Across the political divide, we are connected through art | Idea

With Pamela E. Barnett

There’s a presidential election next Tuesday, which means most of us will spend the rest of the month obsessively analyzing the winner’s path and reading erudite accounts of what the future might hold.

I hope some of us will take a break from this exhausting news cycle and turn to art, which we all need after a highly polarizing and divisive campaign and election season. Artistic experience affirms and expands our humanity. Art connects us to each other.

We need this now more than ever. Singer and composer in an “Art Talk” for the National Endowment for the Arts Josh Groban “Art is important because hate is lethal. “Art matters because art is the only truly great connector in a seemingly disconnected world, and it is now more important than ever to shine a great light on this connection we have and often forget.”

Art enriches, deepens and elevates us all. When we truly engage with the expressions of others—their words and stories, images, designs, and music—we surrender our own consciousness to the experiences, perspectives, and visions of others. We can connect and empathize with people from other nations or other cultural backgrounds. Anyone who has watched in horror a Greek tragedy or sung along to an old American hymn or spiritual knows how art can enable us to connect with others through the ages.

As an NEA employee Victoria Hutter “Art is important because I learn things about people and places that I would never know otherwise,” he said. Art expands my brain and heart to make room for innovation. Sometimes parts of me shift and are replaced by wiser things. And that’s a good thing.”

After this election, art and music can affirm our common humanity beyond political partisanship. To go one step further, I would like to draw attention to two specific studies that evoke the following sentiment: American democracy: Antonine Dvorak’s 9th Symphony “From the New World” and “Portrait of Lincoln” by Aaron Copland.

We don’t always think of the orchestra as the place to go for national unity, but that’s why we can and should do it.

Dvorak was a Czech composer who worked on American folk songs during his time in the United States from 1892 to 1895. “From the New World” was his attempt to write a truly American symphony. Dvorak said his classical orchestration incorporates the “spirit” of both African American spirituals and Native American folk music as a way to express the richness of the post-Civil War North American story. His symphony also captures the beauty and breadth of the landscapes of the American Midwest. Astronaut Neil Armstrong recorded the symphony that went to the moon and turned it into the soundtrack of his “giant leap for humanity.”

Portrait of Lincoln (1942) was commissioned during a time of national crisis; On December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor was attacked and the United States took action to enter World War II. Copland was commissioned to “celebrate the spirit of the American people.” This orchestra aims to convey the character of the Great Uniter and at the same time evoke a great feeling for the preservation of the union with freedom for all. Contains excerpts from Lincoln’s famous speeches touching on war, freedom, nation, and democracy.

In the days before and after the election, you can stream these orchestral works to your preferred music streaming service. You could also hear them being performed Livestream at The College of New Jersey on November 8Three days after the election.

Conductor Uli Speth shares the rationale behind this repertoire: “Both pieces celebrate American history and American culture in a way that all citizens can feel good about, regardless of their background or political views. “After a period full of divisive rhetoric, we hope this will make everyone feel like they belong in the same country.”

We must all look for ways to improve our country, and that includes stopping disrespecting and belittling our fellow citizens who vote differently. Art can show the way. After all this partisan fighting and divisive rhetoric, art invites us to feel our common humanity and even our shared love of American democracy.

Pamela E. Barnett is Dean of the School of Arts and Communication at The College of New Jersey.

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