The Challenge of "Culture"

[LSPoorEeyorick]

Very interesting topic!

I'm a culture geek, and I'm not sure how it happened. My mom grew up on a working farm and clawed her way into college-- she was the only one of eight children who went, though she was unable to finish because my parents married and had children and she couldn't afford the time or money that college required. My father grew up in an upper-middle big-fish family in a small pond-- and although dad's aunt was a symphony violinist and owned a Stradivarian, my grandfather lacked her talent and resented her, and forbade any of his children to play or appreciate music; it was science or death.

Together, my parents sought to understand culture and travel as much as they could, but art museums and operas weren't really within their reach or their taste. Mom dabbled in poetry, dad thought wistfully of buying classical albums, but they never really broke out of their comfort zone. My two siblings, who are ten and twelve years older than I, didn't have extravagant tastes. My brother eventually sought out film, my sister did crafts and marched in band.

Then they had me. And I wanted to take ballet. And I wanted to understand Shakespeare. And I wanted to visit the Detroit Institute of the Arts. And I liked jazz. And I tried to make them listen to Bizet's "The Pearl Fishers." And I wanted to get a couple of useless degrees in literature and theatre directing. And I don't know why I'm different, but they're all out there in the midwest, and I'm living in Los Angeles trying to soak up as much culture as I can afford (which sadly, is not as much as I'd like.) They were always supportive of me and my black sheepish grin-- but I've never really entirely felt like one of them. Except for maybe mom-- I get the feeling that had she more resources and less emotional challenges in her youth, she'd have really loved living the life I'm living now. It's partly why I'm living it-- because I grew up watching her dream of exploring, and for a variety of reasons, she never did. And I didn't want that. I wanted experience MoCA Ecstasy. I wanted to see passion from the perspective Bourne's dancers. I wanted to listen to animators talk about Walk Disney, three feet from my seat. So here I am.

I guess what I'm saying is: no. I have not come across any "culture" that I don't jive with. There have been specific examples. One artist calls to me more than another, for instance. You walk through a gallery and some things call out to you and some things leave you cold-- but that's never stopped me from going into galleries. Or alternately, rap does not always speak to me but there have been songs that penetrated my heart completely.

I've a critical streak that sometimes prevents me from enjoying things to the fullest of their depth. But as far as genres of creativity, any example of it makes me feel more human, and I can't say there's anything I don't enjoy in one form or another.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Museums are something I love. Certainly my favorite museum experiences are the less "standard" spaces, but I also enjoy a good old white-walled gallery. Contrary to Alex, I appreciate art much more when surrounded by other art that gives it some context and contrast.

[Prudence]

I find that I appreciate more the aspects of culture in which I have some personal experience. Thus, I enjoy pretty much anything that involves music or dance. Traditional visual arts - not so much. I mean, I can yay Monet and all, but have zero talent in that area and perhaps as a result less understanding and appreciation of the process. But with dance, for example, I know what it takes to do what they are doing. I might not be able to do it anymore, and I never went en pointe, but I have a pretty good understanding of technique.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Heh, that explanation doesn't work for me as I have zero talent in any art for whatsoever, and yet I still like art.

[Matterhorn Fan]

I enjoy dance because I feel it. I'm guessing that's in part because I spent SO many years dancing.

But when I was taken to a hockey game, I didn't stand up and scream and yell or whatever I was supposed to do when the game went to sudden death, and I was told I was weird. I was literally asked, "aren't you excited?" I had to just sit there and say "no."

I can appreciate the skill it takes to play team sports, but I just can't get excited about them. Then there are other sports I can "feel" more than, say, baseball, like skiing. That I can kindof get into.

So I guess it goes both ways.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

I love art. I love dance in musicals (West Side etc) but dance for dance sake doesn't keep my interest. I'm impressed by it though. Opera is also impressive but I just don't like it. Oh, and it's usually in languages I can't understand, which is a big block for me.

My appreciation of classical is solely from my Academic Decathlon experience. I dig it and would love to see a full orchestra. I know nothing about the technical side but I love the emotions it stirs in me. I can't tell Mozart from Bach from anything else though...

[€uroMeinke]

On the music side, I rarely pay attention to lyrics. I can never remember them and it takes a good long time before I can sing along with anything much beyond the chorus. I supose that's why I like foriegn music so much, I never have to be distracted by what they are saying, I just hear the music of their voices. I love some Classical choral pieces for just that point.

[Not Afraid]

Originally Posted by Cadaverous Pallor

Opera is also impressive but I just don't like it. Oh, and it's usually in languages I can't understand, which is a big block for me.

Interesting point in the way that each person percieves and feels things differently. I almost prefer to come at artistic expression from a non-verbal or speficically understood language perspective. While I am an avid reader and wholely appreciate the written word, I like having my other senses participate in or be challenged into cooperating in the processing of feeling and understanding. The language of dance can communicate more to me than an ee cummings poem, or a particular painting may stir more in me through the use of color, line shape and form than a T.C. Boyle story. Music is much the same. If often don't "know" the lyrics of a song - athough I have them memorized, they don't have as much meaning to me as the sounds, the tones, the feel of the music itself. I like music both with and without lyrics equally and don't mind at all if they are in a foreign language, they still communicate me to their essence seomhow.

Somewhere along the line, I either learned how to use these different methods to understand things or I was just born that way. Who knows, but it sure is interesting to think about the different way of interpreting the world around us and why we all have so many disconnects.

[Prudence]

Hearing lyrics in other languages I don't speak used to bug me - until I started singing in other languages I don't speak. But then that fits in with what I said earlier. I understand how singers work to convey what they're singing regardless of language used, yadda yadda.

[€uroMeinke]

Originally Posted by Not Afraid

Somewhere along the line, I either learned how to use these different methods to understand things or I was just born that way. Who knows, but it sure is interesting to think about the different way of interpreting the world around us and why we all have so many disconnects.

I think you hit upon something here, some of us are more visual, or aural, cerebral, or kinesthetic - that probably also shapes what art forms speak to us.