Ethics & the Arts News - Spring 2012

Ethics & the Arts news

remembering9/11 pg 5

3rd AnnualEthics Art Cafebenets BurmeseYouthpg 2

AtlantaMusicProjectpg 18

Medicine,Art,Ethicspg 9

The FairytaleLives ofRussian Girlspg 15

+more

WE ARE NOT ALL DRY YET by Carlton Mackey and Dane Jeffersonpg 4

Spring 2012 | Volume 2 Issue 1

e Ethics & the Arts Societypartners with Wonderroot,Voices In the Treetops , and its founder Paula Larke to support young Burmese refugees at the 3rd Annual Ethics & the Arts Cafe.

Ethics & the Arts Cafe

Ethics & the Arts News | 2

Ethics & the Arts Cafe


artists for

THE THIRD ANNUAL Ethics Art Café event, co-hosted by the Center for Ethicsand WonderRoot and organized by the Ethics and the Arts Society, was a fundraiser for Voices in the Treetops. The Ethics in the Arts Society is a pillar of the Ethics and thethe Ethics and the Arts Initiative and is led by Mariangela Jordan, Sabrina Bernstein, and Robert Grabowi. Jordan was excited about using this year's Cafe to offer support to Voices in the Treetops and its founder, Paula Larke. The program offers The program offers music classes to 30-45 students in the Clarkston area, a 45 students in the Clarkston area, a majority of whom are refugees. "Larke is so dedicated", Jordan recounts, "she brings her personal instruments for the students to use and share". She went on to explain that Voices in the Treetops “goes beyond offering the students a hobby. There offering the students a hobby. There are very difficult social problems when it comes to refugees and especially refugee youth. They live in impoverished parts of the city where they share spaces with gangs and are sometimes victims of gang

violence.” She says the music program is one of the few safe spaces that the youth have in the community to call their own. Jordan’s hope was that new relationships could also be forged because of the event. Jordan stated that her charge was not just to donate money but to raise general awareness about important groups in the community utilizing the power of art to address relerelevant social issues.

social changeWe challenge you to make a difference.PROMOTE ETHICAL DIALOGUE.

Contributed by Catherine PowellPhotographed by Stephanie Gibson

WE ARE NOT ALL DRY YET

Artwork by Carlton Mackey and Dane Jefferson

Crowd gathers at Auburn Ave Research Library for Visualize

Rights Atlanta 2011

Emory Remembers

he gloATL performance

by Karen S. Rommelfanger, PhD

might have been a foreign experience for many aending the opening ceremony for Emory’sweek of events marking the 10th anniversary of 9/11, and this is part of the beauty of what gloATL offers audience members: an offers audience members: an invitation to re-evaluate their assumptions both about the worldand their relationships within it. Their performances are influenced by the contempor-ary art critic and curator Nicolas Bourriaud who developed what he called Relational Aesthetics, which emphasizes human interaction as a mode of aesthetic interaction as a mode of aesthetic production. At first blush, this may sound like a no-brainer for good art, but with more carefulconsideration, one can see whythis aesthetic makes gloATL’s performances stand apart from more traditional performances more traditional performances that one might see on stage. Their interaction with the space, which

T

by Karen S. Rommelfanger, PhD

GLOATL,photographed at Asbury Circleby Carlton Mackey


The idea is not to fight these memories but to acknowledge them—even the painful ones—and to allow yourself to

embrace the transformation that these experiences and memories give you.

emphasizes human interaction

as a mode of aesthetic produc-

tion. At first blush, this may

sound like a no-brainer for good art,

but with more careful consideration,

one can see why this aesthetic makes

glogloATL’s performances stand apart

from more traditional performances

that one might see on stage. Their

interaction with the space, which

includes the audience, informs the

dance and is both captivating and

often unseling. But gloATL’s

purpose is not necessarily to make purpose is not necessarily to make

you feel comfortable, and goes bey-

ond entertaining: Their mission is to

get the audience to engage with the

performance—and for those who

wish to sit back and passively

watch, this can be an uncomfortable

act. act. The opening events for the 10 year

anniversary of 9/11 fell under the um-

brella of memories and memorialization,

and the flyers for the event make a hum-

ble, yet powerful request: “Remember.”

This is why I could think of no beer way

to open these e to open these events than to be activated

by gloATL. Without any introduction,

the first dancer appeared bearing a trans-

lucent black bag of colored ribbons. Like

a ghostly specter, she crept up the hill from

Dickey Drive to Asbury Circle to the oval

platform where a wire leafless tree had been

placed. She carefully opened the bag, which placed. She carefully opened the bag, which

looked a bit like a globe, or the earth as one

audience member put it, and released the

multi-colored ribbons. They dropped like

autumn leaves, and blew across the ground,

signaling a change, perhaps an opportunity

for rebirth. The performers and the

music created a landscape of memory.

The music revealed a detailed terrain

of sensory experiences. The dancers

were dressed in muted colors that

seemed to resemble the fickle, often

abstracted nature of memory. Some abstracted nature of memory. Some

memories can be more vivid than

others; other memories escape you and

over time fade into a whisper in the

background. The music was an integra-

tive part of the experience. Some of the

music bore resemblance to a music box;

at one point, dancers twirled almost at one point, dancers twirled almost

ironically like lile music box baller-

inas. Part of the music reflected one’s

journey of running into the ocean, again

reinforcing how memories might ebb

Performance led by gloATL founder Lauri Stallings Event Conceived by Carlton Mackey


and flow gently or crash onto and fade back into the surface of other memories. The idea is not to fight these memories but to acknowledge them—even the painful ones—and to allow yourself to embrace the transformation that these experiencestransformation that these experiences and memories give you. This is what I felt with the culmination of the performance where the dancers beganto collectively leave the scene only to rush back, ready to begin again, to tenderly help the frail wire tree to grow and flourish again. The dancergrow and flourish again. The dancers


led audience members by the hand tothe tree to tie the ribbons or new leaves onto the tree, so that we could beginagain and flourish together. Some say we live in a post-9/11 world and that this means we must be constantly vigilant and suspicious of the potentialvigilant and suspicious of the potentialdanger in the world. Others might say that living in a post-9/11 world can mean an opportunity to begin again, and to remember that we can only rebuild by nurturing a transformation in each other that helps us each grow within and beyond ourselwithin and beyond ourselves.

A Father and his son bring together Medicine, Art, and Ethics.

ECHOLILIA


photographs from the award-winning book

A Father and his son bring together Medicine, Art, and Ethics.


Photograpy by Timothy Archibald

W

(l-r) Dr. Ami Klin, Timothy Archibald, Eli Archibald, Dr. Paul Root Wolpe


Photographed by Timothy ArchibaldFrom the Echolilia Project

hen Brian McGrath Davis—photographer, hen Brian McGrath Davis—photographer, Emory University graduate student, and exhibit curator—first saw the photos in this exhibit he knew they needed to come to Emory’s campus. The photos docu-menting the deepening relationship be-tween Timothy Archibald and his autistic

son Elijah moved Brian powerfully and needed to be shared. Drawn from the award - winning book Echolilia, the photographs represent a collaboration between Archibald and Elijah, now eight years old, and were brought to campus through the work of Davis and Carlton Mackey, Chair of the Center for Ethics’ Ethics and the Arts Initiative. When Elijah’s parents first realized he had symptoms of autism, parents first realized he had symptoms of autism, they, like many other parents, were forced to come to terms with heart wrenching challenges. Photog-raphy became a bonding activity for Mr. Archibald and Eli that opened their lines of communication. At the exhibit’s opening Dr. Paul Root Wolpe, Director of the Center for Ethics, facilitated a public conversation with the artist noting that the photo-graphs “represent the relationship between father and son.” Davis elaborated upon this by noting that the photographs reflect this distinctive rela-tionship acknowledging that, “if someone else had taken the photos of the boy, they would hataken the photos of the boy, they would have taken them differently.” The exhibit vividly “represents the intersection between ethics and art,” says Mackey. “Creative expression, enabled by photog-raphy, allowed the father and son to experience the complexities of autism through a new lens.” Davis, who he admits that he usually isn’t “drawn to pictures of children,” was captivated by these shots. He contacted the artist and began pulling together the support and funding necessary to bring them to Atlanta. This required an extensive network of or-ganizations including Atlanta Celebrates Photogra-phy, Dr. Bill Eley and the Emory School of Medi-cine, Atlanta’s Marcus Autism Center, and the Emory Center for Ethics. Davis was inspired by how diverse organizations on campus and around Atlanta came together for this event “even if they didn’t directly benefit.”The benefits were made clear throughout the various events when, for ex-ample, medical students where able to ask ques-tions and receive candid answers about autism. Also, as Davis points out, individuals affected by

Spotlight on Ethics & the Arts-a conversation with Carlton Mackey

“I am an artist. I believe in the power of art to change the world.”


recently had the honor of siing down with Carlton Mackey, the Chair of the Ethics & the Arts Initiative at Emory University's Center for Ethics. We spoke about a variety of topics, but at the heart of our discussion was how and why art is an important vehicle to trigger ethical inquiry and in what ways the vision of the Center for Ethics to create the vision of the Center for Ethics to create dialogue using art has been realized. Below is a retelling of that conversation:

Art is fundamental to our existence as human beings. Every culture has ele-ments of artistic symbol and every cul-ture uses ritual as a way of understand-ing the world. The most primitive things that we know about human existence came in the form of drawings. Art is who we are and therefore, perfectly primed as a tool to engage people in dif-ficult conversations.

I

Through the arts we have the poten-tial to break down paradigms and challenge peoples perspectives. If there were no images that helped changed our perspective of what was happen-ing in South Africa or Vietnam, we would not have begun to address the issues and create change. Artists have also been at the forefront of the move-ments fighting for equality in the LGBT community. Because art doesn't rely solely on verbal communication it is one of the few things that can transcend the boundaries of accessibility and differ-ence that make understanding each other difficult. Art can giArt can give expression to complex and challenging experiences without the limitations of verbal language. An object, movement or film creates mul-tiple entry points. The art object itself, whether an ephemeral mandala or a black and white photograph, is actu-ally a living object and is able to diaally a living object and is able to dia-logue, as both a trigger and container, with a third party in a way that one-to-one dialogue cannot function. People will engage with that living object in ways that they won't engage with another human being. Speaking about the things that make us different is a discussion often fraught with

tension and liminal truths. However, to engage as a group or community by siing with an artwork, another living expressing entity, earnest in its pro-duction, allows possibilities in a conversation that would have been difficult, maybe impossible other-wise. Art creates a simplified experience without necessarily sacrificing subtlety. In its simplicity, it opens up our imagination to possibilities that might opens up our imagination to possibilities that might actually be cut off from other forms of communica-tion. Through that process, there is a set of things by which we can begin to unpack both a subjective and objective set of qualities. An universal agree-ment of the objective criteria lets us see where we agree, and understanding the contained subjectivity is where progress happens. Art opens up people's imagination to not only learn more, but to have their consciousness raised and in doing so, to think through creative solutions.

Judith Hoffman in conversationwith Carlton Mackey Photos by Carlton Mackey

Photographed by Carlton MackeyDramatic Scene Readings by Actress Judy Leavell

Partnership with

“When do you ever hear the actors and directors talk?” asks Mackey. The con-versation, which took place at the Center for Ethics, provided unexpected insights that showed how conflicts in the play were interchangeable with real life conflicts. Actress Judy Leavell plays Baba Baba Yaga/Auntie Yaraslova, an elderly woman who fits the stereotype of a witch. Leavell spoke about the perva-siveness of ageism in the theater busi-ness. She applauded the fact that ageism is not present in the work envi-ronment of Fairytale Lives. Celise Kalke, Director of New Projects at the Alliance Theater, said the dialogue was a special opportunity because Leavell felt comfortable and compelled to ex-pound upon a salient issue that is rarely talked about. Kalke said that conversation is used as, “an important tool for us to continue to think about theater’s role as community leader,” in so far as, “there is responsibility on the artistic side of theater to provoke dis-cussion.” The play becomes a tool that guides the audience to consider ques-tions and ideas that challenge social paradigms. Instead of going over tech-nical details and operations of the play, dialogue provided invaluable feedback about content and theme from the au-dience to the playwright, director and cast. The play was created by Mirosh-nik to reflect her role as observer in Moscow. In her writing, connections

are derived between the women she saw on the street and the women in Russian fairytales. She explains in an interview with Bret Love that the play, “is asking what role hahave in adult lives.” Miroshnik uses Russian fairytales, seen through the eyes of an American observer, as a way to show how thoroughly in-formed Russian and American experi-ence are by each other. The focus is on, “hope, possibility, and change, across generations rather than cultural differences between Russia and the U.S.,” Kalke described.In juxtaposing the play with commu-nity dialogue, layers of meaning were uncovered. For the audience, play-wright, director and cast, the play took on a new and enhanced life.

Catherine Powell

Photos by Carlton Mackey

onsider the life of a play. The dream of the playwright has come to frui-tion and she hopes that the play’s themes will spark conversations within a broader community. The play becomes a living, breathing thing that represents a complex web of ideas and relationships. These rela-tionships influence the performance and real lives of the playwright, director and cast. How does the play’s life unfold in the community? Through dramatic scene readings and discussion, the Center for Ethics, in partnership with the Alliance Theater, have bridged the life of the play and the liand the lives of community members by creating a space for dialogue. Meg Miroshnik’s play The Fairy Tales Lives of Russian Girls has won the eighth Alliance/Kandeda Playwright Competi-tion. Each year, the competition grants a full production for a play wrien by an emerging playwright. Miroshnik used her experience living in Moscow to write a story about an American woman who also travels to Moscow and navigates a cross-over world between reality and fairytale. Carlton Mackey, Chair of the Ethics & the Arts Initiative at the Center for Ethics, said that the competition is remarkable because it, “allows the writer to go from general obscurity to a production in a major the-ater.” Mackey goes on to note how through dialogue, audience members have the op-portunity to see beyond the stage.

C

Atlanta Music

n February 10, 2011, My n February 10, 2011, My True Vision Photography began a year-long photo documentary project with coverage of the Atlanta Music

Project’s 2011 Winter Performance which took place at Museum Bar. TheThe Atlanta Music Project will posses a digital photography ar-chive chronicling the progression of the Atlanta Music Project youth, footage of major events, as well as professional portraits of each of the Atlanta Music Project youth along with portraits of Co-Founder and Executive Director Dantes Rameau and the Atlanta Music Project Teaching Artists.


O

Continued

Photographed by: Carlton Mackeyat the Atlanta Music Project summer concertProject

Modeled on El Sistema, Venezuela’s National System Of Youth And Children’s Orchestras, the Atlanta Music Project is a 5-day-a-week, afterschool, youth orchestra and choir program targeting underprogram targeting under-served communities in metropolitan Atlanta. Founded in February 2010, the Atlanta Music Project is a tax-exempt, 501(c)3 orga-nization whose mission is To inspire social change by providing Atlanta’s under-served youth the opportu-nity to learn and perform music in orchestras and choirs.


The Atlanta Music Project believes: the pursuit of musical excellence leads to the development of confidence, creativ-ity and ambition, thus sparking positive social change in the individuals and the communities we serve.

Kari and Carlton Mackey are the husKari and Carlton Mackey are the hus-band and wife photography team who own My True Vision Photography. The company specializes in documentary, lifestyle portrait, and destination wed-ding photography. The couple believes in the power of art as a vehicle for posi-tive social change and utilizes their company as an extension of their com-munity and civic engagement.

The Atlanta Music Project aims to enrich the lives of our students by enabling them to unlock their full potential through our intensive, after-school youth orchestra pro-gram. Over the past year the growth of our students as young people and musicians has been people and musicians has been enormous and I'm delighted that we've been able to capture the in-spiring development of their spirit, strength and ambition through My True Vision photog-rapher Carlton Mackey's photo exhibit.

-Dantes RameauCo-Founder, Executive DirectorAtlanta Music Project

Intervention - Anna Nelson-Daniel

InterventionEthics & the Arts

“Ready to Rock” sculpted and photographed by Anna Nelson - Daniel

Ready to Rock The Presbyterian Village is a “continuing care” facility, which provides an array of living styles available based on the level of independence of the individual. Many residents begin in independent living and later transition to the assisted living or the nursing homes. About forty percent of the nursing home residents come from independent living and fty perecent come from the hospital. The Montessori Method Alzheimer’s Unit is locUnit is located within the Presbyterian Village. This facility has implemented new monitor programs that stimulate residing memories in the individual by presenting them with electron-ic photographs of familiar people or objects. These images lower anixety levels and allow for the individual to reconnect with family or others around them. The universal issue of aging was important for me to address because it challenges the notion of beauty associated with youthfulness. Many avoid the topic because it is undoubtedly sad to consider the certainty of loss or death associated with old age. Respect and care for the elderly can be emotionally taxing, but is essential. I want to spread awareness about the facilities that systematically address needs of aging individu-alals. The older adults I have interacted with are some of the most peaceful and playful people I have met. With this in mind, my sculpture aims to capture the tension between the beauty of life lived, the tragedy of crippling illness and immi-nent death, and the peace and wisdom that embody the con-dition of aging.

Anna Nelson-Daniel is a senior at Emory College majoring in Art History and Visual Arts. She is a current member of the Ethics and Servant Leadership (EASL) Forum. Anna’s studies started on the Emory at Oxford campus. It was at Oxford that Anna enrolled in a number of sociology courses. These sculp-tures are inspired by her experiences in the “Social Problems” course. In this class, led by Professor Mike McQuaide, students visit a visit a variety of locations including a homeless shelter, Geor-gia prisons, the Grady Emergency Room, and Emory’s Center for Ethics. Anna uses narratives from her participation in the course to create scenarios that present complex issues in a unique way without creating a feeling of hopelessness. Displayed togeth-er, theses sculptures gesture toward the ways in which social issues are interconnected. The nished sculptures will be ex-hibited at the Visual Arts Department Gallery in April 2012. These photos of the exhibit are on display at the Center for Ethics through March 15. This exhibit is sponsored by a grant from Emory’s Center for Creativity and Arts.

ETHICS & THE ARTS

Visit: hp://www.ethics.emory.edu/pillars/ethics_and_arts/

For more information contactCarlton Mackey:[email protected]

Chair, Ethics & the Arts Initiative

March 15 - May 2012

Date post:	19-Mar-2016
Category:	Documents
Upload:	emory-university-center-for-ethics
View:	213 times
Download:	0 times

Ethics & the Arts News - Spring 2012

Documents