Spectator Joy

Last week I attended a concert celebration in honor of Billie Holiday at the Pratt Library in Baltimore. Sitting in my auditorium chair before the performance I quietly twiddled my thumbs and people watched as the seats filled in around me. The crowd was in good spirits and the performers were doing some last minute planning up on stage. As one of the performers took up the microphone to offer introductions and get the celebration officially started the audience settled and was prepared for what was to come – some jazz duo music by a pianist and a drummer and then the singer would come out on stage to join in and sing in honor of Holiday.

As the singer left the stage, the pianist and drummer settled into comfortable positions for play. It only took one note from the piano and two beats of the drums for the spine tingling pulses of inspiration to start spreading through my whole body. I realized in that moment how long it had been since I had been to a live musical performance. Then the realization that I was sitting in the presence of a creative act filled me with comfort, hope, and energy. What a gift the two musicians were offering us by allowing us into their moment of artistic expression. This is a big difference between performance arts and visual arts – immediacy with the creative act itself.

Visual arts allow spectators to have an encounter with the outcome of a creative act – which can be a very powerful experience. But performances draw a spectator right into the moment of creation with the artist. This collaboration between artist and audience in a performance piece allows both parties to experience the mystery of the creative process in powerful ways. The artist’s experience feeds off of the creative act itself but also off of the energy and response of the audience. Similarly, the audience simultaneously encounters the product of the creative act offered by the artist while also getting a glimpse of the process.

The act of creation is a unique experience and to be offered a chance to witness and enter into the moment of creation with the performers opens us up to unexpected encounters. As I sat there, taking in the music, with my spine tingling and goose bumps down my arms I was transported out of the mundane and into the extraordinary. My spirit was awakened and I reveled in the joy of the artistic offering.