on a not-so-random street musician, Washington DC, lawyers, and the meaning of life
There is a fascinating article in the Washington Post this morning. Gene Weingarten, listed as a WaPo 'staff writer' but better known to me as Dave Barry's (perhaps former) editor, organized and described a stunt, a trick to test the mettle and the humanity of government employees. He should have started with an easier crowd; they failed miserably. The stunt? Take one of the world's foremost violin players, and stick him (with his $3.5 million Stradivarius) in the L'Enfant Plaza metro stop during the morning rush hour, and let him play. Record the performance on hidden video, and see how many people stop to listen, and how many give him money.
Pearls Before Breakfast - washingtonpost.com
The results, to spoil the article just a bit, are disappointing. Of the 1100 people who passed through the station during the monitoring period, a mere 7 stopped to take in the performance for more than a few seconds. About 30 threw in some money. This is a violinist who sells out every concert hall, at hundreds of dollars a ticket.
I like reading about the musician's reactions to the setting. He gets annoyed if he's playing in a concert hall and someone coughs; yet, in the high traffic subway station with everyone rushing past, he feels an incredible joy when someone pauses to listen, or when someone throws in a dollar bill instead of coins. Instead of finishing a piece to thunderous applause, there is only "another thunderous silence", the clap of hands replaced by the clap of dress shoes against sturdy easy-clean tile floors.
There's a lot of quasi-philosophical discussion in the article about the meaning of all this, about whether we should be thinking less of these people for ignoring the musician. Some Kant is quoted, which I'm a bit skeptical of, not just in this application but in general. But the article points out that every child is distracted, every child stops to listen. They don't walk around all day with a million other things on their minds, and so they notice and appreciate the music.
One passerby paused for a minute to glance at him, acknowledging his presence. She found herself wondering about how he could make a living playing the violin in subway stations, and about how to game the system to get the most money out of it. But she didn't notice the music at all, she was so distracted by her thoughts of the financial aspects of it. Turns out, she's a government lawyer.
I think that I would have stopped to listen. I certainly hope I would have. If I spend so long in DC, and so long working as a lawyer, that I rush on by and ignore such things, then it will be time for me to pack up my bags and move on. The only question is whether my eyes will still be open enough to see it.
[from the article:]
Pearls Before Breakfast - washingtonpost.com
The results, to spoil the article just a bit, are disappointing. Of the 1100 people who passed through the station during the monitoring period, a mere 7 stopped to take in the performance for more than a few seconds. About 30 threw in some money. This is a violinist who sells out every concert hall, at hundreds of dollars a ticket.
I like reading about the musician's reactions to the setting. He gets annoyed if he's playing in a concert hall and someone coughs; yet, in the high traffic subway station with everyone rushing past, he feels an incredible joy when someone pauses to listen, or when someone throws in a dollar bill instead of coins. Instead of finishing a piece to thunderous applause, there is only "another thunderous silence", the clap of hands replaced by the clap of dress shoes against sturdy easy-clean tile floors.
There's a lot of quasi-philosophical discussion in the article about the meaning of all this, about whether we should be thinking less of these people for ignoring the musician. Some Kant is quoted, which I'm a bit skeptical of, not just in this application but in general. But the article points out that every child is distracted, every child stops to listen. They don't walk around all day with a million other things on their minds, and so they notice and appreciate the music.
One passerby paused for a minute to glance at him, acknowledging his presence. She found herself wondering about how he could make a living playing the violin in subway stations, and about how to game the system to get the most money out of it. But she didn't notice the music at all, she was so distracted by her thoughts of the financial aspects of it. Turns out, she's a government lawyer.
I think that I would have stopped to listen. I certainly hope I would have. If I spend so long in DC, and so long working as a lawyer, that I rush on by and ignore such things, then it will be time for me to pack up my bags and move on. The only question is whether my eyes will still be open enough to see it.
[from the article:]
What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
3 Comments:
also check out some of weingarten's other articles, such as this one about a children's entertainer:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/18/AR2006011801434.html
i know, a children's entertainer? give me a break, right? no. this is a beautifully written, deep article about human psychology. the entertainer is merely the foil.
in some way, that actually supports my point. i believe completely that bell would have performed in a very detached fashion, and, despite the emotion and presence i'm sure he displayed in his way, i also believe that that's not an optimal attitude for diverting the attention of a hurrying mass.
but, what i took from the article was the sentiment that such focused attempts to divert the crowd shouldn't be needed. if the crowd was so busy, and so stressed, and so focused that they couldn't hear it well enough to recognize it as exceptional music, then that's what i take to be a problem.
it's possible that a LOT of people heard and recognized the music as being exceptional, but nevertheless did not stop, because they lacked the time or (as a friend suggested) because they have even better recordings of violin performances on their stereos at home, at work, and on their iPods. and if so, then i'm not so worried. i don't care that much if people stop, i just want them to listen.
a friend emailed me this article & this quote:
~~~
What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
-- from "Leisure," by W.H. Davies
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