We had a great time at our first Culture Making Collective evening. Almost 20 of us gathered for an evening to have a fresh listen to the music of Sufjan Stevens and think about creative ways in which his art inspires us to be "culture keepers" -- intentionally stewarding good forms of culture. But we don't want this to be simply an intellectual exercise. So we came up with a kind of 'multiple choice' list -- a bunch of ideas to act on that which inspired us. All who attended (as well as anyone reading this) are invited to pick something from this list and DO it sometime in the next few weeks. After you've done it, we highly encourage you to WRITE a short blog post about your experience and send it to me: nelson (at) artisanvancouver.ca. Here's the list. Happy choosing!
1.) Listen to a Sufjan album in one sitting -- and NOT as background music. This is a way of counter-acting our short attention spans.
2.) Listen to an album by a different artist in one sitting. What is one album YOU would recommend doing this with? One person suggested listening to an album in a style you're not familiar with.
3.) Host an iPod party. Listen to music with people, to hear what they hear, how music resonates with them, intersects with their lives, reveals something theological (e.g. about God or humanity).
4.) Attend a live show by a local artist, to intentionally support local and independent musicians.
5.) If you're musical at all, write a new song and share it with at least one person.
6.) Make a piece of art based on one of Sufjan's songs -- either the lyrics, the emotion of the piece, or the atmosphere it creates in your imagination.
7.) Study your own place of origin (this is in response to his Fifty States project; learning how geography informs memory and meaning).
8.) Listen to an album in one sitting with lyrics on paper. With your laptop screen shut, so you're not tempted to be distracted by email or other stuff.
9.) Join Kenton's Bicycle Band; being planned for Critical Mass in April/May 2011. Anyone with a bike and a voice and/or instrument that can be played while riding a bike is welcome. They may try to rehearse in parking garages.
10.) For those that draw or sketch; utilize the idea of the 'one-inch window' to develop attention to detail.
Written on Tuesday, 27 October 2009 00:00 by Nelson Boschman
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