Art – in All its Forms – as Inspiration for “New Normal”
Over the last several weeks, as we’ve scrolled photos of our respective views from quarantine or binge-watched the latest trending series or clicked through to tour virtual galleries or watched Zoom ballet or YouTube concerts to cope with the myriad of ways COVID-19 is changing our lives, one thing is abundantly clear: art, in its many forms, serves as a big part of the glue that holds us together.
While we’ve pulled together to flatten the curve, the artists among us have taken to the airwaves and social media and even the streets to broaden our temporarily narrowed horizons, giving us hope, aweing and inspiring, and even getting us moving. And like so many things about our emerging new normal – from stronger bonds with our families to a deeper appreciation for “slow food’ to the official embrace of curbside cocktails – our renewed appreciation for creatives and the work they produce seems destined to last.
Hope, One Mural at a Time
One group definitely worth following is Beautify, a fledging collective of street artists founded in Santa Monica that connects street artists with sponsors to beautify the cities where they create projects. Their current aim: to create 1,000 new murals across the U.S. to provide inspiration and foster a sense community in the face of the pandemic.
The group, driven by a shared concern that empty, neglected streets can serve as a breeding ground for urban decay, has already mounted murals in California and Seattle by noted street artists – including Corie Mattie, Guerin Swing, Gino Burman-Loffredo and Sel Dog – with COVID-19-related messages like “If you’re reading this, go home” and “Cancel plans, not humanity.” Keep an eye peeled for a mural near you as their work continues across the U.S.!
Asian-American Student Art in the Face of Pandemic
Another inspirational project spearheaded by the University of Connecticut marries Asian-American student narratives about the pandemic with the work of Asian-American artists in a social-media campaign designed to serve as a catalyst for capturing in art and words the unique experiences of Asian-Americans this spring. The project, #MyCovid19Semester, kicks off with the pairings of four student writers with four Asian-American artists, and is soliciting input from Asian-American student writers and artists nationwide; faculty at U Conn’s Institute of Asian and Asian-American Studies selected social media as the platform for sharing the work as a way to create community at a time students feel connected.
“I thought by sharing stories, sharing illustrations, sharing experiences and responses, students can kind of build a big virtual community or virtual connection, even though they’re not on the same campus, not in the same dorms, maybe not in the same institutions,” states Dr. Na-Rae Kim, assistant professor in residence and the Institute’s associate director. “But they can feel the things binding them together.”
The Landscape Photographer in All of Us
One of Facebook’s hottest new groups, View from My Window, has already gathered 2.4 million members in just two months – success attributable to both stunning amateur landscape photography and the virtual window on the world its founders offered to Facebook members sheltering in place worldwide. From Birmingham to Bhutan, the group – which is open for viewing from the public but has capped new memberships in a bid to cope with its overwhelming success – tapped into a shared global experience this spring, looking longingly out the window while we wait for better times.
The shot-by-shot travelogue was started in late March by a Belgian graphic artist, Barbara Duriau, living and sheltering in place Amsterdam, who posted a single picture of the view from her apartment window. “I wanted to know more about the situation and the reality of life across the world,” she explains. “When the lockdown happened, I realized that all of us were stuck with the same view, stuck at home.” What makes the group addictive, though, is the differences in views from home, and associated lifestyle, its fledgling photographers are experiencing around the globe. Duriau is now raising funds to publish submitted photos as a coffee-table art book; follow her page for updates.
Swan…Bathtub?
One fascinating project in development that’s worth watching for is the BBC’s upcoming lockdown-friendly version of the ballet Swan Lake, choreographed by New Zealand Corey Baker for execution in the bathtubs and showers of a global cast of dancers. The choreographer, a former member of BalletBoyz who now heads his own dance company, came up with the idea while – wait for it – he was in the shower.
“Everyone has a bath or a shower,” he explains, “and I love choreography with water. We thought about recreating The Rite of Spring and then Swan Lake came to mind. I turned the music on and had a splash around.” One interesting footnote: he originally began choreographing the piece in his apartment kitchen, but soon realized that, as small as that might feel, it was too big for the project at hand. He moved back to the bathroom to complete the job, which will be shot by dancers in their own showers and baths.
The project, now in development, is slated to become a three-minute film as part of the BBC’s ongoing commissioned series Culture of Quarantine, for which Baker spearheaded another spectacular effort that debuted during our collective lockdown as part of the global Earth Day celebration, the dance film Spaghetti Junction, featuring dancers from the Hong Kong Ballet and the Birmingham Royal Ballet.
It’s inspiring to see so many talented people using their creative spirit to help us all not just process but grow and thrive in this strange, shared time of COVID-19. The painter Henry Moore once said, “To be an artist is to believe in life.”
Here’s to the artist – and the believer – in all of us.