Found myself surrounded by myriad of visual, auditory, and olfactory delights. . .
It was Children's Day here in Korea--imagine, a whole day dedicated to being a child--needless to say, I felt at home in this frivolity.
Wandering the carnival-like streets of the Herbal Medicine Market I discovered tempura fried ginger root, dark rich licorice tea, and Korean theatre. . .yes. . .theatre. *goosebumps*
As we traveled down the street, we heard drums and saw a fairly large crowd up ahead. My first thought was drum circle (Missoula living rears its head) but as we got closer, we noticed people in costume and talking. . .dost mine eyes deceive me??. . .
There in the streets were players performing! It seemed to be a comedy--a very melodramatic comedy. There was the bad guy, the king, the jester, and the woman in distress. . .Men were dressed as women, women dressed as men. . .it was beautiful. . .it was quirky. . .it was perfect. . . there were martial arts and magic tricks, love and silliness. And as I settled into the moment, a man came up to me, and simply began to explain what I was watching. . .however, he did not translate the story for me, instead he explained the history of the piece. . .could the fates have put a better person next to me in that moment?? Absolutely not! He explained this was a traditional story line, and this type of play was thought of as medicine for the audience. . .the martial arts are interwoven through the piece to bring strength.
Oh the thoughts and theories that percolated!! I will save you from that torture. . .however, I will say this. . .art at its core is tangible humanity. . .Music, theatre, painting, building. . .they're all elementary. . .every person across the globe understands them because we all experience emotion, and art causes an emotional response--consciously or not.
What a deep and very obvious thought. . (I'm full of them). . .
Unfortunately, art is no exception to our natural inclination to separate and categorize. . .people began to study, examine, research, and theorize all things art--all things performance. . .and over time, as this inclination to understand grew into obsession for some, this strange elitist attitude began to surface and permeate the artistic world. Art is intimidating and impenetrable for the average person. . .and that should not be. . .
There I was in a foreign street, watching a foreign play. . .intimidation certainly lurked. . .but then a nice man simply explained the context, and opened that particular world up to me. . .understanding the language was unnecessary. . .I laughed and clapped in all the right places, and it was amazing, extraordinary, and beautiful. . .
no one needs to know the ins and outs of theatre to enjoy it. . .no one needs to know the language. . .no one needs to know the context. . .(however my performance theory ladened mind certainly appreciated it. . .but I didn't need to know the context. . .)
So, how do we make art more accessible and less intimidating??
I think we just keep doing it. . .and I think we bring it back to the streets. . .that's my thought now, but I bet I will expand on it in the future.
Well now. . .
This blog post ended up in completely different place then where it started, but I think it's nice when things like that happen. . .plus, I am really just too tired to go back and change it. . .
so, my furry friends, the only quote I can leave you with is this:
"The theatre, which is no thing, but makes use of everything." --Artaud.
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