My sister grew up in a family consisting of two older brothers and a father (and even mother) who loved sports. She, on the other hand, chose the route of theater. She spent her years at Ohio University studying this very subject and moved to New York City to pursue a career in theater. Currently she resides in Florida not working in theater so to speak, but no less a coniseur of good theater.
To this day I have excellent conversations with her regarding many things, almost all of which are fascinating, but the one conversation I think she may be most passionate about it the sports versus art discussion. This is not a debate of which is better or more legitimate or entertaining or whatever. Instead, it is more of a comparison between the two and how I should really be more interested in theater because of the striking similarities in the fundamental enjoyment of both.
It is fascinating to me how stereotypical "sports fan" and "theater fan" are so different in behavior. Each seems to have little or no interest in the other entertainment. Yet, when you examine what we love so much in our sports or art form, there are numerous similarities.
I want to share with you in our own words just a small example of what we have discussed and would love to hear your comments and insight on this topic.
Here is an excerpt of our conversation:
Dear Beau,
(She quoted "One Tree Hill")
"Your art matters. It's what got me here" It might have been cheesy in context (but I like cheese) but it got me thinking, and I decided to write it out.
Sports v. Art: This is a show arguably about sports – that and pretty people. So why are they talking about art? Why did they make their main character be not only a jock but a writer? (I'm looking for a deeper answer here than "because young girls think both are hot"). What is the difference between athleticism and artistic ability? Isn't there a finesse in a basketball player's lay up? Isn't there a beauty to a quarterback throwing the perfectly placed ball? Isn't baseball made up of mathematical perfection which is in it's own way beautiful? Watching the way Rugby players run in formation – it's absolutely breathtaking. Hell, an athlete's body – isn't that a work of art? The amount of time an energy to sculpt ones own body similar to that of an actual sculptor? And conversely, as a former dancer, there is a lot of athletic ability in these artists. I work with performers every day who have to stretch before they can go on stage – to play drums. My friend Casey loves to say how he always got picked last for teams in gym, and now he makes his living throwing accurately – if he misses his friend gets hit in the face with paint.
I've waxed on and on about the similarities between modern day sports and ancient theatre – how live entertainment and sports are more similar than they are different. I don't know why this is such a huge theme in my life. I guess being the lone artistic minded member of an All-American Sports family makes me want to desperately bridge the two.
All this brought me to my next thoughts – how does this statement pertain to my life. Whose art and where did it get me? And why not my own art? Why is it someone else's? Perhaps we are never truly inspired by our own art. Our own art is what gets us through – our mood, our thoughts, our worries, our happiness. Other people's art is what gets us to think, to act, to create our own. They feed off of each other in a vicious circle. One does not exist without the other. Team members in a way. And I'm back to sports. Just like One Tree Hill, I like to come full circle too.
Snippets of my reply:
I have always loved your Sports and Art comparison discussions. It is fascinating. The people involved in each area many times are vastly different or at least considered different. Yet, there are so many similarities in the fundamental part of what they do. Athletes and dancers. Drama of competition and creatively written drama. Spectators that obsess with them.
I like what you said about your own art just getting you through while other's art inspires you or motivates you or whatever the right word is here. Isn't that so true. You hear of musical artists writing angry or sad songs to help them through tough times. I have a good friend who has done that. He has written songs about things that can be considered difficult and he has done pretty damn well with it if you ask me.
12 comments:
eBambi ? LOL but maybe I'm judging a book by it's cover. I haven't clicked it yet but c'mon.
This is really interesting Huey John. I love the similarities. As i've said in a previous comment. The amount of time an athlete puts into training and learn, say, an offense or an offensive scheme (running routes or plays, reading playbooks, chemistry with your fellow teammates). Just like an actor or set of dancers or singer have to know their routines, their speaking parts or lyrics, where they are at on the floor and chemistry with fellow participants. Both sports and theater or arts take dedication, talent, commitment, determination, team play, a good coach or director helping you, intelligence and opportunity. I'm not the wealthiest man in the world and I'm more of a sports fan but I hope one day I will be with a woman who can go with me to an art show or play and enjoy and respect it. As well as respect the creative genius of Tressel and the chess match that is football, the physical prowess of LeBron and the beauty of baseball. Anyone that puts theater or arts down as wimpy or no big deal or uninteresting is ignorant or never tried to experience. Also Huey John, I don't know if you asking yourself in the blog if you have art in your life or not but you do practice the art of fatherhood, the art of dealing and teaching little kids, art of being a husband and blogging. But Huey John, about that intramural softball at OSU, how did Huey Vicki do in that softball league? Lol
Yeah, Bambi? Wonderful. I was excited to see a comment waiting and then....that.
You hit the nail on the head with those similarities. I found the chemistry comparison most interesting. Both do rely heavily on the unspoken communication between the participants. I need to find plays or artwork that I can really buy into.
I had to comment on Huey Vicki's stellar softball play back in the day. She could really chase after a ball hit over her head! I tell you what, there was a reason we made it to the Final Four...and its name was vicki hoyt (at that time anyway).
Oh the good old days! She won't even come watch me play now. Of course, why would she? Scrub league softball with a bunch of old guys taking it too seriously is nothing short of boring to watch. I find it comical. And fun...but I get to play.
First of all, Beau, your mother isn't ready for you to refer to yourself as one of the "old guys" - cut that out!
Second, I love what you and Kathryn have written about art and sports. It's very insightful, and I'm astonished that it never occurred to me before. Kathryn has always called church "bad theatre" (and sometimes I agree but not always), so I wonder if she considers sports "bad theatre." Also, I wonder if she finds art as competitive as sports, maybe unconsciously. I write this thought on the morning of the high holy day of cinematic competition.
Beau, I haven't read all of your blog yet. ARE YOU GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE OHIO PRIMARY?!?!?! (Or should I write to Vicki to talk about that?)
By the way, your little sister is not only smart but BEAUTIFUL, too!!!
:)
The whole comparison between sports and art only solidify my opinion that the athletic departments of major universities should be disolved. Then, universities could have more control over their athletic programs and athletes could major in their sport of choice just as musicians, visual artists, and thespians do.
I am politically ignorant. Fortunately, friends have given me some good info and sites to check out. So maybe I will post a political blog. It is out of my comfort zone, but that was part of the point of this.....write more, engage in some good discussion and extend my range of knowledge and comfort.
Zac-I see your point. I need to think about my opinion on that before I comment further. Interesting, majoring in a sport. For those planning to go into sports as a career...it would make sense. It wouldn't have to be "playing" sports only. The majors could be within personnel, coaching, managing, training, broadcasting, analyzing etc. Hmmmmmm.
Wow, a whole blog dedicated to me...I'm so touched. First, I have to clarify - I actually work in theatre now that I'm in Florida, where I wasn't working in arts when I was in NYC for the most part. Another one of those, I had to leave NYC for the real NYC experience things.
I liked what Nathan wrote about Chemistry, and Beau I see you touched on it your reply. I never thought of that one, but that is a dead on comparison. At Blue Man we are highly encouraged to hang out outside of work, in fact we are even evaluated on our "community involvement." I used to have a huge problem with that, but to some extent it makes sense. It's about building a chemistry. That way, when something happens in the show people can anticipate others reactions. I can only imagine how extremely VITAL that is in sports. It could be that since sports tend to practice more than we do (once a show is up, it's up in the theatre world) they don't have to "hang out" as much as we do, but that chemistry and the ability to anticipate someone's actions is sorta the basic prinicple in sports I think. If I'm a quarterback I need to know where my guys are gonna be once I let go of that ball. And if I'm on the field I gotta know where my quarterback wants me to be. Same goes for basketball and probably any other number of sports. I love that one!
As for ANYTHING being "bad theatre" that's so not a fair asssesment on my part. Bad is such a subjective term, and frankly I should be ashamed of using it. But that got me thinking - theatre is about stakes. The higher the stakes the higher the drama, and usually the higher the piece. The stakes in sports can't get much higher. Except for maybe the stakes in God - so mom, maybe theatre is actually bad church. :-)
Competition is another interesting angle. I competely believe that arts are competitive, and anyone who says otherwise is just a pissed off artist! :-) The Oscars being a prime example and the audition process being the most primal example. However, what I notice more with artists is that it's a more collaborative type of competition. Indulge me for a second: I play tennis every week with a friend of mine. Neither of us knows how to play, but we've turned it into a really exciting game where we just work to volley the ball as much as possible. Our record is 43 and we're hoping for 100. I find myself still diving for the ball, we're still giving each other coaching, but instead of trying to place the ball as far away from him as possible, I'm trying to place it as close to him as I can. So it's still a game, and it's still a competition (if anyone else played our version, I'd want his and my score to be the highest!) But for us it wasn't about beating each other, it was about working with each other. And I think that is where modern day art is founded - it's a collaborative work. Which brings me back to chemistry and oh my god I did it again! Full circle.
I hope this discussion keeps going, because I love what everyone has said, and I want to hear more. And if people care, I can really get into the ancient similiarities between the two forms. But we'll see. Regardless, you're all gonna get thanked when I right my PHD disertation on this subject!
Hopefully this post still has life to it... I'm not going to comment on the "Arts vs Sports" argument, as that's been beat to death.. I would like to comment on a different aspect in this particular blog.. the inspiration of our own art. At times I've thought about this myself.. and have been bothered by it. I've taken art classes in drawing (pencil, charcoal, pastel paints) through out high-school and college.... When I'm working on something, I am usually inspired by some feeling (and maybe it's to get me through that period in life)... for me, its hard to capture that inspiration in a piece of art that can stand the test of time. I look back at most of my work from the last 15 years and it seems very void of feeling.. maybe because the moment of inspiration or feeling related to that image has long passed.. and I'm left with just paper and pencil.. I've struggled to find what I can do to take my art work to the next level..and make it truly inspirational... to capture that intangible emotion that cannot be learned in a classroom. As I look back, only one piece of work I've done actually has emotion in it that stands the test of time.. it was a picture I drew (white pencil on black paper) of my grandmother photographed when she was 3 years old. It came out so well (even my super critical "tare your work apart in front of everyone" college art teacher commented on the emotion captured within the drawing), I framed it and gave it to her for Christmas one year.. so what made that piece different from all the other crap I've done.. I don't think I'm talented enough to do this on a consistent basis..or do enough drawings do accumulate a inspirational portfolio.
going back to Kathryn's questions..
Here are some thoughts to consider..
Unfortunately, most people do not have the natural talent to infuse emotion into their art...or emotion that everyone can relate to.. Great artists like Monet, Da Vinci,,.. and even Kurt Cobain.. had the ability to infuse inspiration and feeling into their work that everyone can relate to..not just the artist.... also when you look at art from others.. you are viewing the cream of the crop.. artists are only going to publicize the work where they've captured that intangible feeling...and the average person does not see the other crap they've thrown out.
Your own art usually is completed when you are experiencing some kind emotion, most of the time based on feelings happing in your own life.. and you try and express those feelings in your work.. many times to help you though the moment.. Once the moment has passed, the personal feelings associated with the work also passes.. unless you had that ability to capture the essence in that work that can actually re-create the feelings.
One good lesson my college art teacher taught on the subject of creating inspirational work, which can probably be fitted to any other media....... A person cannot forecast if a piece of art (or music, or sports moment) will be inspirational when finished.. it just ends up that way..and you never know until the end what was captured in the picture.. a simple 10 minute sketch can end up holding more feeling and inspiration, then a 2 week long painting that ends up coming off as cold and mechanical... Just like sports.. you never know the moments that will end up being inspirational.. until those moments have passed...most of the time inspiration is created out of thin air, when you didn't see it coming.
So what does all this mean.. well.. hell if I know. Just my thoughts..
Yeah, this post has legs Mike! Again, you are one deep son of a gun Mr. T.
I am glad somebody decided to go the route of inspiration of one's own art.
This reminds me of a quote by the lead singet of Tool. I should know his name but do not. He was responding to the fan's lament that their songs weren't as angry anymore. The lyrics weren't as painful. He said the lyrics helped him through some difficult issues and he has "healed." So if his fans can't progress out of it like he did, then he can't help it.
I hope that wasn't taken out of context. But my point is that one's own art can get that individual through something but as Mike said, eventually the feeling passes.
Although, songs can maintain emotion can't they? I mean the examples are bountiful.
An addition to the Sport v. Art discussion:
About Chemistry....you hear about actors having chemistry on the set or on stage. You also hear of chemistry on the field or court.
Doug and I used to play basketball in the driveway alot! So much so, the neighbors would complain of the noise and the amount of play. But this time led to our natural development of the weave without ever being taught it. Chris COy from up the street would constantly bring down a partner to play us two on two but could neve beat the weave. No matter how big, tall, fast or great of a shooter he had with him, they always lost. A record I hold dear to this day.
It was chemistry. Sweet chemistry. Another reason why sport and theater are so much a like.
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