issue 02 // volume 41

Our new relationship with art

» Sometimes we need to focus, turn off the distractions

Olivier Calvet
The Peak (NUW)

Te in art can differ among
personalities as well as
social and cultural lines, but
the human spirit shares the
capacity for greatness and
innovation. To some degree,
creators trick us into watching
what they have done, but
at some point one needs to
understand that art really is a
social need.

Art is food for thought;
it is a way to let our brains
“breathe” a little, a way to get
inspired, and an emotional
loophole (catharsis). Because
of this, it is essential to rethink
one’s approach to art to better
appreciate it. In a day and
age where jobs may consume
our lives, art is all the more
important in that it may be one
of the only refuges we have left.

However, the psychology
of art has changed ina
negative way. On the one hand,
going out to see a movie or
a play means engaging, and
presumably thinking about
what you are seeing; the use of
a computer to watch a movie,
on the other hand, means

watching it ina totally different :
: real or political terms with the

mindset. You might stop

midway through to pick another :
film online, or multitask at least :
: an elitist business.”

to some degree.

The point is we live in a

: culture with a growing attention :
: deficit. Commercial movies

: adapt themselves to that reality,
: and cuts are multiplied as the

: attention span of the average

: audience has decreased.

All of this changes the

: way we approach art, and

: technology may, in that sense,

: have decreased the quality of

: our artistic experience. As Moby
: put it in PressPausePlay, there

: is a danger on the side of the

: production as well, much like

: the sci-fi scenario of grey goo:

: “Art and culture potentially

: might succumb to that same

: principle where if everybody is a
: musician, everybody is making

: mediocre music, eventually

: the world is covered with

: mediocrity. And people start

: to become comfortable with

: mediocrity.”

In the same film, author

: Andrew Keen states, “When

: you fall into the trap of

: confusing the artist and the

: audience; when you believe

: that the audience knows more

: than the artist, ... then art

: ends and you have something

: else: cacophony. You have

: simply an apology for radical

: democratization, and it’s wrong

to confuse democratization in

creation of art, which is, by
definition, for better or worse,

These days, the danger of a
cacophony, and that of getting

: comfortable with mediocre

: art is greater than ever before.

: Especially online, it is hard to

: imagine virtuosi of the past

: being able to break through

: the mass of garbage that exists

: on YouTube, for instance. In

: this sense, while technology

: has been a blessing for many

: artists in their creation and

: distribution processes, it has

: also changed the distance there
: used to be between the artist

: and their audience. While that
: isn’t a problem on an individual
: level, at the social level it means
: that as art is less revered, it is

: devalued.

That is why I believe it is

: really important to take our

: artistic experiences out of

: the virtual realm. This means

: taking steps to “sanctuarize” our
: experience of art. Whether you

: choose to go to exhibits more

: often, to a public performance

: of some sort, or just to shut

: your email and put your phone

: away when doing something

: similar at home, it’s all up to

: you. Just as you work more

: efficiently when you are ina

: neutral place with few sources

: of entertainment, your artistic

: experience is better when you

: focus on it. Paradoxically, it may
: help you open your eyes to what
: is happening around you.

 

‘Tf I Stay’ sets high emotion against Vancouver landscape

» Teen drama film features big stars and local talent

   

| Cazzy Lewchuk
Staff Writer

[fT Stay has the unique com-

bination of being a non-indie
film featuring a range of
notable actors while remaining
a low-budget film made pri-
marily in Vancouver. Based on
a young-adult novel by Gayle
Foreman and featuring stars
Chloé Grace Moretz (Kick-Ass)
and Mirielle Enos (The Killing),
the film also featured some
local Vancouver actors and
musicians. Being shot entirely

around the city, many noticeable :
: deeper than what one might
: expect as a regular person

: talking to a celebrity.”

features of the Lower Mainland
can be spotted by a native.

The plot revolves around
Mia Hall, a talented cellist
who takes a car trip ona snowy
day with her equally musical

G0000

: relationship with rising rock star :
: Adam Wilde (Jamie Blackley).

: family. A brutal car accident

: leaves Mia in an out-of-body

: experience, and the film follows
: her throughout the day in the

hospital as she agonizes over
whether or not to stay on Earth.
Throughout the film, there are
flashbacks of Mia’s life and her

Local musician Tom

: Vanderkam, singer of the

: math rock group Tommy

: Alto, portrayed a member of

: Adam’s band in the movie along
: with other local musicians.

To him, the set atmosphere

: was “super friendly. The band
: all got super close with the

: cast. Theyre super real and

: down-to-earth people you

can connect with ona level far

He further praised the

: organization of filming, saying,
: “I thought it was cool howamaz- :

: ingly orchestrated everything
: was. You've got 400 crew mem-
: bers all working towards a com-
: mon goal in perfect harmony.”

Although the plot has no

: shortage of drama, emotion, or
: romance, it ultimately falls a
: bit short in being memorable or

extraordinary. All of the actors

: deliver fine performances,

: andthe slightly supernat-

: ural concept is original and

: interesting; however, the film

: focusses a bit too much on

: melodrama and typical teen

: angst/romance, with significant
: pacing problems in Adam and

: Mia’s relationship development.
: Itled to some very boring

: scenes in which I questioned

: whether anything had actually

: occurred in the last 15 minutes.

Despite these flaws, IfT

: Stay isa well-crafted produc-
: tion for what its worth. It will
: no doubt appeal to its target

: audience of young adults who

love drama and romance.