© 2005, Space Innovation, Labbeus Woods. Imagined Museum of Contemporary Art
In a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour:
Do we perceive beauty?
Do we stop to appreciate it?
Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?
One of the best musicians in the world – Joshua Bell – played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollar at a metro station in Washington DC. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousand of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work (two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100).
And how did they react?
For the most part, not at all. More than a thousand people entered the Metro station as Bell worked his way through a set list of classical masterpieces, but only a few stopped to listen. Some dropped money in his open violin case (for a total of about $27), but most never even stopped to look
© 2012, universaldilletant Art is Everywhere group
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?
Full article here (from Washington Post.)
Time and (right) instruments are the first two conditions to perceive beauty.