The space to savor

While the discussion on the many ways we enjoy art will be approached in a future post, we wanted to introduce what we believe to be an inescapable component of the artistic experience: the space to savor.

At Red Bellow, we believe that art is an adventure, and that an adventure is a removal from the continuous loop of life's routines.  In this space between adventure and life, there is room to savor life's experiences.  In this space, we focus on depth, not breadth; absorbing, not consuming; tasting, not eating.  Art helps us balance the focus on substance with a focus on sensation.  And by focusing on sensation, we sense more.

We are often caught in strings of events whose combined meaning attempts to replace the enjoyment of each.  With the modern explosion of productive and communicative opportunities, it has become increasingly difficult to choose the pleasures of an extended moment over a string of many.  What we gain in quantity, we give up in quality.  Instead of seeing, we watch.  Instead of listening, we hear.  Instead of feeling, we don't.

Art creates the space to savor by focusing us on the infinite depth of the finite.  Dance bathes us in the endless rhythms of movement by focusing us on one dancer.  Music covers us in the countless waves of sound by focusing us on one instrument.  Poetry exposes us to the unlimited expanse of language by focusing us on a few words.  Art reveals that single moves, waves, and words are filled with more sensations than we could ever collect.  A four string violin has infinite frequencies.  Art focuses us on the latter.

Red Bellow.  The world's a stage.