But does it mean I'll take the high road and skip the redundant Artscape post? Or should I just write whatever everyone else has written?
Well here I am, taking the road more traveled.
It was insanely large this year. It's getting bigger and bigger, and yet it gets more packed. Maybe because the nerdz were visiting this week, all dressed up? Or maybe because people like having a good time? Seriously, experiencing this great festival makes you think about the quality of our non-festival lives.
Every Baltimore blogger is writing about the location of the main stage. In recent years, I've heard Wyclef Jean, The Commodores, Isaac Hayes, and many more. But I've never been able to see any of them.
So when Cake started playing and I realized I was just going to get trampled by disappointed people, I went up to the children area. Sorry, the Target Children Area. Now, did we really have to push the corporate sponsorship thing so much? They did a good job, though.
Just before the main stage, there was a woman on stilts fooling around with a hula hoop, throwing it in the air and stuff. Now, the guy who told her she should shave her armpits was a dick. But seriously, maybe she could have worn a t-shirt? Or not walk on stilts? I mean, I'm not flaunting my armpit hair, right? I don't know. I should probably mind my own business.
That's all I have to say. I went to my first Artscape in 2003, and it pretty much convinced me to move to Baltimore. And it gets better every year.
15 comments:
As a Mt. Vernon resident I have some grrr for the crowds, but the festival is plenty amazing to make it worthwhile. I have to echo the CAKE placement complaint...especially because I bought those stupid VIP tickets, which allowed me to stand on top of a nearby parking structure and stare at a huge tree blocking the stage for $25! Caveat emptor, I guess.
I'm prompted to comment about the stilt hooping woman. I've never tried to work a hula hoop on stilts, but I gotta figure it's a pretty tricky maneuver. She was AMAZING, so graceful and full of charm, she was leaning all the way over to hug kids and talk to (some creepy) passersby, not to mention she had a megawatt smile and adorable costume...and all folks noticed was her armpit hair?!?!? Talk about misplaced priorities!
I think the American obsession over monitoring women's grooming rituals is a little ridiculous on a good day. It's sexist, no other way to call it. That kind of scrutiny and criticism distracts smart women from the things that are genuinely issues (sexual assault, spousal abuse, employment discrimination, political representation) and focus our attention on whether we shave enough to too much. For the crowd to pick on the gorgeous, talented lady because she lets hair grow where only men are supposed to grow it is ludicrous and sad.
I say good for her for NOT covering up! She's sowing a tiny revolution in a very appealing package. Let your peoplefeathers hang on out, who cares what people think.
That woman is simply being herself! Your personal grooming habits are your own. I saw her, and she was fantastic! If all you saw was armpit hair, you need to check your perception of beauty and what's important.
I know I know I know.
In a way, I'm like the old racist grandfather, whose grandchildren try to find something nice to say about him after he dies, and all they can think of is, "Well, he was a man of his time..."
And I'm a man of my time when it comes to armpits, which is not to excuse the way I perceive women, of course, only to explain that... well... I can't help myself. That's how I grew up. No matter how far to the left I go when it comes to other issues, I'm still stuck with my reaction and hair obsession.
This is not a "Sorry if I hurt anyone's feeling" apology. It's more of a "Sorry I'm a douche" apology, which I'm not sure is better, but it's at least more honest.
And as for the $25 VIP tickets, I saw the sign on the parking lot, and all I could think was that I wish I were a rich man, able to afford those $25. So I have to be glad that the tree was the great leveller.
I agree very much with the previous two commenters, and feel the need to add a few points. A lot of festival-goers tend to forget that Artscape, hence the name, is an Art festival, and there was quite a lot of amazing art to see! Perhaps, dear blogger, you just popped in to see(or in this case, not see)Cake, and only just happened to bump into an artist in the form of a beautiful and talented stilting woman... I saw her too, and she was indeed beautiful and talented- I did not notice the hair you speak of nor would it have bothered me if I had. I am just here to say that if that is all you saw- some tiny hairs in a bodily crevasse- at this year's Artscape, I am totally confused as to why you would comment on the festival at all. You must have somehow missed the public sculpture, the art cars, the beautiful crafts, the spectacular Midway exibition on the Charles St. Bridge, all of the exhibits on the MICA campus and elsewhere, and every other wonderful offering that the artists of Baltimore and beyond worked tirelessly for months on end to bring people such as yourself.
I hope that next year you will be inspired to open your eyes a bit more and take a walk beyond the main stage. Artscape is grand... there is no reason to focus on something as teeny-tiny as some itty-bitty hairs!
When it comes to the choices you make about your own body hair, you're entitled to your own opinion. Likewise, you are free to choose not to sleep with a woman who doesn't shave her pits. But when you demean a talented woman in a public forum based on something so personal and subjective, you're just being, as you say, a douchebag.
But Anon.#3, I thought I already answered that. Really, there's nothing more I can add.
I can say that I did enjoy the art on the bridge and elsewhere as much as I could, walking around with a small baby in a crowded area. Now, I don't come to Artscape to see the shows, but knowing I'm going to be there one of the days, I try to make it the day of the show I want to watch.
In fact, I'm so old-school that I even worked in an Artscape tent in 2003, before most of you were even born!
And as I attempt to put this controversy behind me, I can't help but start a new one: if there's something I like even less than the [let's not go there again], it's art cars.
Oh, there's a number 4 here too... I missed that one. Listen, I'm glad you're all here, don't get me wrong. This small corner of the internet that talks about a small corner of the Mid-Atlantic region in a small corner of the world has been populated by many anons in the last couple of hours.
Just to answer the 'public forum' part: you're right. This corner of the internet is (usually) so small, that I tend to forget the power of the internet as a public forum and I treat this instead as my own private journal. Now that this post has been linked by someone and the link has been emailed (I assume) around, this has the result I didn't intend, which makes me worse than the dude who shouted at the woman. At least she could answer him.
(this is "Anonymous" number one again)
You totally called it, the tree served us right. $25 is a chunk of cash for me too. I let myself get talked into it, thinking the 2 free drinks, nibbles and shade might be worth it...WRONG.
Thanks for saying "I'm a douche", dude, that was a responsible (even oddly classy!) way to handle it. Don't we all have something like that, where we hold onto an antiquated sucky attitude toward something? It's totally fair to recognize that the water we're swimming in is polluted with some bad ideas -- they seep into our worldview no matter how enlightened we generally are.
But then the honorable choice is to consciously work to see it differently. What's wrong is to notice that your attitude is douchy and still hang on to it. Dig me?
i used to know someone who dyed it green. top that!
Thanks, Anon.#1. I think that like some, I've made progress in some areas, to the point where ended up asking myself, "How did I think like that before?" And then other things we grow up with and die with, and no logic can turn us around. We have the power and often the responsibility to change our views, and there's no excuse for some opinions, but in the end, we are still, to a large extent, products of our societies.
Oh, I missed an anonymous.
It's probably a bit different from just not shaving, and passively saying we should all be able to do what we want to do with our bodies. When you dye it green you're either saying, "Come on. Make a comment. I dare you." Or you just like the way it looks now. Green.
I don't shave my armpits, either. I am 48 years old, I make art, rescue dogs, show my work all over the country, have work in museum collections, have won prestigious grants, teach art at a great art school, teach anatomy at one of the country's best vet schools, and by far the most important thing I, have wonderful friends (human and canine) and family (human and canine.)
If men (or women) can't see past my armpits, oh well. But actually posting a personal aversion like that in this day and age because you think it actually bears (and deserves) public scrutiny seems to me a sad and pathetic state of affairs, especially in a world filled with violence, ignorance, greed and environmental degradation, to name just a few.
Adelaide, good for you. What else can I say? Some people here had some valid comments about my post, and I tried to overcome my initial "How dare you talk to me like that on MY BLOG?" which, I think, helped me see the logic in their arguments. But as much as I try, I can't help but think you're going a little too far there.
My armpit-hair-related paragraph didn't push back feminism to its pre-60s days, it didn't breed violence, greed, or environmental degradation, and it didn't hurt any canines.
I do appreciate anyone commenting here, don't get me wrong, but you have to realize that not every person with the wrong opinions is evil.
OM, you are being way too nice. Pit hair is disgusting, myself and other people are offended by it. I stand by my opinions and don't hide behind "Anonymous". I didn't know about the pit hair issue and I am going to mention it at the next Artscape meeting for 2010, I'll do my best to sure that doesn't happen a second time.
Cham, thanks. But I think I'm going to have to stand by my semi-plus-apology. Even if I don't like it, I probably could have kept that to myself. I think the thing that bothered me most was that I realized the drunk frat-boy douche who said the same thing to the woman's face was probably a better person than I was.
And as for the number of Anonymous comments, I think it just means the commenters weren't bloggers.
And you have some great Artscape photos on your blog, by the way.
So we're all clear? It's enough to have the Target logo. They don't have to call it the Target Children Area.
And no armpit hair. For men or women.
And that horse in the children area peed for an hour, which I found offensive. This could have been prevented with a little horse-size peepee teepee.
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