My Top Five Stories on Medium This Week

FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH DEPT

For a lot of people Top Five lists are like digital dopamine hits—crisp, scannable, and instantly gratifying. In a scroll-fatigued world, they promise order amid chaos: five bullet-sized insights instead of a 3,000-word ramble. Readers devour them because the brain loves completion; crossing off “5/5” triggers the same reward loop as finishing a game level. Curiosity hooks first (“Who made the cut?”), then validation or surprise. 

A few years ago I invested some time posting some of my writing on Medium, an online social publishing platform designed for writers and readers. Like everything else, the platform had its pros and cons. Nevertheless, there are people still reading what's been planted there, and Medium still send a weekly email to each writing noting what others are reading.

Here are my top five Medium stories that readers clicked on and read this week. 

He Who Controls the Narrative Controls the People

 

Curses, Foiled Again

 

A Lesson from 29 Golden Gate Suicide Attempts

 

Who Are Five Extraordinary People From History You Want to Meet?

 

The Real Reason They Punish Horse Thieves

Flashback Friday: An Engaging Dialogue On the Role of Art in Society

John Heino

10 Years Ago Today

During the noon hour yesterday a half dozen of us met for a Red Interactive Brown Bag Lunch Dialogue about art around the theme “Engagement or Chaos?” The main objective was to get clarification on what appears to be a problematic dichotomy in the arts. Is anything and everything art? Or is art only considered art after it has been “blessed” by the appropriately certified critics from on high? John Heino served as moderator of the discussion as we explored these two apparently contradictory propositions. 

At the beginning of the hour we were each given a red marker that we were asked to place on a line that indicated where we personally stood with regard to this dichotomy. The line was numbered 1 through 10 with 5 being the middle of the road. On the extreme left we had Elitism and Control. On the extreme right we had Engagement and Chaos. 

The dot placements proved surprising. One was toward the left, most were toward the engagement/chaos side of center and one was off the grid completely. Erika indicated that her unusual outside-the-box placement came from a lifetime of observing that many false dichotomies have been created when we make either/or assumptions. She sees the need to re-phrase the paradigm and see it as a circle with room for all perspectives. It was the first of many unexpected insights. 

 

What follows are some of the notes John sent to me from yesterday's dialogue. An hour clearly proved too short and it became evident to all that we were just scratching the surface. Much more can be said. 

 

What was especially valuable, and not recorded here, were the many stories and experiences that informed our personal perspectives. It was helpful, too, that John set up the dialogue in a manner that provided a level of non-judgmental trust in which everyone felt free to be open. John's notes from the discussion are here.

AND (vs. or) Think of a circle [or perhaps a sphere] instead of linear spectrum
• Room for diverse expression
• Avoid judgment
• Inclusive

Pretty much room for everything
• Whatever criteria you come up with, there’s always something that doesn’t fit
• Reserve the right to call something “crap”

Don’t like either word—“chaos” or “elitism” in the context of art
• Everyone has something “art” within her/his being
• What is “art” will always remain subjective
• Engagement is the better choice

Contradictions
• There is a place for “high” art
• Appreciation at certain levels requires training
• BUT creativity is innate in all of us

Engagement may be the future of art. People want to engage. Where is art going in postmodern society?

Capitalism run amok is a problem.
• It seems to be all about the money
What happens with organic growth when it begins to look like chaos?

We need a new paradigm.
• Spirit-based, flowing
• Listen to each other
• Really see
• Pay attention to the intuitive world
• Notice where everyone is coming from

Social and economic dynamics over the past 25 years or so have resulted in art being less valued and less of a priority in society.
• Schools can’t afford art classes? It’s a choice. Political dynamics have allowed that choice, but that wouldn’t be the case if a majority of taxpayers and political supporters insisted that the arts be made a priority.
• Everybody loses when the arts are treated like discretionary spending. It’s more than just the sad shortchanging of something very important that makes us human. The insights students gain in the arts give them a broader tool kit no matter what they eventually do for a living. One-dimensional students become one-dimensional employees and unimaginative managers if they make it that far.
• Think of the cumulative negative impact of turning out less creative graduates. What has it done to earning potential of our young people? To business productivity improvement? To the wellbeing, competitiveness and economic performance of America? In reality, we cannot “not afford” to include arts as part of a well-rounded education.

What is value?
• Utilitarian?
• Aesthetic/beauty?
• What about the assumption that if a piece of art is expensive, it must be good?

"I don’t accept that anything is art."
• But I want to decide. I don’t want to be told why I should appreciate a piece of art.

I don’t really think of myself as an artist, but I have impulses to make things.
• If someone else enjoys it, that’s great.

If something called art is strange or inaccessible on its face, it may be because we’re not trained to understand what is happening.

In the end it proved a most interesting discussion. What happens next is anyone's guess.

The Nose

"The Nose" is a short story I wrote in the early 90's about a guy who had a hard time dealing with crowds. We each experience anxieties of one kind or another and in turn develop personal coping mechanisms for dealing with them. I wrote this story about an anxious character who had developed a somewhat eccentric coping technique lest he come unglued.

Reactions to this story have varied from shrugs to curiosity to laughing out loud. Of "The Nose" one friend wrote, "I can't remember the last time I laughed so much with a story."

The Nose

The crammed little bar sizzled with so much energy that it began to unsettle him. He wondered why he ever said he would meet his friends here.

His friends were late, and Ted's brain started running on the hyperactive groove that, once out of control, often left him terrified and unsettled.

But Ted Krueger had a mind game he played to help him gain control of himself in these situations. He would focus on an object, enabling his thoughts -- which at this point were so numerous and random that he felt overwhelmed by them -- to narrow their scope. In this way he was able to harness them and feel he had some measure of control over himself.

He held the view that though feelings were nebulous and impossible to direct, with a great effort of will thoughts could be managed and coerced, and that one's feelings would eventually come into alignment with the thoughts that preceded, and stirred, one's emotions. His feelings of terror were often so immense that only a more immense distraction could deliver him from being tyranized by his fears. Hence the game.

The game would lead him into a place removed from himself, a mental space where epiphanies occurred. Ultimately, on many occasions, he had a direct encounter with God. This was his own interpretation. That is, the game produced profound illuminations at critical moments in his life, which he believed to be meyaphysical insights, powerful and humbling. It filled him with a sense of awe and gratitude.

He knew that he had created the game out of necessity as a means of holding on to reality, to keep from flipping. He took no credit for it. In fact, he knew that everyone played games of some kind or another to stave off boredom or reduce the intensity of disquieting anxieties, and that this was nothing more than his own way of keeping control. In this regard he was quite self-aware and not really so odd, or so he told himself.

He knew that he had created the game out of necessity as a means of holding on to reality, to keep from flipping. He took no credit for it. In fact, he knew that everyone played games of some kind or another to stave off boredom or reduce the intensity of disquieting anxieties, and that this was nothing more than his own way of keeping control. In this regard he was quite self-aware and not really so odd, or so he told himself.

You can find the rest of The Nose here.

Local Art Seen: Gabrielle Gerster’s “Control”

One of the features of the UMD arts program is having an opportunity to exhibit your work within the Tweed Museum sometime before you graduate. If you’re unaware of it, the far corner of the Tweed Museum of Art features student shows from the UMD fine arts program. This week’s opening featured work by Gabrielle Gerster. Her show is titled Control.

“As humans we try to control our surroundings and how events will play out. We do this by wearing different masks to hide our feelings and thoughts. We control how we act in different environments. We are not the same person at school as we are at home or at work,” write Gerster on her artist statement.

Gerster's work is an attempt to show the various masks we wear. We never know what other people are hiding behind their carefully controlled masks. She especially noticed this while working in guest services. Like waitresses and others in the serving professions, no matter how rude the customer is the service worker must smile and remain polite.

EN: Where are you from and briefly, how did you take an interest in art?

Gabrielle Gerster: I am originally from Askov, MN. But I'm currently living in Duluth. I've always loved art and have been drawing ever since I could hold a pencil.

"Oppression"

EN: How did you come up with the concept that you used that is portrayed here?

GG: My concept came from a lot of my own experiences. My parents used to have a restaurant and when I was about 12 I began working there as a server. One thing my dad told me was "no matter how bad your day is or if we are arguing, it ends at that door." This advice has helped me stay calm in pretty much any situation I've come across in customer service. Currently I work in customer service and no matter how rude someone is, you can't actually say what you want unless you want to be fired. This has made me wear a "mask" and always be polite to the costumers. This lead me to look at how people separate their personal life and professional lives and has fascinated me. I also love to people-watch and the longer you observed somebody you realize little things to give away their emotions and that give you a hint to what they are hiding.

EN: What kind of media did you use?

"Manipulation"

GG: All of the paintings are done in acrylic on canvas with a with a screen stencil overlay.

EN: What kind of feedback have you received?

GG: So far the feedback has been great. A lot of people have been calling it "powerful", " emotional" and my little sister said "even though I don't understand it, the paintings are still beautiful." Which I thought was somewhat funny.

EN: What other insights about masks and life have you gained from the experience of putting this together?

GG: Putting this show together has helped me really look at the different emotions and habits people will try to hide. It has also shown me how transparent a mask really is and that you are probably showing more than you think.

EN: What are your plans for the future?

GG: I am currently studying to be an art teacher. I'll be graduating at the end of this semester. I also plan on continuing to make art as well.

* * * *

Here's a poem about masks that I shared on this blog in 2008. Control will be on display at the Tweed Museum of Art for the rest of this weekend.

HAPPENINGS
Don't forget tonight's Art Crawl in Downtown Duluth. Get your Art on.

FRIDAY
Seraphina’s Necessary Illusions
Opening at Washington Gallery on Friday, October 10 from 6-9pm. The show is a collaborative effort by Carla Hamilton, Brent Kustermann, and Emma Rustan, and will feature a series of new paintings from each of the artists focused upon sequential illusory portraiture.

Yoga Health Art Opening

This is a nice addition to our Downtown Duluth Second Friday Art Crawl.
Yoga Health, 16 1/2 N. 1st Avenue W. (upstairs)
Esther Bixler Piszczek will be debuting two large murals at this joint art opening with talented nature photographer Professor Ladona Tornabene, Ph.D. All sales of her photographs go to support a scholarship fund in the Art and Health program at UMD. Other galleries around town will also be open for the 2nd Friday Art Walk!
Tonight, 6-8 p.m.

PRØVE Gallery
"Origins" show featuring the artists who helped get Prøve off the ground, either in early shows or as part of the Old European Bakery shows that preceded Prøve Gallery. Details here.
7-11 p.m.

The Red Herring
Before you call it a night, be sure to stroll two blocks east on First Street to catch Gene Ritchie Monohan at The Red Herring.


Meantime, art goes on all around you. Engage it!