Wherefore art thou, bilge pump salesman?

What is art?

Sometimes, that question leads you on a deeply philosophical journey about things like historical and contemporary context. There's often some commentary about producing work that appeals to the masses, versus doing art for its own sake, and allowing (or helping) the right audience to find it. You'll also typically find some hand-wringing about skill versus luck, and artistic intent versus pure chance.

To be clear, I've had those conversations. I've dived head-first into those philosophical journeys (sometimes even on this blog, like this or this or this). And the constant tensions between popularity and individuality, and between intent and chance, are tensions that I feel every single day.

But sometimes, you sit down, and are greeted by your presenter for the evening, Joshua J. Ladgrove. Sometimes the presenter gets things moving by squeezing some toothpaste onto a banana, eating that banana with the peel on, and then chugging some Listerine, and that's when you know you're in for a wild-ass ride.

Sometimes, you only recognize art in hindsight.

Wherefore Art Thou…? Contemplations on the nature of art

A few weeks ago, I watched a performance by the Top Shelf Big Band, directed by my friend Robert. I loved it. Hearing big band music takes me back to my flute-playing days in middle school band, when a love for the music compelled our director to sprinkle a little swing into our standard diet of classical and pep band music.

During the concert, I danced my way around the venue, taking photos when the mood struck. And other members of the audience were movin' too, sometimes standing to hit the dance floor as soon as they heard Robert announce certain upcoming songs.

Drops of Jupiter

I spent yesterday evening watching a presentation of work from the Center for Investigative Research at Open Show Bay Area, this time hosted at the Berkeley Rep. It was fantastic. The CIR has been on my radar ever since I read their piece The Shooter, and the work presented at Open Show was of the same high quality. In fact, we watched a video from the Broken Shield project, which project nearly won the reporters a 2013 Pulitzer Prize (they were finalists).

After the presentations, we went to the nearby beer garden Jupiter for drinks and chatter. That's when I pulled my camera out and took a few pictures. For your enjoyment, a few vignettes from Jupiter.

Two chefs prepare food in the kitchen.

One of the chefs on the pizza crew tosses a pizza dough.

A bartender moves some glasses to a dish rack before sending them through the dishwasher.

Google, You're Just Too Good to be True

Last Friday, the touring cast and crew of the Broadway show Jersey Boys stopped by the Googleplex. We had the opportunity to hear some cast perspectives of the show, as well as to hear some fantastic singing and watch the performers dancing up a storm onstage.

The performance itself was live-cast on YouTube (and will hopefully be online soon, although it looks like it's not up just yet). More photos to come.