[Ansteorra] How to Trap a Laurel

Casey Weed seoseaweed at gmail.com
Thu Jul 28 10:51:50 PDT 2011


Okay, I can't take it any more.

Presentation is important and saying that it shouldn't matter or doesn't
count,  or is some kind of jackbooted and unfair element of competitive
display or,  *especially* saying that because it is done well it must have
taken away from time that could have been spent on the actual item (which
now *must* be sub-par or shabbily built!!!)... utter hog wash.

You dress nice for an interview, don't you?  You comb your kids hair before
sending them to school, right?  You pick up the fast food wrappers out of
the floor board of that spiffy 1990 Buick Skylark before picking up a date,
right?  I hope so.  And if you don't, perhaps there are some clues as to why
interviews, PTA meetings, and dates aren't going quite according to Hoyle
for you.

How much does this resemble your position?: "I want some or all of the
benefits of being judged- professional feedback, personal acknowledgment,
word fame, awards,  some beads, a scroll, chocolates and mints left on my
table, and awards perhaps- but I am not willing to help the people whose
time I am demanding connect with the 10s, 100s or 1000s of hours I put into
my project beyond plopping it down on a bare table."

I have two areas of expertise: Early Modern Theater and Marketing.  Both
have taught me that context is crucial.  If you don't take the time to put
something in context- which is really what a good display should be about-
you're just doing your art for yourself.  Self.  As in the word 'selfish'.
Yes, art is personal, but if you're out *seeking judgment* and begging the
valuable time of others in the form of feedback- that's 'consulting' in the
real world and usually comes with a $100/hr+ price tag- you need to
recognize that if you don't put your work in context it may be difficult to
digest, particularly in those Blue Water art forms where you are the lone
pioneer.

Forget about the awards and kudos: you're asking for someone's time-
something you can *never* replace.  This isn't about the Jay Effect,
glitter, potpourri, etc.(a Straw Man if ever I set fire to one).  It's about
treating your date like her time is valuable... dust the fries off the
passenger seat, wash the car, and replace that crown air freshener on the
dashboard.  Open her door.  Tell her where you're going tonight.  We can all
talk piously and empirically about how art should stand alone on it's own
merits but that's a load of horse manure in the real world.  At the Louvre,
the Uffizi, the Prado, the Curtain, the Philharmonic... the art is always in
beautiful *context*.  A frame, a stage, a room with other complimentary art,
good light, well dressed attendants, costumes on dancers... all prepared for
your consumption.  Even in situations where competition is involved.  And in
all these venues, they also make an effort of some kind to help the
uneducated connect to the art, too.

You know... as if they cared about the audience as much as themselves.  As
if art were a service rather than a favor.

Without an audience there is no theater.  Treat them accordingly- cushions
and an intermission for a 2 hour show is the least you can do.

Casey/Dieterich

(Apologies to Skylark owners- I had one when I was single so it was the
natural choice.  Further apologies if I ever dated you and missed some fries
or failed to replace the crown air freshener.)



More information about the Ansteorra mailing list