ideas/visions/fanciful notions (1 of 2)

In the span of the last two weeks, I have had two significant ideas come to me that have to qualify as more than ideas (hence the title of this post).  I don’t know what category to which they belong, but my heart’s response tells me that they definitely belong in a category of things I actually remember for later.

1. The “concert” idea
I was driving toward Staples Center one day, and I saw that Jesus Culture was coming to perform at the Nokia Center.  And all of a sudden, it had me thinking about whether or not I would enjoy performing in a venue like that.  And instantly, my soul said, “no.”  I thought that to be curious, and so I spent the rest of that time stuck in traffic thinking about why I felt so adversely toward the idea.  It didn’t take long for the answer to come, and it was so simple: I want my music to be a catalyst for response and community.  I don’t just want the music I write to be consumed and digested in a private experience.  The primary function of most concerts is to get you to focus your attention vertically, toward the performer.  I’m interested in horizontal and reflective attention.

So, what if I created a “new” cultural artifact that was a different kind of concert (in fact, this isn’t even close to being new and I probably only have this idea because people like Jenny Hall and Erna Hackett have shaped my imagination about art and worship)?  The requirements would be simple:

• Biblical Artistic Storytelling: the story of the Bible must be told with performance and visual art.
• Horizontal Communication: people have to talk to each other.
• Personal Reflection: people have to ask and answer one honest question to themselves.
• Tactile Objects: the horizontal communication or the personal reflection has to be related to at least one object that people can touch

The first experiment native to my art will be this Thursday (5/26/11) at UCLA InterVarsity’s large group.  Let me know if you are interested in coming.

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