It has been a powerful week. Two art events opened here in Lexington with profoundly expressive works that tell a story about identity and conflict. In the way that art imitates life, they provide a moving commentary on complex social issues that are not always openly expressed. And then there was the GOP debate, turned juvenile brawl, which can also be seen as a form of performance art.
These three events have coalesced in my mind like a loud whistle blowing announcement: “It’s time for us to be clear on Who We Choose To Be”? I realized there are many questions to answer.
Let me give you the background to these comments. See what you think and determine if you are ready to answer these questions for yourself.
21C Art Museum Hotel opened with an art exhibit by Ebony Patterson: Dress Up – Speak Up
The KY based 21C Art Hotels’ offer an experience at every level. They renovate old buildings, in our case an architecturally significant bank, put in incredible collections of modern art and provide a chic bar and fine dining. This concept has won them international acclaim for their hotels.
For it’s opening, they featured the work of a remarkable artist who teaches at the University of KY, Jamaican born, Ebony Patterson. Ebony creates huge tapestries with layers of beads, sequences and pictures that tell a story. The story in this exhibit is how our dress provides a message about our gender, ethnicity and culture – it can be a mask or it can be a strong statement about our relationship to these things.
In Jamaica and here in the US, dress, gender and culturally identity can lead to conflict. Here are the questions that her evocative art generated for me:
• What cultural message do you have to express – how are you saying it?
• What is your degree of authenticity in expressing your truth at every level of your life?
• What will happen to you if you aren’t willing to be real?
• Who do you choose to be and how are you expressing yourself?
Blackbird Dance Theater’s extraordinary performance: Titus Andronicus
I was unprepared for the extraordinarily creative production of Shakespeare’s Titus by the Blackbird Dance Theater. It was as sophisticated and masterful as anything I’ve seen in NYC or abroad. With an original electronic music score by Duane Lundy, who has produced many CDs with Lee, it made a compelling statement about our desire for power and the use of violence and revenge to maintain it.
No surprise that this Shakespeare play had great popularity in its day. It’s grisly portrayal of the darker side of our nature, with its focus on violence, sex, power, revenge and gore made It fall out of favor – until recently. Again, no surprise. But why is that?
What has made power, greed, violence and revenge so compelling in our culture again? These questions come to mind:
• When faced with the darker side of our nature, do you engage or turn away?
• What is your relationship to power, competition, greed and lust?
• Do you feel a need to avenge wrongs, even passively, or can you let go?
• Who do you choose to be when faced with these issues?
The 9th GOP Debate: A juvenile brawl
I had to watch; you probably did too. Politics aside, the debates are a litmus test to see what is considered important and how it gets communicated. What do we stand for in America and how do we conduct ourselves as we stand up for these beliefs?
If we just look at conduct, it’s alarming. I’m being kind to call it juvenile and amateur. The prejudice and bombastic attacks speak to stooping to the lowest common denominator of power, greed and self-interest. There’s little difference to Shakespeare’s play. The video spoofs that have since hit the internet are also artistic statements. They sum it up– it’s embarrassing. Is that who we are?
If the GOP debates are any indication of who we are as a country, we are derailed from our own integrity. The train is off the tracks. These questions come to mind:
• What do you value – how do you stand up for those values?
• What do you do to stand up for the greater good of all, not just your own?
• What is your vision of greatness, what are you doing to create it?
• Who do you choose to be, to represent your integrity?
Who Do You Choose To Be?
The artists are leading the way for us to explore our truth about who we want to be and how we want to express ourselves
• The message of Ebony’s work tells us to be more willing to take off our mask
and express our truth.
• The Blackbird Dance Theater invites us to explore the relationship to our dark side, question it and find a form of expression without harming others.
• The GOP debate and spoofs remind us to clearly discern the difference between truth and ridiculousness.
What’s important is that we each take stock of creating a vision of something greater than what is being shown us right now. A greater vision will lift us up – give us new energy to move forward. In so doing we are asked to decide “Who We Choose To Be”.
This question is one of the backbones to Transformational Coaching. It’s an invitation to consider what is important and make conscious value based choices. It’s empowering and it creates meaningful personal change. It’s also a catalyst for change on a global scale.
If this question is one you’d like to explore for yourself, my Transformational Coaching does just that. Let me know of your interest through an email to connie@conniemilligan.com or check out my websitewww.spectrumtransformation.com . I welcome your inquiry.
Photo: Jenny Fitzpatrick, Director, Titus – Blackbird Dance Theater
