The Arts are an essential element to society as they are a way of communication and expression that everyone can relate with and discuss. Over the past few months I have experienced the various aspects of the Arts – music, theatre and dance, and visual expression – and have tried to evaluate the impact that they have on society.
The Arts provide a vital role within society, either as music, theatre, dance or visual expression. We can either be aware of these or not as they can be combined to create in various ways, such as creating an advert that has a lasting impact on us or a successful movie. Without the Arts our society would be completely different and it is for this reason that the arts should be fully promoted throughout the country and in individual cities. Glasgow provides a rich cultural experience for society as well as educational opportunities for people to gain a wider knowledge on the Arts. Over the past few months I have been fortunate to experience the variety of roles that the Arts provide to society and have learned many things about them that I had not been aware of.
The Arts within Society class began with a visit to the Celtic Connections Festival and we were able to attend a music event for free and listen to some traditional music. This was followed by a talk from one of the organisers of the festival who discussed the educational workshops that the festival organised. This was very interesting as I did not know about these workshops and think that they are very important as they provide a valuable insight into how music relates to society. Information on Celtic Connections and the education that it provides can be found on the website: http://www.celticconnections.com/
One of the sessions that followed provided an insight to the theatre. Tom Gemmell, the playwright of the play called “Whitechapel Murders,” discussed the various elements that were used effectively to create the atmosphere for this play. He also talked about the direction of the play and musical input involved with this play. Overall it was extremely useful for evaluating how the different aspects of the Arts can be combined.
Visual expression plays a vital role within society as it allows people to discuss their different views and express themselves freely. One view of art will be completely different to another’s and it is for this reason that it has such an important role. During the class we experienced two sessions in the art bays at the University of Strathclyde Jordanhill campus with Sandra Ewing and Margaret Brock. During these sessions the use of visual expression was discussed and how effectively it can be used. In order for us to fully understand this we created our own pieces of art. In the first session the task was to create a face using shapes and colours that would clearly indicate the facial expression. This was a fun task that allowed me to think how changing a small detail can have a huge impact on the overall piece of art.
The Arts within society is very important as it provides a rich cultural experience as well as educating us. Without the Arts, our lives would be completely different.
Visual expression allows us to communicate with each other and express emotions as well as personal experiences. Glasgow is very fortunate to have such a diverse range of art collections and there are two main galleries in the city centre, the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and the Gallery of Modern Art. I have visited both of these galleries to view the variety of exhibitions on display and I was amazed at how many different forms there can be to visual expression. The space used for the exhibition can have a huge impact on the visual works and everyone has a different opinion on them. I think the gallery that had the biggest impact on me was the Gallery of Modern Art.
The Gallery of Modern Art opened in 1996 and is situated at Royal Exchange Square in the heart of Glasgow city centre. The building was refurbished and has a blend of old and modern architecture which appeals to many. Entrance to the gallery is free and this attracts millions of visitors and as a result of this, the gallery continuously changes and develops in order to attract new visitors. There are also several educational workshops that take place in the Gallery throughout the year which are aimed for all ages. Details of such events and the exhibitions that are taking place can be found on this website: http://www.glasgowmuseums.com/venue/index.cfm?venueid=3
The exhibition that I found most interesting was the “Echo & Transcend” exhibition which focussed on abstract art. The first thing that I noticed once I entered the gallery was some information about abstract art and one of the phrases that I thought was really interesting was “Similar to musical compositions, the works here are independent objects that don’t imitate nature.” There were many works from a variety of artists, such as John McLean, William Gear and Bridget Riley. It was the works of Bridget Riley that I found most interesting as she is an optical artist and her works seem to vibrate, pulsate or flicker, and this is achieved by the precise use of certain combinations of patterns and colours that have a physical effect on the eye. One of my favourite works was “Cataract 2” as it seemed to grab my attention more than the others and I felt that there was so much to discuss about this piece of art.
The exhibition had a mixture of 2D and 3D works and was situated in a very large space with lots of natural light. The architecture was also extremely ornate and this made the exhibition even more interesting.
I attended the gallery with a few friends and we all had very different opinions of the art. We also had some discussions on what the art could represent and what emotions were supposed to be conveyed. All of this was very interesting and made me fully appreciate the exhibition and realise that visual expression is a fundamental element to society.
London’s West End is full of theatres and opportunities to experience some of the best theatre productions in the world. Musicals have always been a preference of mine when attending the theatre and one of the classic musicals would be ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’ by Andrew Lloyd Webber. This musical had huge success in the 1990s and underwent a major reproduction in 2007 after the hit BBC television series, ‘Any Dream Will Do.’ In this programme Lee Mead was chosen by the British public to play the role of Joseph in this new production. Below is a clip from this show when he was announced the winner and performed one of the songs from the musical.
After having huge success in the West End, Lee Mead was replaced in February 2009 by Gareth Gates, and I was fortunate to attend the one of the shows a few weeks after this replacement had occurred.
This production takes place at the Adelphi Theatre, situated in the Strand area of London. This theatre can seat approximately 1500 people and has been the setting to many popular musicals such as Sunset Boulevard, Chicago and Evita. Full details of previous productions and the history of the theatre can be found on its website: http://www.adelphitheatre.co.uk/index.htm
Once entering the theatre I was amazed at the large size and the amount of people that filled the theatre. On the evening that I attended the theatre was nearly full and the atmosphere was full of excitement. As soon as the music began and the lights dimmed the audience became silent and there was full attention to the stage once the cast entered.
The music was full of energy and the choreography was brilliant, there were moments when I was in shock from what I had just seen and it made me realise that a lot of rehearsals and preparation had taken place in order for this to happen. The show was relatively short compared to many other musicals and this was a good thing considering that this musical was considered to be a family show and there were many young children in the audience.
The success of this production is due to many factors, such as the variety of music which provides lots of energy, as well as the choreography. The acting was excellent as the cast grabbed the attention of the audience throughout and made the story realistic. I feel that using relatively unknown cast members, with the exception of the lead role, made the story more enjoyable and the acting very exciting. Details of the cast can be found on the official Joseph website where you can also purcahse tickets: http://www.josephthemusical.com/?gclid=CILIurixnpoCFRSRZgodQWgv-A
The use of props and scenery used added to the comical aspect of the production and assisted the text and story. The lighting used was also every effective in conveying the different moods of the story.
Overall this production was well received by the audience and I think that it was one of the best musicals that I have seen, and there have been quite a few! After the show the cast returned to perform a ‘mega mix’ of songs from the musical and this was a great addition to the production as it was extremely upbeat and the dancing on the stage was very impressive and this encouraged many people in the audience to stand up and dance in the aisles of the theatre. This was the best way to end the production as everyone left the theatre having experienced a great piece of theatre that was very memorable.
