Drawing Lessons

Sighs of relief. Jubilance. Gratitude and admiration for the excellence of first responders, medical personnel, citizens, neighbors, law enforcement at every level. It was an incredibly tumultuous and horrifying week that commenced with the Boston Marathon bombings, and culminated with the lockdown of Boston and the dramatic shootout and apprehension of the suspects,one dead, one wounded. Bostonians are able to resume their everyday lives, while all of us exhale and begin to consider what comes next.

Like any crisis, initial reactions can be visceral and harsh. When witnessing two young men, seemingly indifferent to human life, commit such horrifying acts, it is easy to want to exact revenge. Personally, I was thrilled that the younger brother was captured alive, and I hope that he will be able to provide actionable information. When many people reacted that they hoped he would die and/or suffer terribly, I thought about how incredibly difficult and rare it is to capture a terrorist or other violent criminal and not harm the perpetrator.

It reminds me of a truly remarkable historical event: the Israeli capture of Adolf Eichmann in Buenos Aires in 1960. That the Israelis were able to capture Eichmann and bring him to Jerusalem to stand trial for crimes against humanity as one of the organizers of The Holocaust, while many were recent survivors, is one of the most stunning examples of the capacity for human restraint and moral fortitude in the pursuit of justice. This is a lesson for humanity for the ages.

As we begin to seek answers to how the two Tsarnaev brothers became terrorists and what connections they may have had, much less how to deal with the surviving brother, I think it is also useful to consider lessons on drawing. We have been focusing thus far on “connecting the dots”, which of course gives us lines (or connecting line segments). We have photographic images, and other data that will help authorities connect the dots. When we draw, we sharpen our attention, and look for structure and proportion as well as various perspectives. Perhaps there is shading. Drawing is a process of refinement.

Drawing is not the same as form; it is a way of seeing form. (Edgar Degas)

The very act of drawing an object, however badly, swiftly takes the drawer from a woolly sense of what the object looks like to a precise awareness of its component parts and particularities. (Alain de Botton)

It is often said that Leonardo drew so well because he knew about things; it is truer to say that he knew about things because he drew so well. (Sir Kenneth Clark)

The mindset of drawing is one that is often cast aside, in favor of immediate images and instantaneous reaction. Drawing lessons may be as valuable as crowdsourced images though, if we are to enhance our understanding and possibilities for learning and improving.

Super Duper

Yesterday was a Super Duper Wednesday.  It was not a good day; certainly not in the news world. It was a day full of news and un-news and more bad news, and then punctuated news. By now we are all too familiar with the news media too eager to report, despite serious mistakes (and possibly serious ramifications from those mistakes). It does seem, however, that there is forensic evidence of a pressure cooker used for the bomb(s) that killed and maimed brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, at the Boston Marathon on Monday. A pressure cooker. It’s almost too obvious. The literal and figurative remains of a pressure cooker were what we were left with yesterday. By the time I went to bed, though, I felt duped.

On a day when media outlets rushed to report that a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing was arrested, and then that report was retracted, the “pressure cooker” that is the news media revealed its limits. Then there was the discovery of a  potentially poisonous letter sent to President Obama, just after one was discovered sent to a senator (maybe more than one senator). At least those letters were initialed by the sender, so as to avoid any confusion. By the end of the day, when most of the news revolved around the aftermath of the horror in Boston, and attempts to get attention for poisoning senators and the President, a bi-partisan bill that would expand background checks to purchase a gun was defeated. President Obama responded,” The American people are trying to figure out, how can something have 90 percent support and yet not happen?”  I think many of us felt Super Duped.

We live in Super times. Supermodels and Supermajorities; Super Bowls and Super Bugs; Super Moms and Superheroes; (Superman); Superhighways and Superconductors; Super Glue and Super Funds; Supersonic and Supernova; Superstars and Superpowers; Superego and Superficial and Supernatural…….

So much seems to be heightened–super heightened– and we often find ourselves in our own pressure cookers. Then we have Super Duper days.

Horrorism

As of 6:00 pm on this Tax Day (and Patriot’s Day in Massachusetts), Monday,April 15, 2013, two explosions occurred near the finish line at The Boston Marathon, killing two and injuring scores. These are the early reports. Certainly there are more questions than answers at this moment, but already we are hunkering down, and fearful of more danger in the coming hours, days, and weeks.  News commentators have proclaimed that the terrorists have scored a win, as authorities have already admonished citizens to stay home. Pennsylvania Avenue in front of The White House has been closed to pedestrians this evening.

The Boston Marathon, one of the great annual events, is usually a joyful experience for spectators and runners alike. While the individuals compete against each other, there is also a sense of community–of spectators cheering on the runners and offering water to all. It’s about personal best and fellowship. It’s one of the least divisive sporting events. Until a bomb goes off.

The Boston Marathon is both a local event and a global one. It is viewed around the world as those competing hail from all over. Today’s blast is not only an act of terror, instilling fear through violence, but it is horrifying. Bostonians and those visiting this great city have been terrorized. The rest of us watching from afar may also feel fear (terror) that there are more imminent attacks, and that they may not be limited to Boston. But what we all should feel is horror.

Violence may be endemic to the human condition, but we have transformed many of humanity’s ills and diminished the prevalence of violence from time to time. As we consider laws to reduce gun violence, there are simultaneous calls to arm teachers in schools to protect students. Many see the answer to violence as being better armed. This was the proposition behind the Cold War. More nuclear arms would prevent war. So how do we reconcile the need for safety with the need to go about our lives, and to prevent horrifying accidents?

Of course, this was no accident. This was terror–whether it was homegrown or international. Chaos and fear ensued, and disrupted a magnificent day. And there were many horrific injuries as well as a couple of deaths. We need to not only be safe from harm, but teach our children that violence is not a solution. We now have a generation who have grown up since 9/11 who are more exposed to violence from our two wars, multimedia, popular culture, and more demands for guns as an expression of freedom, rather than freedom from guns and violence.

We won’t be able to control or eliminate all acts of violence, random or planned, but we can teach our children that violence is horror, not freedom.

Future Tense

It used to be that the future was exciting.  Of course, that was in the past. Now, in the present, yesterday’s future, we fear the future. Whether it’s: terrorism, nuclear obliteration, the next super-bug, or super-storm; climate change, crushing debt, or no more jobs; politicians who don’t stand for us, corporations who speak over us, horse meat and hormones, or unriching education, we are growing increasingly more tense about the future.

We have ample evidence today that we have many issues to tackle.  Even more disconcerting, is the rationale against tackling issues. We see how seemingly intractable so many problems have become. People across the political spectrum have dug in their heels, and have been most concerned with ideological purity and political power. Instead of climbing mountains, or even seeing that shining city on a hill, we’re staring down fiscal cliffs. Cynics have divided us into makers and takers (although I’m not sure everyone would agree who’s who). Hope and change became nope and same. Everyone is disgusted and fearful.

Despite the reality upon which our fears are based, we are becoming blinded by the fear. When teaching History to high school students, I remind them of other periods when the world seemed like it was about to end, or at least had turned very dark. When they can imagine their grandparents’ world, and that life continued, and the future included their lives, they can begin to shift their perspectives.

History is a great teacher. So too are the arts. The combination is most effective in conveying ways in which humans have confronted issues and experienced difficulties and forged new ways to shape lives and communities. I encourage teachers to include paintings and music, as well as dance and theatre in their History classes. I also encourage a fusion of History with Math and Science, and of course integrating the arts in those classes as well. Perspective is important in each subject (and in life), and is easily exemplified in the arts. Students in Language Arts classes learn perspective (person) in grammar and literature (through character and voice). Education is not merely the accumulation of facts. It is in fact to enrich (not unrich) our lives; to broaden our perspectives.

As a nation, we have been struggling with accountability in education. Students are assessed; teachers are assessed; and schools are assessed. I’m not sure that our assessments are  actually geared toward improving education, despite the good intentions. Moreover, the focus on those assessments as the determiners of future status for students, teachers, and schools, has created greater tension and a more limited education.

Given the many challenges that we must meet in our schools, our communities, our politics, and in all aspects of our lives, it is easy to be cynical and fearful. When we are fearful, we shut down possibilities. When we nurture our creative instincts, we begin to think in the future tense, creating possibilities and improving  what was started.

That Tone of Voice

Those eyes…..That voice……

If I asked you who told us to fasten our seat belts; It’s going to be a bumpy night, would you hear that line in a gravelly woman’s voice? Would you see those great big piercing Bette Davis eyes? You can practically hear a biting comment from looking at her eyes.

Gregory Peck’s rich, soothing baritone voice, one of the most easily identifiable, is also inextricably linked to his performance as Atticus Finch in the movie “To Kill a Mockingbird”.  His voice became associated with warmth and justice, as he portrayed several characters  who represented our best angels and defended democracy. As an actor, he performed in an array of roles. Some, including Josef Mengele in “ The Boys From Brazil”, were the antithesis of his heroes, but Gregory Peck and his voice were primarily associated with benevolence, moral conscience, strength and intelligence on screen and off.

Riddle me this: What post-war actor-comedian appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show doing his impersonations and political sketch comedy the same episode The Beatles first appeared on the show? Frank Gorshin, aka The Riddler on the campy Batman television show, developed a  comedy career as an impersonator of fellow actors and of politicians. His voice was other voices. Impersonation was a popular staple of stand-up comedy in the 1960s and 1970s, and while it is still part of many a comedian’s repertoire, the emphases of comedy have changed. Still, Tina Fey’s Sarah Palin remains one of the great impersonations. It was a brilliant replica of the sound of Sarah Palin’s voice, as well as her vocal tics and mannerisms. Like Gorhsin’s and other comedic political impersonations, political voices as well as vocal qualities are showcased and accentuated.

So many people have paid tribute to the great movie critic Roger Ebert, who succumbed to a lengthy and incredibly difficult battle against cancer the other day. I am among those who listened to him from the 1970s on, and was enriched by his voice as an intellectual, as a movie lover, and as a human being of incomparable fortitude. Ebert lost the ability to use his anatomical vocal chords, but his voice was never silenced.

Yesterday, Hillary Clinton spoke at the  Newsweek/The Daily Beast’s Women in the World conference. Her speech was a call to action: “Let’s keep fighting for opportunity and dignity.”  Let’s keep fighting for freedom and equality. Let’s keep fighting for full participation and let’s keep telling the world over and over again that, yes, women rights are human rights, and human rights are women’s rights once and for all.”

Hillary Clinton, who “found her voice” in New Hampshire in 2008, has always been a voice for human rights, and specifically women’s rights. Whatever your political opinions, she has made audible the voices of those we can not hear.

Artists do the same. Consider Picasso’s Guernica. One of his most famous paintings, Picasso’s Guernica shows the horrors of war and the untold suffering inflicted upon civilians as well as soldiers. The painting helped to bring the Spanish Civil War to the world’s attention, and has since become an anti-war fixture, as a reminder of the tragedies of war anywhere, any time. Picasso’s voice was clear.

 Guernica, 1937 by Pablo Picasso

http://www.pablopicasso.org/guernica.jsp

One of the most powerful voices to encapsulate African-American Southern Baptist culture (and history) is told through the entire body. Alvin Ailey’s iconic Revelations is not only still enjoyed as magnificent dance, but as an expression of profound grief and absolute joy. The work was autobiographically inspired (as finding and using our voices always is), but it speaks to universals from a historically and culturally specific time and place using African-American spirituals, gospel songs and  blues. Because Revelations is a dance piece, it’s physicality makes the piece immediate and eternal, as bodies in motion give voice to powerful emotions.

AAADT-in-Alvin-Ailey’s-Revelations.–Photo-by-Nan-Melville.jpg

In honor of those old actors whose birthdate was yesterday, Bette Davis, Gregory Peck, and Frank Gorshin, we salute them and their voices. We grieve the loss of Roger Ebert who lost his ability to use his vocal chords, but never lost his voice.

We’ve become frustrated with the noise of politics, but there are still voices of reason and justice–even in politics. But the arts are often the most articulate and inspiring of voices. Listen (and watch) for those inspiring voices, and use your voice not for shouting or vilifying, but for educating and creating peaceful possibilities.

The Return of Mad Men

Waxing nostalgic? Thinking about those bad boys from what seems like an entirely different culture? Well, this week takes us out of our comfort zones, as we consider how we will deal with the young Supreme Leader of North Korea, Kim-Jong-un, after news reports of his seeking to instill fear in South Korea and the US, with intimations of nuclear weaponry and potential attacks. While listening to a news program on NPR today, one of the esteemed guests was asked if this meant that Iran was no longer our greatest nuclear threat. The guest replied that now North Korea is a more urgent nuclear threat. There was not much consolation in that response. I’m so glad that Dennis Rodman recently took a jaunt to hang with Kim Jong-un; a guy he seemed to get along with quite well. That should have put us on alert before this week!

Of course throughout history there have been numerous mad men. The kinder term in modern politics has been strong men–men who lead authoritarian regimes who claim to create a new nation, while oppressing, and /or murdering en masse, citizens and other innocents.  The old cartoons (and for our younger viewers of The Austin Powers series), these Boris Badinoff, Lex Luthor, The Joker, Dr. Evil….etc…. are ridiculous and comical. Hitler, Stalin,Ceausescu, Pol Pot,Pinochet, Idi Amin, Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin Laden….just to name a few… There are so many more to name just in the last 50 years.The list really starts from the beginning of time, and continues on past today.

These despots are of a particular category of mad men. There are also the Adam Lanzas and the James Eagan Holmes types,who are unstable and well armed, and open fire on innocent people. They are indeed dangerous to society, but at least are not in positions of political power.

This week also marked the 45th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  He was a man with a vision of racial equality achieved through non-violent civil disobedience  who was gunned down. While we remember with heavy hearts,and continue to  extend civil rights to all, we must also remember that MLK Jr. was considered a threat by J Edgar Hoover, head of the FBI . Who were the real mad men?

The uptick in inflammatory rhetoric this week, emanating from the cloistered nation of North Korea’s media, is threatening and a bit confusing. It is difficult to discern what’s possible in this situation. While there are many in this country who offend other’s political opinions (and sensibilities), we must be vigilant in distinguishing agitators from true mad men. Violence and threats of violence must always be taken seriously, while strengthening  democracy through non-violent means and expanding civil rights must always be championed.

Boy, am I looking forward to starting the week off with Don Draper and Roger Sterling!

Driver’s Ed

What don’t you want to be when you grow up? I knew from the time I was 16 that I didn’t want to be a Driver’s Ed instructor. In those days, they smoked an awful lot of cigarettes while in the passenger (co-pilot) seat. No wonder! What a horrible job! It’s as death-defying and thankless as any, and most of the time is spent with 16 year olds. The service that they provide though, is an hour a week relief to parents. Most teens will not be terribly insolent to an official driving instructor.

The Driver’s Ed part of parenting was one of the most difficult times. Well…..not the Driver’s Ed per se…..that was the relief. It was the rest of the time in the car with teenage kids the year prior to the license, and post license (waiting for their safe return, preferably without scratches or dents to them or to the car). I was particularly tense during those times (years).

Recently, I was thinking about that question that James Lipton asks at the end of “Inside the Actors’ Studio” from the Bernard Pivot questionnaire: What profession would you not like to do? And I still reacted with: Driver’s Ed Instructor. Then I thought about how perfect that is.

Some new drivers seem oblivious. They have enjoyed being passengers, and want the freedom of being drivers, but never considered all that must be taken into account. Others are afraid of the power. They are so fearful of causing an accident or of making a mistake, that they not only make more mistakes, but create a fearful environment for those next to them as well . Still others are exhilarated by the power and the energy and the sense of freedom that comes with driving. They may need more reminders about caution, and to slow down. It’s always an adjustment, though. Sometimes, even for those who are quickly comfortable behind the wheel, and have an innate calm and good depth perception and quick instincts, there is still a bit of adjustment. They not only need to fit comfortably and see accurately, but like learning to dance with a partner, coordinate the footwork and accelerate and brake with proper timing and emphasis. Everyone must make the proper adjustments and practice, practice, practice.

As educators and parents, we are all Driving Instructors! We provide the rules and the basic techniques. We brief our kids on speed limits and safety features. We remind them to check rear view mirrors and blind spots, and tell them to always keep their eyes on the road!

I guess we are also accountants and consultants and waste managers and……

Same Opportunities Means Differences, Creativity, and Change

Our society talks a lot about diversity, but we talk about diversity as multi-colored or multi-gendered sameness. On the one hand, we want the same opportunities for everyone regardless of race, gender, creed, sexual orientation, economic status…..etc….On the other hand, we get stuck on what we mean by the same opportunities. Too often we focus on the sameness rather than on the opportunities.

The last couple of generations has seen a revolution in civil rights, and access to education and jobs. Millennials have been more color blind than their predecessors, partially because they grew up exposed to more racial and cultural diversity than their parents and grandparents did. They also grew up in a culture of gender equality (or as some would attest, post -Feminism).  This is not to suggest that racism and sexism and other bigotry does not exist; it does, but the culture at large has wandered through the desert for 40 years, and has transitioned to a new normal that is much more fully integrated by race and gender than at any previous time in history. There are still some firsts yet to come, and more diversity is necessary, but the idea that schools and workplaces, much less any place, should look the way they did a couple of generations ago, is anachronistic and stunting our progress. Millennials  have also shown their distinction as civil birth-rights with their ease and support of marriage equality. They schooled their elders on both sides of the political divide, that marriage equality is a civil right. We’ll see when the elders on the Supreme Court ultimately get it. Millennials seem to be most entrenched in same opportunities.

One of the (fairly recent, historically speaking) civil rights laws that many Millennials may not have been aware of was the Americans with Disabilities Act ( ADA 1990). Like the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which made discrimination based on race, religion or sex illegal, the ADA of 1990 protects against discrimination, in this case, based on disability. The power of these civil rights laws is the inclusion of so many who were previously excluded (and worse). The cultural impact is even greater: We have access to so many more gifts and gifted individuals who are different from us! It is equal opportunity for variety–not sameness. The more difference the better!

One of the cultural remnants of the ADA however, has been the seeming pathologization of so many previously “normal”, if unpleasant, phases of life and dispositions. It became beneficial for many parents to have their struggling kids tested and identified as having some sort of disability in order to get an IEP (Individualized Education Plan).   The IEPs are a reasonable first step, but are often not adhered to, and are difficult for teachers (and parents) to manage. The upsurge in disabilities is partially due to a new recognition of disability. At the same time, school systems have been decreasing arts and recess, and adding testing and uniforms, and earlier school times–all counter to enhancing individual academic, intellectual,social and emotional growth. Being more aware of disabilities and ways to manage them has been a great leap forward; but we must be careful not to create a culture of disability/pathology where everything is a problem that needs medicating in an environment that doesn’t allow for different rates of development, and uses inappropriate measures of assessment and  notions of success.   I spent years parenting and teaching in a culture that on the one hand suggested pathology was everywhere, but where there was also little interest in creativity or in diverse kinds of education. Perhaps there would be less pathology if more diversity of human nature were encouraged and nurtured. Diversity is more than skin deep. It is more than racial and gender orientation. To assume that everyone can be educated the same is small minded, at best. Sometimes, the real opportunities lie in diverse learning institutions and workplaces.

For Millennials who have grown up to expect opportunities for all, they are discovering a cruel economic situation that demands creativity. Creative thinking (and work) is not merely for artists.    Any strides that we have made in Civil Rights and educating, and having people become more included and productive, has come from a break from the status quo; from sameness to opportunity. Learning institutions and workplaces must continue to evolve to include more diversity of individuals (inside and out). Perhaps that will mean a shift in scheduling and organization from one that no longer supports what is truly a more diverse population and a creative culture.

When Defense is Offensive

This week as the Supreme Court began grappling with Prop 8 and DOMA, the majority of the public began to be more public with their stance in support of marriage equality for same sex couples. This seemed to be the tipping point, where public displays of solidarity with gay rights and = signs  were everywhere. The Supreme Court will have an official decision on the Defense of Marriage Act ( the law that recognizes marriage as explicitly between a man and a woman) in June, but meanwhile, the court of public opinion has decided that the Defense of Marriage Act is indefensible. In fact, it is downright offensive.

 

Defending traditions and institutions is not unlike defending our homes and families. We have an instinct to defend– to protect and preserve.  We defend our ideas and ideals, our homeland, our selves. Psychologically, we employ unconscious defense mechanisms when we feel threatened in some way. We maintain that we have a right to defend what is precious to us. It isn’t always clear though, when defense becomes offensive.

 

The movement to control gun violence has gained traction in recent months especially in the wake of the Sandy Hook elementary school massacre. Those defending the right to arm themselves with guns suggest that stricter gun laws will not prevent similar types of atrocities. Furthermore, the right to bear arms is considered sacred, as is the right to defend oneself. When does defense become offensive? In the Trayvon Martin case, self appointed watchman George Zimmerman invoked Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law, essentially suggesting that Zimmerman shot Martin in self defense. This would not seem offensive had Zimmerman been followed and pursued by Martin, rather than the other way around. Zimmerman pursued Martin whom he thought might be suspicious of something nefarious. What that nefarious something might have been, I’m not quite sure. That Martin fought Zimmerman to defend himself from some guy (with a gun) who was following him, seems to me to fit the concept of defense–especially because Martin  used his fists. Zimmerman shot Martin and killed him, perhaps accidentally, but using lethal weapons is more likely to cause offense in the name of defense.

 

Thinking again about that tragic (and perhaps pivotal) day in Newton, Connecticut, and I think about the truest defensive-protective actions: those of the teachers and administration. They sheltered and lunged and took care of the children. Some instinctively sacrificed themselves to save the children. That instinct to defend can be life affirming, and in that elementary school, there was no potential for offense in defending those in the school. In contrast, the arsenal that was found in the Lanza home, and detailed in the media today, is a dystopian sort of defense, and one that was likely to produce harm, if not a massacre. As parents, educators, and citizens, we need to defend what is precious without  causing suffering (or worse) to others. It is incumbent upon us to cultivate a culture of respect and civility more than an armed society. We will not be able to prevent all harm, but we can mitigate some, and any reduction in violence is worth defending.  Any less, not only offends our sensibilities, it puts us all in greater danger.

Meme What You Say and Say What You Meme

Meme: an element of a culture or system of behavior that may be considered to be passed from one individual to another by nongenetic means, especially imitation.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary 2013

 

This week = signs were virtually everywhere. Yes, virtually. In my last piece, Right of Spring, I considered religious rites of Spring, Passover and Easter; cultural works of art, namely Stravinsky’s (and Nijinsky’s) “Rite of Spring”; political rights in the Middle East that began with the so-called Arab Spring; and here and now, legal rights, as the Supreme Court grapples with Prop 8 and DOMA and marriage equality for same sex couples. It is the legal right to which I referred as the right of this Spring. While I was considering Rites and Rights of Spring, = signs and other posters (i.e. pictures) were being shared on social media, and in all media. Their impact was immediate and vast. The signs and symbols reflected thoughts and emotions with an intensity (and often humor) that inspired a cultural ripple. These signs may not have changed minds, but seemed to allow people to share in the cultural discourse in ways that they might not have otherwise. The visceral effect of a graphic combined with the immediacy and vastness of the internet allows for memes to not only become “viral”, but to allow people to connect culturally.

=

When you want to make an impact, consider the effect that graphic arts and other cultural arts have. Arts affect emotion, and engage the senses while connecting to our intellects (ideas and ideals).

Marketers,advertisers, and political consultants know this, but educators and anyone who wants to connect and make a difference could do well to meme what you say and say what you meme.