Travel Essays Archives • Page 46 of 69 • Andrew Crusoe

Today I’m going to take you into the depths of the Denver Art Museum. You’re going to see photos. You’re going to watch video. You’re going to hear stories straight from the horse’s mouth. But most importantly, you’re going to be surprised at what lies inside.

Now, let’s start off with the big, controversial question:

What is art?

This question has been posed for hundreds, probably thousands, of years; and the answer will forever vary from person to person. After entering the Denver Art Museum and heading up the stairs, a sign on a blue wall posed this question to me. Visitors were instructed to write their own answer to the question “What is art?” on a blue piece of paper and stick it to the wall.

Some of the answers people posed were insightful, some were hilarious, and didn’t even consist of words at all. My favorite answer hinted at a higher truth through its humor (and we’ll come back to that later); but as it turned out, the contents of the museum itself answered the question best. The closest I can come to summarizing this answer into a single sentence is that: Art is simply a product of the Imagination brought into reality. That’s it. And as with most answers to abstract questions, what I found in the museum may surprise you, so I’ve gathered the top 5 biggest surprises at the Denver Art Museum here for your reading pleasure.

Surprise #1 – The Museum’s Extraordinary Architecture

In a previous article, I mentioned how wacky and fascinating the Denver Art Museum looks from the outside, but it’s even more extraordinary on the inside. The first floor stairwell is one of the first things you’ll see when you visit, and it’s a great example of the kinds of angular shapes that you can expect to see when you come. See those three blue dots towards the top right of the photo? Those are LEDs that make up a work of art called ENGI by Tatsuo Miyajima which features 80 of these small LED number displays. These LEDs, which cover parts of the walls and ceilings of this part of the museum, display numbers from 1 to 9 at varying speeds.

To create ENGI, Miyajima asked a few Denver citizens for a four-digit number that meant something to them. This four-digit number was then plugged into a computer program that controls how fast an LED display cycles from 1 to 9. The ENGI digits were interesting to watch, and they made the strange architecture seem more alive. You can see more examples of how ENGI is used in the Denver Art Museum photo album.

Surprise #2 – Bizarrely Hilarious shortfilms

Tucked away on in a cavelike room on the second floor is a small darkened theater playing a series of very odd (but very funny) shortfilms by Bjørn Melhus. This one is called “Captain”; and it was pretty hilarious because Melhus borrowed sound clips from episodes of Star Trek and sci-fi movies and inserted them into the movie. In some versions of this movie, the man in the center has James T. Kirk’s voice. In other versions, the older man has the voice of a young woman, and the result was really amusing. The way the Melhus inserted sound clips from other works makes it similar to a song mashup.

Surprise #3 – Weird Interactive Art

Now this one is called Zero, and it’s really bizarre; I didn’t like it at first. Basically, this is a doll inside of a suitcase with a projector aimed at its face. The projector is connected to a DVD player, and it projects a video of a face onto the dolls face, thereby giving it the illusion that the doll is looking around, and even talking to you. The face would often call out to people looking at it, and occasionally yell at people. Yet after a while, in a saddened voice, it would ask if anyone was still there. I can’t even begin to accurately hypothesize what “Zero” meant to its creator Tony Oursler, but it was delightfully strange and somewhat hilarious.

Surprise #4 – Awesome Exhibits like the Psychedelic Side Trip

Without a doubt, the Psychedelic Side Trip is one of my favorite temporary exhibits I’ve ever seen… in any museum. As you can see above, right as you walk in you feel transported backwards in time to an era where clothing, music, and communication were changed forever. This highly-accurate replica of a 1960s living room is complete with a tiny 4×3 TV, musical instruments, and light fixtures from the era. (Wow, that sentence almost makes the 1960s sound like they happened a hundred years ago! But you can’t deny that we’re in a different era now.)

The entire Psychedelic Side Trip exhibit was contained in a very large room divided into separate sections, and it was one of the most interactive art exhibits I’ve ever seen. Past the replica of the living room was another room with a bathtub full of pillows (as was the style back then) and some tables with famous magazines from the era. Beyond that was a table where visitors could create their own psychedelic posters, and nearby many classic LP records from bands like Jefferson Airplane, Santana, and the Beatles were on display.

The entire exhibit fostered creativity among the visitors. Around the corner you could even make your own light show on the wall using colored oils. It may not sound so entertaining, but it was actually a blast.

Another fantastic interactive element was a video phone booth. You could sit down, close the phone booth, and briefly talk to a camera about your thoughts on the 1960s. When I visited, this part of the exhibit wasn’t completely working, but when doing research for this article, I discovered that the museum had uploaded 693 of these videos to YouTube. Yes, you read that correctly: SIX-HUNDRED AND NINETY-THREE videos. So apparently the art museum kept a lot of what was recorded there.

And some of the videos are pretty entertaining to watch, even if the people who created them weren’t even born until decades later. Here’s a great example:

They’re all 50 anyway, so it doesn’t matter. Their time has ended, and now it’s our time… and we’re going to play guitar hero! (They didn’t have guitar hero back then.)
~ Anonymous Young Museum Visitor

Classic.

And to finish up this section, here’s a short story about the 1960s from people who were there to experience it:

Yet another example of why you should explore while you still have time. (And you gotta love how the guy in the video mimes the reactions to her story. If you didn’t watch him the first time, I recommend you watch it again and pay attention to his face. It’s pretty funny.)

However, I’ve got bad news. Unfortunately, this exhibit won’t be a permanent part of the Denver Art Museum. But lucky for you, the Denver Art Museum has extended the life of this exhibit to July 26, 2010; so if you’re headed to or thru Denver any time soon, don’t miss out on this opportunity.

If you’re curious, there’s a lot more information about the exhibit over at the exhibit’s section (retrieved from archive.org as the page has since been taken down) of the Denver Art Museum website, and you may want to check out their YouTube channel, as well.

Surprise #5 – Super-sized works of Art you can walk around in!

The fifth and final big surprise the museum had in store was Fox Games by Sandy Skoglund, which is basically a room that is an art piece itself. As you can see from the above photo, it features a series of dining tables and sculptures of foxes jumping all over the room. That alone isn’t so strange or surprising, at least for an art museum. What’s surprising is that, except for the foxes, everything in the room is BRIGHT red, including the silverware, cups, and the chairs themselves. It’s definitely a strange sight to behold, and luckily there’s a path that leads you thru the exhibit so you can see this scene from all angles.

While I explored Fox Games, I overheard someone mention that there was actually a single red fox hiding in the midst of it all. I found him, and I wondered why this fox was red when all of the others were grey. Then, after looking again and thinking about it, I realized why. If you figure out why, let me know in the comments! (It’s easier to see why if you look at the picture of the single red fox in the Denver Art Museum photo album.)

The Funniest Answer

After reflecting on my time spent at the Denver Art Museum, my favorite answer to the question “What is Art?” is:

“Art is my uncle!”

As funny as that may sound, it also hints at a higher truth: Art is in the eye of the beholder.

I certainly saw this expressed in the museum since it included everything from blinking numbers to a bizarre talking doll to a living room itself being an expression of art.

Yet perhaps the most surprising thing is that the funniest answer to the question “What is art?”, might actually be the truest answer of all.

Continue the journey →

Photos from this trip are in the Denver Art Museum album. All photos in the Gallery can be used as widescreen desktop wallpapers because they are high resolution (1920×1440).

As a creative individual, what’s your mission?

Does the concept of Oneness relate to travel?

And how important is the concept of Oneness when travelling?

Today I’m going to discuss some of the answers to those questions. Consider this as a thought-provoking reminder: while you may not consider yourself a creative person, you most certainly are. Even if you never write, photograph, or make a single coherent note, your friendships are your creation. So today we’re going to talk a bit about purpose, growth, oneness, and how they relate to your role as a creative being. Yes, you’re a creative being. Sorry, but its unavoidable; you can’t help it. 🙂

An Unexpected Outcome

The Element of Surprise is often overlooked as a key element in creation, whether it be visual, audible, or the written word; so this certainly applies to travel writing. For instance, travel writers must constantly put their readers into a state of wonder and surprise. Without it, the writing feels stale and predictable. Even if you never write, a good example of creativity in a social setting is humor; and as any comic will admit, surprise plays a key role in humor, as well.

Have you ever sat down and asked yourself, “What exactly is humor anyway?” If you think about it, humor can only arise out of an unexpected outcome. It can only arise if there is some flavor of surprise. Good writing is no different.

Our Shared Mission on this Blue-Green Planet

As a travel writer, it’s my mission to provide you with enlightening new perspectives of this beautiful blue-green planet we call home. It really is a magical place, and too often we forget that as we sit in our man-made above-ground caves as beauty lurks outside. Life is so much more than our routines. It’s about discovery. It’s about growth. It’s about inspiration.

And as a travel writer, I deeply feel that it’s my purpose to inspire you with these new perspectives, and (if I’ve really done a good job) make you think differently about the world around you. Perhaps through what I share, you’ll realize more and more that the Earth isn’t the dangerous, unforgiving place that some sources would have you believe. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying it’s without danger. Any environment that fosters growth will have dangerous elements, but danger is certainly not the defining characteristic of Earth. In my experience, the defining characteristic is Growth: a natural unfolding of progress.

You’re lucky, because people who live in a growth-inducing (catalyzing) environment such as Earth’s, will mature over time. Life paths that are dangerous and self-destructive are not a sign of a mature, conscious person; but mature, self-aware life sees itself as a fragment of a larger whole and doesn’t seek to destroy its neighbors because it realizes a universal truth: by hurting others, it hurts itself.

Our mission is to always remember and act on this truth.

It Takes 10,000 Hours

A popular idea floating around right now is that it takes 10,000 hours to become a professional at a skill, so it’s no surprise to me that after writing over a hundred articles, I am only now finally beginning to feel good about how I balance length, depth, and personality in my writing. And I’m excited that I can see this improvement quite obviously when comparing some of my articles from years passed. It’s truly a great honor to be able to share my experiences with you, and I feel that I’m just beginning to hit my stride in my writing capability.

I’ve realized that as I mature as a creator, I become better and better at discerning the quality of the creations around me, and what I see in the writing sphere is a good example.

What’s the deal with travel sites “churning” out content?

These days, I’m surprised sometimes at how some sites seem to write rather passionless articles again and again. I find myself asking certain questions: Does the web really need another story about how to best spend your money? Does the blogosphere (if that’s actually a thing) need another guide on how to use your time most effectively? Does the computer-internet really need another post talking about how “blogging saved my life”?

Maybe, just maybe, it doesn’t.

Maybe this whole web would be better served if writers were painfully honest and wrote about what they actually cared about instead of what they felt would generate page views (or worse, what they were being paid to write so someone else could generate page views).

At what point do people begin to stop recycling ideas and start actually doing their life’s work?

More Honesty = More Value

So here’s the crux of the matter: the more honest you, as a creator, are about your own feelings, the more valuable what you create is. Say it out loud if you didn’t the first time: The more honest you are, the more valuable what you create is. You need to say that out loud because your more likely to actually remember this timeless piece of information.

No matter what kind of content you create, it’s very important to be really, really aware that you’re creating for a real person, who may have arrived at what you’ve created from a variety of places. They may be seeking inspiration, comfort, or any one of a million things.

If you’re a travel writer, they may want a specific question answered, they may want to hear a story, or they may want to just look at some of the beauty you captured on your last trip to Galapagos. But no matter what they seek, the more honest you’re able to be with yourself when you create it, the more they’ll be able to identify with what you’ve created. And the reason for this relates to the concept of Oneness I mentioned earlier.

You see, when you’re really, really aware of how a person enjoys your work, you can put yourself in their shoes. When you can do this, you can anticipate their needs. When you can anticipate their needs, you can make smart choices about how to frame what you’re trying to say. I’m not saying you should only write what you think you’re audience is expecting. That would actually be the stupidest thing you could do, because if you depend on your audience for guidance, the chances of you ending up in a place that resonates with your heart’s path is close to nil. So find the message that resonates with your heart. Then, stay true to your message, but don’t forget who’s hearing it.

How Travel Writing Encourages Oneness

As I see it, one of the highest goals a travel writer can have is to inspire and grow the awareness of Oneness between people, and other kinds of creativity are no different. In the case of travel writing, when you honestly relate your experiences of another culture, not only do you highlight some of the fascinating qualities that are unique to the culture.

But more importantly, if you’re honest with yourself, you invariably come to the conclusion that, once you look under the surface-level appearance, the similarities between peoples and cultures far outweighs the differences. And sharing these types of stories affects us on a deep level, because we already know in the unspoken places of our hearts, that we are all One People, and always have been.

An excellent expression of this is in the song “Braided Hair” by 1 Giant Leap:

(removed from YouTube by a copyright troll)

“Because We are One, and We Should Know We are One”

In short, by expressing yourself honestly, you help the entire planet. The practice of telling stories and relating your experiences of other cultures is just one example. Through honest communication, we realize more and more how we are so incredibly and intimately connected as a people on this planet, and it serves as a wake-up call for us all. The more harmony and cooperation we can create between the differing cultures of the Earth, the more loving and enjoyable this planet will become; and perhaps most importantly, the sooner this planet will become a congruent, harmonious society that’s poised for exploration beyond our own little star.

I look forward to that day… don’t you?
Let’s make it come faster.
We can, when we decide.

Andrew Crusoe

Tropical Sci-Fi & True Hawaii Adventure

Category: Travel Essays