An acquaintance sent me this yesterday and I was enthralled. A flash mob fully realized and then enacted a back story to a very well known painting, Guards of the
Night byRembrandt in 1642. This past April this "flash mob" or guerilla theater event was a project of the Rijksmuseum in the Netherlands to advertise with their slogan; "Our Heroes Are Back" that after an absence of one
decade, all major pieces in the Rijksmuseum’s collection are back where
they belong.
It helps to have the backing of a major multinational corporation when you want to document this intricate a staging. It looks like they had a dozen cameras and at least 2 dozen actors and free range of the mall to plan, rehearse and set props before the performance. When one desires to bring art to the people, a healthy budget makes smooth the way. Still the really amazing part of the project, in my mind, was to inject a clear story into the staging. A gorgeous tableau would have been very effective but...the story, acted out in real time? Sheer brilliance. Imagine all the viewers talking to each other about the part of the story they actually were witness too.
And I wonder - did this elaborate staging work to get people to come to the actual art in
the museum? Seems likely that it did since the prank itself garnered over 3 million views on youtube.
Guards of the
Night Rembrandt 1642, Rijksmuseum, Netherlands
The videos show how they took one painting, a Rembrandt from 1642, Guards of the Night (above), and brought to life the characters in it, placed them throughout a busy mall and you can see for yourself how it all fell (literally) out.
Imagine what a group of storytellers with a lots of imagination or the backing of anybody or entity with deep pockets might be able to do? My mind is swimming with fun ideas.
Chalking it up to age and... love of our civil rights.
Sira meets Julia, 1984
It could all just be chalked up to my age, a love of democracy and an infatuation with civil
rights. Our constitutional rights exist to make our lives, culture and neighborhoods,
civil. Gotta love that! Yet, it was more. I felt compelled to do my crazy and ill-timed ( for my schedule) project for many reasons. One was to mark many decades of trying to find an effective way to be an artist and add something to the ongoing struggle for human dignity, justice and peace. Another reason was purely sentimental. My first ever Arts Grant was a teaching project in 1984, where I took a group of kids out on the sidewalks of Central Square Cambridge and taught them some drawing basics as we moved through the neighborhood, creating art in unexpected places. At some point during the 4 week project, WGBH covered our proceedings and the clip of us working in early July, 1984 was aired (or repeated?) on September 8th. This also was the day our 2nd daughter, Julia was born. A maternity ward nurse recognized me and said, "Who would have thought you'd be out drawing on the sidewalk and having a baby the same day?" I was confused but she explained and we sorted it out. Back in the day, we did not have a TV and I was too busy before and right after Julia was born to be able to track down and see that video.
4:15 am Jul 18, 2013
Through the years I have marked my birthday by asking my family to cut me some slack and take care of business so I would have the time to do something nutty like chalk drawing from dawn to dusk. I find the process of chalk drawing delightfully ephemeral, completely impracticable, a bit challenging and totally enjoyable. I am not even very good at it at this point - so woefully out of shape am I. Not only is squatting difficult but I have not been drawing regularly for over 8 years. When you were never very gifted to begin with (like me) you'll find that your rendering chops fall away like a towel at a pool side. Still, it seemed like it would be too much fun not to at least try.
But in my 60th year, chalking had a new element; First Amendment Rights. A few weeks ago, I had read about the then pending case of a young man being charged with 13 counts of "disorderly conduct" for chalking the following message "Corbett [Gov of PA] has health care and we should too." [see above] His fines could be as high as $13K and his sentence as long as 13 years. I was amazed. I was incredulous. Mostly, I was deeply affronted by this attack on our civil rights.
5:00 am Jul 18, 2013
A friend showed me several instances of similar cases and this moved me to include a political statement in my artsy-fartsy birthday plans. Here is one of the cases that especially piqued my interest: "A jury Monday acquitted a 40-year-old man of all charges connected with writing protest messages in chalk on the sidewalk outside branches of the Bank of America. Deliberating for only a few hours, the jury...declared Jeff Olson not guilty on all 13 misdemeanor counts filed by Goldsmith’s office. Olson never denied writing the slogans. One slogan said, “No thanks, big banks.” Another, “Shame on Bank of America.” And in yet another, the bank was portrayed as an octopus grabbing at cash with its tentacles. “It’s chalk,” Filner told reporters last week in an exasperated tone. “It’s water-soluble chalk. They were political slogans.”But courts have held that graffiti remains illegal even if it can be easily washed off, Goldsmith said. That the Bank of America contacted the city attorney’s office to reportedly urge prosecution has become part of the dispute.
6:35 am Jul 18, 2013
Really? Corporations telling a DA who to prosecute? Faster than you can say "David and Goliath" I had chalk in hand and a full head of steam. I was pissed. BUT... instead of rushing headlong into this contested arena I decided to check my natural rash impulses and read the Town By-Laws. Finding no explicit rule against chalking on sidewalks, I found a copy of a Brookline Rec Department flyer that invited citizens to participate in sidewalk chalk art. Then I also dug up a 9 year old article about me drawing in chalk on my birthday. Thus prepared I called Town Hall the next day to see if drawing in chalk, in Brookline, required permission. My first encounter was with the Building Department, which seemed like the wrong town agency but in fact, all signage and public space in Coolidge Corner are under the Building Inspector's jurisdiction. Mike Yanovitch said that as long as my work was not "political or offensive" it should be fine. I bristled and my sub-clinical Tourette's kicked in and I blurted that I was not asking for a critical opinion on my art, just the legal stance of the Town of B on chalking sidewalks. Mr. Yanovitch immediately changed tacks and so did I. Within hours I had sent him an email thanking him and giving him tons of "background" information. And I waited.
6:55 am Jul 18, 2013
After 5 days I wrote again asking if Mr. Y had received my information. He had and said he was fine with the project and, he freely offered, without any prompt from me, that permission is not based a "content thing" but that I did need to talk to Department of Public Works. So, I journeyed on.
I called Peter Ditto at the DPW. Mr. Ditto said the main issues were about space - I must not block traffic and I must leave a 4' wide for handicap access. I explained that I had taken some pictures of where I wanted to work and would send them. I added that I try to work before rush hour, 5AM - 8AM and likely would need more than one day due to my day job schedule.
7:00 am Jul 18, 2013
Mr. Ditto asked me to send the info I sent to Mr. Yanovitch and add to it locations of the sidewalks I was interested in, which I did in a neat pdf proposal. He said I should check in with the Police Department too. Only too happy to, said I BUT suggested that someone might issue a letter of permission just in case. What if not everyone on the BPD force gets the word of mouth that my actions have been authorized? In the past I have been stopped and challenged by officers of the law and always found it useful to have a document on my person. Mr.Ditto promised he would get back to me.
So, I waited. And waited. On July 10, I received this email [below]… denying me permission. This is where my story may have taken a very different turn if not for my fortune to count as a friend and colleague an ace, 1st amendment lawyer. Enter (stage left) Michael Anderson.
A civilized exchange
Michael Anderson is a prestigious attorney, a wonderful storyteller and a fabulous Shakespearean actor as well. Michael's bio and tagline, which I have typed into many a program note ends with:
8:01 am Jul 18, 2013
"There is no such thing as free speech if you do not use it." It seemed like I was getting no where, fast, so I wrote to him for advice on finding a pro-bono lawyer. He offered his service, a winning strategy and we hit the sidewalk - um, road, running. In no time Michael had cases, examples of chalk art on Town sidewalks and a very comprehensive letter formulated. When permission was officially denied, my lawyer ( sounds impressive, no? ) sent the letter to the Town Counsel. I believe there was a quick response by phone and after a conference between Michael and Jennifer Dopazo Gilbert, verbal permission was granted. And we waited some more. Finally, on July 15th I received my permit for 4 hours on July 18th of chalking in the areas I requested.
It is a victory. I know. But seriously folks? I thought that the Bill of Rights protected us average citizens who normally cannot afford a consigliere. Did I really need to explain myself so extensively, then lawyer-up and persist just to do a few chalk drawings? Apparently, the answer is yes. But my lingering questions are, should this be? And, if so, what are we going to do about it ?
"Chalking is a spontaneous act of beauty." - sidewalk artist, Norah Dooley
To celebrate her 60th birthday, on Thursday July 18 from 4-8am,
Brookline artist Norah Dooley will execute an art project in
chalk on the sidewalks of Coolidge Corner. She says her work will be " A
poor girl's Jenny Holzer." Holzer is an American conceptual artist who
is mostly known for her large-scale public displays of provocative
words, mantras and ideas. Dooley's
work is much smaller in scale and will feature small colorful mandalas
and the sayings of dead and live presidents on the sidewalk. Dooley has
executed similar works in the past in Central Square, Cambridge and
Athol, MA.
"Like
sand paintings, sunsets and other natural ancient forms, the art is
meant to be temporary and, like life itself, fleeting" said Dooley.
The
Town of Brookline initially refused Dooley permission. But with the
help of ace First Amendment lawyer Michael Anderson, Dooley eventually
convinced Town officials that she has a right to peaceful expression on
the sidewalk. “The Town of Brookline allows commercial newspapers to put
large newsracks on the Coolidge Corner sidewalks. If the Boston Herald
gets to occupy public space to sell its point of view, then the Town
cannot constitutionally prohibit me from expressing mine in washable
chalk,” said Dooley. There has been much civil rights litigation over
protest chalk drawing in the wake of the Occupy movement, from San Diego
(where a jury acquitted a chalk artist of thirteen criminal counts) to
Flint, Michigan to Orlando. “I am glad that the Town officials acted
responsibly to recognize my free speech rights, rather than requiring us
to go to court.”
Below are the words she
chose. They will be bracketed with mandalas - one will have in a circle
of words around it - "If you see something, say something." The other
mandala will have just one word : either " racism" or "poverty" or
"injustice" or "violence "
To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men.
Abraham Lincoln
A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Peace and justice are two sides of the same coin.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
"A society's soul is most keenly revealed in the way it treats its children."
Nelson Mandela
She says she is not sure about this last one.... "I may just add it as my signature!"
"...if I did not laugh, I should die."
Abraham Lincoln
What
is this all about, really? The artist shrugged and said... " I like to
add beauty to disused public spaces and I have a friend who says 'Free
speech isn't free if you do not use it.' Two birds with one stone?"
by Norah Dooley
Theory and Practice for Storytelling as a 21st Century Skill
Starting our story from a different perspective can help us see new aspects of our experience or a story's structure or it's deeper meaning. We want our story to get better and better with repeated telling. And usually a story will, if we listen to ourselves as we tell. And revise our work. A fun way to accelerate the process of refining a story through retelling is to try some new beginnings.
Exercises 1.5: Begin Again
Beginnings: start again Try a new beginning for your
story:
1.Start
with a sound, a sight, a smell or a taste that describes the place
2.Start
with a sound, a sight, a smell or a taste that describes a character
3.Start
with a sound, a sight, a smell or a taste that describes the time
4.Start
describing some action – major or minor – that shows setting
5.Start
a dialogue between 2 main characters.
6.Write
the inner monologue (thoughts) of a main character.
7.Make
—a statement … you might begin with a sentence that starts with—“Usually...” or
“They say... “ All X are Y or so I thought but/and...” or “She always believed
that...” you get the idea?
8.Ask
a question – rhetorical, of your self - of the audience -
When you listen to a storyteller, you are helping create the story while you listen. After you hear a story it is yours. To play with…to learn from…to imagine with. Here are a few ideas that I share with the students who listen and create stories with me at Read Boston.
Playing is a powerful way to learn. And it is now scientifically proven to be important to our health and well being. From the TEDx site "Dr. Stuart Brown came to research play through research on murderers
-- unlikely as that seems -- after he found a stunning common thread in
killers' stories: lack of play in childhood. Since then, he's
interviewed thousands of people to catalog their relationships with
play, noting a strong correlation between success and playful activity. His book Play describes the positive impact play can have on one's life." Dr. Brown says that play and story are closely related. "Three dimensional play lights up the cerebellum"
So when your are having fun with your own version of a story you heard, you are creating and bein as you mix up what you heard with your own rich imagination.
Exercises: Woolgathering 1.4 - Play With it!
1. Imagine a new ending.
A story with a completely or even slightly new ending is, a different story. It is fun to think of different ways the same things could end or different things the same events could lead to. It is like yoga for the mind. It stretches your thinking and strengthens your problem solving ability.
2. Draw some pictures.
What’s is your picture of the main characters in the story ? Make masks of your favorite characters. Or each one can draw a favorite part of the story. Put these all together and arrange in order, from beginning to end. Add any parts that were missing. Show these as a story line or tape drawings together to make a kind of story “quilt .
3. Tell the story through action.
Instead of telling the story with words see if you can tell it with your gesture, your posture and your facial expressions.
4. Pretend.
Pick a character from the story that interests you. Then speak, act, walk and breathe like that character for the rest of the day.
by Norah Dooley
Theory and Practice for Storytelling as a 21st Century Skill
Storytelling:Woolgathering 1. 3 Endings !
A few years ago I wrote this description for our kick-butt storytelling workshops:
Storytelling is a performance art in its own right. In massmouth’s
workshop you will experience how storytelling differs from theater,
stand up comedy and twisting balloon animals. We will be mining your
memories to craft a story with believable characters, a solid point of
view and a clear beginning, middle and end.
It turns out that storytelling is actually more in common with making balloon animals than I had originally thought. When we inflate a balloon we create a shape with our hot air. The thin membrane of the balloon keeps the air in place and creates the shape. But only if we tie the end. When we neglect to tie off the end? The air escapes, it makes a bad sound and the shape of the balloon is lost.
The worst kind of ending is where we just do not stop but repeat, wander aloud in thought and add in details that do not add value to the listener's experience. We come to stuttering halt and no one is as happy as the audience.
Exercise: 1.3 Endings !
Practice your ending, making silent eye contact then acknowledge audience then walk off...
However you usually end the story try a few new endings by adding or substituting one of these:
1. An action that clearly ends your story
2. Some of the main character’s thoughts...
3. How you felt, a wish or a hope;
4. A statement on what has changed or is different;
5. A memory that is strongest from the story;
6. A decision you made.
7. End with your generalization or revised version of it.
8. AVOID “the moral of the story is” … or repeating the theme.
