Everywhere I look these days, I see an new, integrated awareness emerging from collaborations that transcend just about every conventional boundary there is: national borders, cultural differences, race, religion, gender—you name it. Two weeks ago, my good friend was one of more than 1200 people attending an event at the Pachamama Alliance, an extraordinary group …
Take it from one strongly disinclined to enthrone idols: Leonard Cohen is a god. If you want to spend an hour and a half on cloud nine, run right out and rent Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man, a concert film/documentary by Lian Lunson, just released on DVD. Aficionados will remember the title of this post …
“Man was born free,” wrote Jean-Jacques Rousseau 250 years ago, “and he is everywhere in chains.” As Thanksgiving approaches, Rousseau’s words have been cycling through my mind. I am thankful for the tremendous freedom of movement, association and speech I have as a citizen of this country (even as I join others in fighting to …
I took a short trip to an alternate universe the other night. It started with a 5-minute ride on a party bus equipped with a huge refrigerator and gleaming stainless-steel sink. Tiny twinkling stars were set into the ceiling. From my cushioned seat, I stared at freeform glass panels separating passengers from the driver: they …
In my travels over the last few weeks, I’ve encountered quite a few arts advocates in the grip of a singular and persistent obsession, conveying art’s value through “hard evidence” such as numbers, graphs and charts intended to convince funders and policy makers to invest in cultural programs. The dean of an arts college confided …
I’m on the road again, Chicago this time. (Come catch my talk at Columbia College on Thursday if you’re in the area.) But wherever I go, there’s a certain through-line to the travel experience—not only the ritual airport ceremony of exposing one’s gels and liquids, but the fact that I watch the morning news on …
This is the text of my keynote address at the annual conference of the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts. It was delivered on 3 November 2006. The great evolutionary biologist J. B. S. Haldane once was asked what a study of creation could teach us about the nature of God. His answer? …