David Hasslehoff, or Rid Yourself of Fear

Fear is an interesting thing. I don't pretend to understand it. I don't pretend to like it. I pretend it isn't there.

When I was growing up, I was the child who was always holding doors for people, fearless. I was the kid that wandered off in the mall, and eventually found my way to the office to alert them to my "lost parents." I wasn't ever lost. My family was. This caused problems growing up; i was the child on the leash.

At some point in growing up, I lost that "fearlessness" and became a smidge of a coward. I think we all go through this cycle, at at some point we try to come in to our own. This is a strange point in life - and it happens around high school. For some reason, I became self conscious about everything... the only place I felt safe was on stage, which is odd. I had great friends, but still felt uncomfortable in most situations. This continued on through college, oddly enough. It continues today.

People counter fear with a lot of things; I counter it with arrogance. It's easy to "put on the cocky" and cover you fear. However, as my friend Wade always said, "Arrogance perceived is confidence achieved."

There's some truth in that.

I think about fear in another way too. I think about the arts. We spend a lot of time talking about "art" vs "cinema," or "art" vs "sports," and we always seem to think about it in terms of finances. Of course, we are competing for discretionary income with these other groups, but we must look closer at the experience.

Cinema, it is you I shall discuss first. The cinema is safe. The cinema is easy. It doesn't take a lot of emotional investment to go see a movie. You can talk during it. You aren't part of anything "vast" and the audience is disjointed.

This is the difference between cinema and live art or sports. Sports and live art create experiences. You become part of something. You have a vested interest. This can be terrifying for some people - especially if they haven't experienced it before. Sports are much more open. You enjoy basketball? Go to a game. You enjoy baseball? Take in a game. You can watch this live, or you can see it on TV. The accessibility is vast, and the opportunity is everywhere.

Not the case with live art. You can only see it live. You can not reproduce a museum experience over television, and before the advent of YouTube, you couldn't readily access Broadway shows, absent of the trashy movie versions of Broadway hits. Live theatre, as well, is only powerful live. It can become a part of your experience.

That, coupled with the decorum of live theatre (what to wear, how early to arrive, when to clap, when to stand, when to sit), and you've got a stressful experience, especially for first timers.

This is especially true with what some consider the "high arts" which include straight plays, ballet, classical symphonic music, and opera (in that order). This includes visual art and museums as well.

Truth be told, there was a time where opera and classical music were for the elite. When art itself was a luxury few could afford. However, those times are past. In Grand Forks for instance, the Symphony is no more threatening than the community theatre, and the ballet has something for everyone. We don't have a lot of opera here, but it is the same. It is all about your personal experience, and I say, to hell with anyone who says differently.

In GF, though, we are fortunate to have some crossover experiences for our arts, and these serve as perfect opportunities to get your first take on various arts, without risk, without challenge, and without fear.

In terms of the visual arts - the Third Street Gallery is always an nonthreatening first stop, but if you want a peek at the North Dakota Museum of Art, please consider ArtSee. Sponsored by the Museum of Art, the North Valley Arts Council and the Grand Forks Young Professionals, ArtSee is an opportunity to mingle with the artists exhibiting at the North Dakota Museum of Art's Winter Art Auction. The artists will be present to discuss their work, and they will have additional examples of their work for sale.

If you are looking for art at a lower cost, consider a couple of alternatives. First, the Third Street has a ton of Bachmeier's on sale right now, very affordable.

Also, there is a new venue in town right now, You Are Here, located at 25 S. 4th St., in downtown Grand Forks. Under the sign "YOU ARE HERE", the show is an "art show-&-sell" group exhibit of works in all media by over 20 area artists.

The North Valley Arts Council, at their Annual Meeting on January 30, is holding a Winter Arts Market. The Market is a silent auction fundraiser of “recycled” artwork that is ready for new life, to be shared with others. NoVAC has encouraged members of the community to go through their homes and select quality items for the Market. Included in the auction are paintings, sculpture, and other unique objects d’art. It is the communities opportunity to purchase quality art at a lower cost.

Besides the Market, the Arts Council will also be presenting their Annual Arts Awards, specifically the Artist of the Year award to Job Christenson, as well as Corporate Supporter of the Arts Award to Sanders 1907, and the Individual Supporter of the Arts Award to Bruce Gjovig. Lee Barnum will receive a Career Achievement Award for dedicating her career to the arts.

There are three opportunities to immerse yourself in the world of visual art with very little risk, ergo, very little cause for fear.

On the performing arts side, there are a couple of events coming up that can serve as a great first glance.

For those that like symphonic music, the Symphony Orchestra has an event coming up that is tantalizing. If you like acrobatics, all the better. Cirque Symphonique is a musical tour de force, featuring the Symphony, the Youth Symphony, Special Guest Artist Renate Rossol (winner of the Young Artist Competition) and former Cirque de Soleil acrobats Ninon Parent and Peter Boulanger, performing astounding acrobatic feats to accompany music by Moussorgsky, Rossini, and Strauss.

The Fire Hall Theatre is also throwing together a great musical, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change. Directed by Job Christenson, this show features some of Grand Forks most talented players. Returning to the stage are Fire Hall veterans and area residents Misti Koop, Katie Hill-Brandt, Jared Kinney, Darin Kerr and Daniel Dutot. Joining them, in her Fire Hall Community Theatre premiere is Debra Berger, a graduate student in Theatre Arts at the University of North Dakota.

In April, the UND Music Department will present an opera workshop, with performances open to the public. More information on this will be available as we grow closer. The Opera Workshop is directed by Dr. Anne Christopherson, who I've blogged about before.

All in all, Grand Forks is a great place to get over the initial fear of the live Arts.

For a complete list of these activities, of course, head over to CulturePulse. As for me, I'm going to work on honing my arrogance.

I, however, fear that I have no reason at all for putting David Hasslehoff in my title. Aw, well, I fail.

Peace::Ben::CulturePulse