Do We Perceive Beauty in an Unexpected Context

[Scott Hansen <evanpeewee@gmail.com>]

well, back in the good ole grad school days study painting, we talked about "Art" can't exist w/o a context. i'd put music in that also. the mega million $$ works of art need the system of museums/galleries/collectors/etc to create & sustain this.
of course there are those who exist outside this...but the idea, if you are walking in the woods and see a stretched canvas w/ paint on it, most likely you'll say: hmm, looks like thrown out trash!

music is the same. especially your story-if people are on a deadline to get to work, odds are most aren't going to listen very long (obligations, etc). plus as stated, you don't expect world class musician w/ 3 mil $ violin playing on your way to work.
s---



re:
Firstly:

A man sat at a metro stationin Washington DC and started to play the 
violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for 
about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was 
calculated that 1,100 people went through the station, most of them on 
their way to work.
Three minutes went by, and a middle aged man noticed there was musician 
playing. He slowed his pace, and stopped for a few seconds, and then 
hurried up to meet his schedule.
A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman 
threw the money in the till and without stopping, and continued to walk.
A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, 
but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he 
was late for work.
The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother 
tagged him along, hurried, but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. 
Finally, the mother pushed hard, and the child continued to walk, 
turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other 
children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.
In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed 
for a while. About 20 gave him money, but continued to walk their normal 
pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, 
no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.
No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the most 
talented musicians in the world. He had just played one of the most 
intricate pieces ever written, on a violin worth $3.5 million dollars.
Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a 
theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.
This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station 
was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment 
about perception, taste, and priorities of people. The outlines were: in 
a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive 
beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an 
unexpected context?
One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best 
musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many 
other things are we missing?