In the reading, Right to the City, I was taken with the
power that the working class has on reforming an ideal city. The city planners,
architects, politician, etc., are powerless to do their work successfully without
the guidance and leadership of the common folk just living their lives. If a fabulous
building is planned for, funded and constructed, but has no practical function
in the community, those city resources are wasted. Of course, that makes
sense. But what I thought wasn’t well discussed in the article was the issue of
art’s value in this process of defining a new city identity. Or at least, I didn’t get a lot out of the reading
in regards to this topic. But it lead me to think about it a bit.
What is missing right now from most
growing communities is focus and shared interests. We used to find it in
small farmer’s markets with adjoining ladies’ hair salons and men’s barber shops,
or in neighborhood parks, churches and town dance halls in smaller communities.
These days, our jobs, our ethnicity and especially our economic situations keep
us at a distance from one another and our communities apart. This keeps our city
money spread thin and our personal interest in each other pretty much left to segments
on to the evening news. Sad. Maybe these aren’t new situations, but if we are
taking on the topics brought up in the reading, The Right to The City, then I am going to follow up on the idea of
developing a new city concept using art
to draw individual and disparate interests together.
The one thing that all societies
share is that we create art, whether for decorative purposes, for story telling
or for self-expression. The problem I have seen is that we present and enjoy it
within separate communities. It would be better to advance this idea and create
city centers that share cultural, outside displays in a playful, non-scholastic
manner that becomes a part of the environment. That way we might become a part
of each others communities in a common, easily accepted way. Unlike walking
into a museum, and getting a "lesson" in culture that is dry and possibly off-putting,
this would be inviting and inclusive. I could see city centers and city parks
where a mix of cultural art is displayed together as a community of art. We may
eat different food, speak different languages, pray to different deities or
none at all, but we can all appreciate an expression of line, color, form and
shape that relates to each other without words.
As new immigrants enter into city
centers, they can find their way into the community through art. It isn’t the
only answer, but let art play a role. It has great power and has stood the test
of time as a force of communication throughout centuries, beyond national boundaries.
The cost would be minimal if we look at the social benefits. Cities are always
trying to achieve city identity and failing. Through art they could create
unity and long lasting points of interest that all groups could share as one. Just
a thought…
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