The Invisible Gorilla

When Irve expressed shock and dismay that people looked right past our funeral as they went about their day, I assumed that those people were belligerent: purposefully unwilling to be distracted by our very beautifully haphazard distraction. As I said at the time, many people do not see art, some because they actively seem to avoid it. But what about the others?

Lo and behold: another theory comes to my attention. Actually, a theory of attention. The theory of "The Invisible Gorilla," which it turns out is the result of a very important and reputable Harvard psychology study. It showed that many people, if preoccupied by a simple task, will be unable to notice salient factors within their environment. 

Maybe, just maybe, we did encounter people whose heads were too full of numbers or algorithms or meeting schedules to even see a funeral procession going by. And what does that mean for the future of interdisciplinary art-in-the-world?

Check out the cool website for the set of Harvard experiments on attention:

http://www.theinvisiblegorilla.com/gorilla_experiment.html

A zombie walk in Columbus made quite a spectacle!

Spectacle Exhibition in Dittmann 205: One Week Only!!

Perhaps, in the last few months, you have witnessed some strange, unexplained phenomena around campus. Perhaps you crossed paths with an itinerant Victorian funeral procession mourning the death of an abstract ideal. Perhaps your dinner was interrupted by a cavalcade of shadow puppets, or maybe you were simply handed a flyer inviting you to a mysterious event with no known time or date.

Now some of these mysteries can be solved--and others compounded. For the next week in Dittmann 205 (The Print Study Room) Art 240 "Creating Spectacle" is exhibiting materials and documents created during their recent performances. This semester, our students made magic with plywood, steel, butcher paper, concrete poetry, packing peanuts, accordions, elaborate state of the art sound systems, gallons of paint, miles of ribbon, saxophones and trumpets, tons of tulle, lots of spray paint, and soaker hose. But also, it must be said, the chief ingredient was inspired play.

What some critics have said about the show:

"The avant-garde is reborn for the new millennium. The use of Tyvek is nothing short of a revelation."  --Peter Sheldahl, The New Yorker

"This Cabinet of Wonders will provide the perfect study break for any student during finals week. Oh, and it honors my legacy very well." --the ghost of Guy Debord   

To find the exhibit, enter Dittmann Center from the East, and turn right at the hearse!

Play, further supported

Another take on why play is vital to our existence and evolution. A short TED talk worth your time.

FRIDAY

So I ran into this, and (timmy! don't kill me!) it's hilarious, spectacular... As Anda said, we live in an interesting world I hope you enjoy it!!

whatever we did st. olaf needs more of it. yes?