Arts for a New Era — an open dialogue

I remember back to an easy, sunny morning, when I was just nine years old; the day must have seemed so full of promise, and the message coming from my heart to my head was clear and strong: I would become a professional singer! And, not just any singer, either! Oh, no! I would take over onstage and in the movies once Barbra Streisand vacated her spot, and I would enjoy a life of singing, celebrity and ease. My parents may have mentioned something about what a lot of “hard work” would be required if I were to choose the path of an artist for myself, but, of course, what on Earth could be hard about singing? I already did it all the time, and, it was FUN!

Well, now I am several decades beyond such innocent fancies and I can look back, as only a few of the lucky ones can, at the many colorful memories of singing and traveling and doing cool things. And, yes, as it turns out, there was a lot of hard work involved (who knew?), and add to that a lot of heart break, a lot of rejection, a LOT of uncertainty, a lot of self-doubt. . . and the list goes on and on.

But, for those of us who have been blessed to live through such times, I think we can all readily and loudly agree that the years and tears we have spent being artists have been important; they have mattered, and they may even have changed a life or two for the better. I, for one, have no regrets at all, only gratitude and awe.

And, if what I have learned is true, that the Arts are Important, then what the heck are we supposed to do now? How can I now subject innocents to my art-making when the very act of my singing may put their lives in danger? Talk about cognitive dissonance. . . My art, my voice, my portrayal of exquisite melodies and texts are meant to delight, to inspire, to soothe! And, instead, I now find myself, locked away in my home, trying to keep busy with other things so that I do not feel too deeply the personal lack of my music and community, and so that I do not unwittingly thrust disease upon others. It is truly a conundrum.

And, one thing has become clear, as so many of us gather on Zoom to discuss a way forward, as we look at the science of aerosols, calculate the distance one singer should be from another in rehearsal, as we rush to learn sound engineering technologies and video editing software that were, not so long ago, utterly unknown to us. Through all of this, one thing has become abundantly clear:

There are no answers.

Let me now amend that to say: there are no easy answers. More and more answers will come, as time and studies go on, and even the slowest among us to adapt will be able to find ways forward if we wish. There may even be ways to ‘return to normal,’ if we insist upon it. But, I have a radical proposal to offer for consideration, instead:

Why don’t we reinvent ourselves?

Why don’t we take this moment as a forced reset, as a mandated pause during which to reflect and to use those creative brains to imagine what better and more functional modern arts platforms might look like? Can we discover more effective ways to bring quality, meaningful content to arts consumers in a pandemic and post-pandemic world? Not to replace all that we have established and not to abolish all the old platforms, but to seek new ones to work alongside, so that artists can effectively deliver their art, and human beings can continue to take inspiration from them, and be given beautiful respites from the hardships Life can bring.

For the first several months of this pandemic storm, as we all reeled in the shock of the unimaginable events unfolding daily, no one could blame any one of us as we jumped out onto balconies to passionately serenade the passersby, and as we scrambled to record ourselves and send little clips to the magic techies who could make things come out in the right order, right side up. But, continuing to offer little clips of our art and of ourselves on the web will not bring us to a sustainable way forward. All the canceled engagements and openings have translated to empty seats, struggling arts organizations, and artists scrambling to find new ways to replace an income that utterly vanished from one day to the next.

I don’t have the answers, but I do have faith. Faith in human ingenuity. Faith in the core entrepreneurial spirit of America and its artists. Perhaps we have become somewhat complacent, allowing things to remain the same because ‘that’s how it has always been done.’ But, even from the wreckage of 2020, we can see that some things have been broken and breaking for a long time. And, perhaps it is when we cannot imagine how things could possibly sink any lower that we start to look up and imagine how beautiful things might look in a world of our own thoughtful and purposeful design.

I say, we collaborate. I say we dare to create a new reality that reaches farther and which is more inclusive on every dimension. Let’s find ways to create virtual theaters into which to invite our modern audiences, through which we can deliver all the best that we have to offer. How can we create pieces of the “Oasis” from Earnest Klein’s Ready Player One, published in 2011. I know Virtual Reality is still just a fledgling technology, but, don’t we have some extra time on our hands now? What about virtual museums, where real art is projected for the first time? And, in the meantime, can we improve our online platforms for live-streamed concerts? Places where audience members can make donations or purchase tickets and then receive a code to give them exclusive access to a “live” concert, as is currently happening on veeps.com?

I know many of you will smirk at my Sci-fi bent, but, what if? I truly believe that the only limits that exist are the limits within our own minds. The pandemic has taught me that. Four months after all of this has begun, while my world has physically shrunk in dramatic ways, my world has simultaneously exploded, banishing barriers that I could have sworn were real. All thanks to this moment of silence. Funny that a musician could value simple silence above all else. But, it is from silence that the greatest of music is born. So, please, dream with me, and let’s make this silence matter.