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In Washington , DC , at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007, this man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, approximately 2,000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.
After about 3 minutes, a middle-aged man noticed that there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, and then he hurried on to meet his schedule.
About 4 minutes later: The violinist received his first dollar. A woman threw money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.
At 6 minutes: A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again
At 10 minutes: A 3-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head the whole time. This action was repeated by several other children, but every parent - without exception - forced their children to move on quickly.
At 45 minutes: The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.
After 1 hour: He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed and no one applauded. There was no recognition at all.
No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world.
He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars.
Two days before, Joshua Bell sold-out a theatre in Boston where the seats averaged $100 each to sit and listen to him play the same music.
This is a true story. Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the D.C. Metro Station, was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities.
This experiment raised several questions:
In a common-place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?
If so, do we stop to appreciate it?
Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?
One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made... How many other things are we missing as we rush through life?
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I thought it was interesting how the kids were the most compelled to linger, and listen. Course, they didn't have to hurry to work, or shopping, or deal with any adult time frames. Still. No matter the context, wouldn't you think the beauty of the music, as it soared off the walls, underground in a DC subway, would have touched more than children?? If not, how sad.
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As I'm writing, a small flock of birds have just landed on a branch of the Birch tree outside my window. It's a cold, misty morning here, as you see in the two photos. The little birds were hanging like tiny Christmas ornaments as they plucked off the last of the seed pods for their breakfast.
Bird food...brain food...I think that's enough food for thought on a Sunday morning.
2 comments:
I think we give people way too much credit for knowing squat about art. You put a guy in the same terminal with some squirt paints and a spinning wheel and people would actually pay for his pieces of shit.
What I found really disturbing was that no one could take the time to LISTEN. Can you imagine how it must have sounded, and yet, no one could hear it..??
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