Making meaning on a cosmic scale

I was speaking with a fellow class person last week and she was mentioning that she was wondering how to make a grade three class dominated by males interested in deriving meaning from something space related. In an interesting progression of neuron firing I ended up telling her about this representation of all things Earth like on the Voyageur spacecraft. When these craft were sent into the cosmos they contained information designed to allow other beings who might happen upon them to firstly find us and secondly to understand something about us so that they would understand that we were sentient beings worthy of being contacted.

I checked all of this out when I got home. The link to all the information you would want is found at http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/goldenrec.html. What makes this all relevant to this course is that I am beginning to make associations between aspects of the art and aspects of my life which I might not otherwise have made. While I may not yet be making progress in the acquisition of skills, developing the ability to see how the Arts assist in making things sensible is a good start.

The folks at NASA wanted to be able to educate and pass on information about the Earth and mankind to others. They decided (and here is the link) that the best way to do this was through images and sound. While some of the links from the page I note are no longer operational, it is interesting to consider the thinking behind some of the images of the earth and things on it and how they might help someone with no knowledge of the Earth to understand it. Even more interesting are the sounds chosen. Greeting spoken in 55 languages from Akkidian to Wu, images of the Earth, sounds of the Earth from wind and rain to heartbeats and laughter. Think even more closely about the music chosen and what the inclusion of Pygmy girl's initiation songs, "Johnnie B. Goode" by Chuch Barry, "Melancholy Blues" by Louis Armstrong and Beethoven's Fifth say about us as a civilization.

My point, and I think I have a point, is that when the decision was made to represent the Earth in a way that made sense and gave meaning to others, images or the visual arts and sounds and music were regarded as the best way to do this. Kind of makes you think that all of the stuff in our textbook about emotive learning and the Arts as meaning makers might have a strong base to it.

Me, as a soprano

Yes Sherri. I sang in a choir for three years but then I grew a moustache and other changes occured and I was no longer a soprano. Nor could I sing (well) anymore but as you may have noticed that has not stopped me.

I see you grew up in Northern Alberta. I grew up in Northern BC so probably our home towns were on the same circuit for some of those underrated bands I mentioned. And yes, the first stereo I bought had both a record player and an 8-track. In fact, I once owned a 1968 Dodge Challenger which came equipped with a FACTORY installed 8 track. I owned in in the late 1980's and had to go home and go through all of the old stuff in my closet and actually found a few 8 tracks to play in it.

Where it all began

I suppose that if we are wanting to see how attitudes and values change over the course of this blog, it is important to know where it all began.

I was fortunate enough to have a Grade One teacher who played the piano and lead us in singing daily. She was a substitute teacher, but we had her for most of the year because the original teacher went on stress leave shortly after I entered her class.

Fine Arts, for me in elementary school revolved around music and drama. We sang regularly and also put on the mandatory Christmas concert including spoken word, the singing of songs from then popular musicals like "Oliver" ( "consider yourself at home, consider yourself part of the family...) and the big production which was "A Christmas Carol" when I was in Grade Six. An extravagant musical production in which I sang the part of Harry Hawkins, the Rag Picker, in my soprano as it was voice. I also danced as a penny whistle flute, but that is a whole other story.

Music and Drama constituted Fine Arts. Visual Arts was not of great insight, although we could tie die and batick like a damn.

Once in Junior High, art did become more visual and less musical and dramatic. It was largely unstructured. We did dabble in ceramics as Peace River clay is world renowned.

Art, as a subject, became an elective in about Grade 10 and branched off into Drama, Creative Writing and music, including Band and Guitar. I never followed these branches and art was of limited importance in my education. Such exposure to fine arts as I enjoyed came from attending concerts by notables like The Stampeders, April Wine, Sweeney Todd and Trooper.

Once in university, Art became prints which we bought to take up space on the walls of an assortment of residence rooms and apartments. Flags hung in windows were of particular significance, for some reason. University did open up some opportunities to see new artists and their stylings, like The Nylons, Chuch Mangione and The Sex Pistols. There were some great theatrics in which I was involved at university, but nothing that can sensiblly be discussed in mixed company.

Following all of that formal education stuff, I found my thoughts and involvement regarding Fine Arts drifting to Drama, Musical Theatre and some Visual Arts. I have seen Les Miserables three times, Phantom of the Opera and Miss Saigon twice and a variety of other musicals like Showboat and Cats and Bard on the Beach on occiasion. I have always wondered how I could incorporate the beautiful music and lyrics of Les Miserables and Miss Saigon into elementary classes, even as background music during silent reading, given the bawdy content. I have, of course, also visited art galleries in every major city I have visited including Athens, New York and Ottawa.

I feel, however, that my art background is deficient. I view my strengths, if I have any, in Drama and musical theatre and have always hoped that I could use music, which I find both relaxing and powerful in evoking memories, which I used when I studied for many years, to educate classes in the beauty of music and the greater beauty I find in lyrics.

So I approach this course being many years out of school and feeling that such hobbies as I have do not include much which is included in this area, but with an open mind to the possibilities. I keep thinking that as I canvass the wide range of material which could be dealt with in this course that I will have a few "ah ha" moments, and sometimes wonder what they will be.

I say all this merely as preparation for the journey which lies ahead and which is why I view this blog as searching or seeking for my hidden inner self.

this is another experiment

I once had a turtle named Theodore. He found peace in a white thing.

trying a picture

this is simply an experiment.

I am finally here

I am, as you know, technically challenged but I am now here. Where I really am at, I do not know but I will be starting a journey which will take me to places which exist only in my imagination.