimes I use no extended techniques at all. Some of my music is very traditional.

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    I like having the freedom to choose.

    Freedom is very important.

    And that is the second – and I believe even more essential purpose – of the avant garde.

    The avant-garde is a canary in the coal mine of freedom.

    It is an indicator of the health of democracy and the freedom of the individual.

    In fact, during the mid-20th century, the political right in the United States and Europe supported avant-garde art as a statement against totalitarianism and the perceived threat of communism.

    As I said above, avant-garde art needs an audience in order to be tested.

    It’s OK if it is not liked. It’s OK if it is not popular. It’s OK if people complain about it and criticize it and call it bad.

    That’s not the point.

    The point is to be heard.

    If avant-garde music is blocked because people in power determine it is too ugly or too freakish for public consumption, then freedom is diminished. Not only the freedom of the artist to speak and express themselves, but the freedom of individual members of the public to decide what art they wish to partake of.

    Totalitarian regimes control art, and they usually tend to promote art that is more “widely appealing.” Art that is populistic. It is simpler. It harkens back to folk and historic art to promote an approved, nationalistic style.

    In contrast, avant-garde art is often criticized for being “academic” or “intellectual.” There is some truth to that, but it is still needed because the muzzling of the avant-garde is a signal that individual freedoms are threatened.

    There’s nothing inherently wrong with art that “appeals to the masses” as long as there is room for all voices.

    You don’t have to like avant-garde art but it is wrong to dismiss it because it is “ugly” or because it doesn’t align with your definition of beauty. Holding to such an opinion is only an attempt at control. Instead, understand its purpose. Engage with the conversation. Let both your voice – and the voice of avant-garde artists – be heard.

    Let the future tell us what stands the test of time.

    Expect the Haters

    heathersavage1

    I recently had the opportunity to attend an online entrepreneurial music business workshop. Several presenters gave ideas and suggestions on all aspects of building one’s personal brand, networking, marketing, creating content like podcasts, and finding new students. It was all very helpful. But one session in particular stood out: Jeremy Todd, in his session on “Building a Business Mindset,” said straight out: “Expect the haters.”

    Wow. That phrase shocked me: EXPECT the haters. In other words, getting push-back or a lack of encouragement, even from people you love – family or friends – is inevitable.

    This is something I wish I had known years ago.

    Learning new things as an adult is hard. When we’re young, learning new stuff is a way of life, for everyone. When we’re in school, our classmates are also learning, even if it’s not at the same rate. Based on my own experience, I would argue that most kids do not know how much they have to learn. They don’t yet have an end-goal in sight. Failure may sting, but it’s not particularly risky. We might get a bad grade or embarrass ourselves, but we’re not going to lose our house. However, as adult learners, we have a different perspective. We’re more aware of how far behind we are as beginners and how fast we need to catch up if we’re trying to establish a career. We’re more aware of our personal limitations; we’re more aware of who is already successful; we’re more aware of the cost of learning, in terms of money, time, and effort. It’s stressful.

    Venturing out on a new project or working to turn a dream into reality as an adult is even harder. It’s one thing to make the effort to learn a new skill. It’s quite another to take that skill and make it public, whether through a new business, an invention, or a piece of art. What if it fails? The adult life is one full of responsibilities to other people. It could be a family dependent on you to provide food; it could be the bank or a landlord expecting payment. There’s not a lot of room for risk and failure.

    It is easier to play it safe.

    (This is not a criticism of those who choose not to go on career or creative adventures. I do not think everyone is given an entrepreneurial spirit.)

    What happens sometimes is those who want to play it safe may criticize those who start new things. They become the “haters”: those who outright discourage you from trying, tell you it won’t work, demonstrate disinterest, don’t show support, and refuse to lend aid or make an investment, however small. Jeremy Todd says you will get even more push-back from those who are close to you, but it makes sense. He likes to think it comes from a place of love: these people are afraid for you. They don’t want to see you fail. Or, he says, it might come from a place of feeling inferior: their feelings are hurt because they don’t have the talent, inspiration, or motivation to do what you’re doing.

    Earlier this week, I read “Ignore Everybody and 39 Other Keys to Creativity” by Hugh MacLeod which, incidentally, is probably the best book I have read thus far on creativity, though I am obligated to give a warning about the language. MacLeod takes a very practical look at working and living as a creative individual, which makes this book stand apart from other, also favorite, excellent, but more philosophical books such as “The War of Art” by Steven Pressfield, “Big Magic” by Elizabeth Gilbert, or “Walking on Water” by Madeleine L’Engle.

    In “Ignore Everybody…”, MacLeod has a different take on “haters.” He says, “Good ideas alter the power balance in relationships. That is why good ideas are always initially resisted.” Wow. It’s not that other people want to control you. They just want things to stay the same – the way they know and expect, an attempt to retain a sense of internal comfort.

    This really does help me understand why I should not take things too personally. I have never expected everyone to appreciate my music, but it is enlightening to understand now that some of the worst push-back can come from the people who are the closest. That connection may be precisely why some are so uncomfortable with my new ventures.

    I have always liked sharing, and that includes discoveries I make along the way. I admit it is disappointing when those I care about want to stay back rather than join me in the adventure. But at least I now know, despite how it is communicated, that is not a rejection of me but a reflection of where they’re at.

    As Hugh MacLeod says, “There’ll be a time in the beginning when you have to press on, alone, without one tenth of the support you probably need. This is normal. This is to be expected.”

    Maybe, someday, the haters will change their minds.

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    A professional recording of my piece for string orchestra, Daughter of the Stars, is now available. It can be found here.