Day 162, August 25, 2020
Professionals of Indeterminancy
Today's soundtrack: Larry Carlton and Robben Ford live in Switzerland 2007
I've been collaborating on a piece of writing with three other people three different continents, one in Great Britain, one in New Zealand, and one in Argentina. It is truly an amazing feat that we have found a common time across all our different timezones that we are all awake and functional, and through Zoom and Google Docs are able to collaborate in real-time. It is so easy in this pandemic era of isolation to just accept this interaction as any other virtual meeting, but when one slows down to really think about it, it is something quite miraculous. Just the amalgamation of all our accents is something to behold.
We are writing about community in the context of an arts organization focused on climate justice. One of the co-authors wrote a phrase, "Artists, contemporary society's professionals of indeterminacy..." which resonated with me. They were writing in the context of discovery, creation... and I often think of this blog like that. It is an unfolding that happens after sitting down and what emerges sometimes surprises me, sometimes it is disappointing, but the process only works with intentionality and practice. Even after taking just a few days off for the weekend, I can feel how much harder it is to get words down on the page on Monday. After a week off, it feels like I am wearing training wheels again.
There is something magical thinking about society's professionals of indeterminacy because it allows for a sense of agency and a sense of possibility. It is hard work to exist without the constancy of frameworks and structures to guide how one should act, look, and think... but there is also a freedom and the sometime sudden onset of what could be possible, that allows humans to experience a glimpse of what it might mean to be god-like, a creator rather than a consumer and destroyer.
Indeterminacy means, things can go in different directions. I told the co-writers about how I talk about living definitions, about how things can seem like they can be defined, but we discover that definitions can change over time, the perspective of the definer can shift, and any number of other factors could alter how a thing is defined. Starting to see the world in terms of definitions that are not fixed, but ever evolving, changes how one looks at the world and all the things we initially think of as fixed and immutable.
It is a practice. I struggle with it, the embrace of indeterminacy, the variability of constancy. And then, there are times when I just let go of all those inhibitions, the self restraint, and I decide, screw-it, let's just see what comes out on the page, let's just see what comes out of the guitar, and it is that practice, that intentionality, that allows for special moments, where something happens that is magical and not routine. It is that special space where live music can surpass a recording. It is that moment when there is a flow to the words, and an intensity that feels uninterruptible. It is one of the things that make life marvelous and not so mundane. And artists, are the conduits, that make that marvelousness accessible to others so that everyone can experience that greatness, that transcendence, that awe one can feel standing in a gallery, or reading a particularly marvelous poem. The artists help our world not be so mundane.
What ever it is that you do, remember to play it as a child plays, from time to time. Allow for a sense of discovery.
Take care and be well,
Leo
From Our Friends:
From Teaching Tolerance:
After this weekend, we—like many members of our community—are mourning the police shootings that killed Trayford Pellerin in Louisiana and left Jacob Blake in serious condition in a Wisconsin hospital. We understand how hard it can be to know how to support students in the face of ongoing police violence against Black people in the United States. We hope these resources will help.
From Mass Humanities:
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From Americans for the Arts:
August 27 @ 6:00 PM ET - 7:00 PM ET
Join artists Ben Folds, Annette Bening, and Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts Mary Anne Carter for an interactive discussion of the impact of COVID-19 on the arts community and policies for the future. For more information, please visit www.ArtsActionFund.org/ArtsVote.
Moderated by
- Nina Ozlu Tunceli, Executive Director of the Americans for the Arts Action Fund
- Nora Halpern, Vice President of Leadership Alliances of Americans for the Arts
Speakers
- Robert L. Lynch, President and CEO of Americans for the Arts
- Ben Folds, Musician and ArtsVote 2020 Chairman of the Arts Action Fund
- Annette Bening, Actress and Vice Chairman of The Actors Fund
- Mary Ann Carter, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts
Performance by
- Ben Folds, musician and ArtsVote 2020 Chairman of the Arts Action Fund
Registration for this live event is free and will be limited to the first 1000 registrants. You may also view this event live on the Arts Action Fund Facebook Page. A recording will be made available for on-demand replay 2 business days after the event.
Today's Online Teaching Tips:
From EducationAdminWebAdvisor:
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From Yamaha:
Socially Distant Team Building |
On the first day of school, students may come to class a bit apprehensive. A fun and socially distant team-building exercise is just a drumbeat away with this guide on getting a drum circle started in your class. |
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