The talk today is about generative AI, robotics, bio-extension, quantum computing, space travel, energy transformation, and digital avatars, all while war and gun violence and climate change and presidential politics weigh upon us. Technology and invention continues its relentless pace while the headlines of human conflict carry on. There is much talk too that the nation is frayed, that democracy is at risk, that there is a rising tide of anxiety. The long view tells us it's always been this way: hope mixed with despair. Optimism mixed with doom. Which is it? What can give us solace and insight? What can carry us through?
My answer has been the humanist code: a belief in human culture to move beyond the postmodern crisis we are in to an enlarged understanding of love and creativity. I'm led to reimagine the humanities in our civic life — looking squarely at the human condition while elevating beauty, truth, and goodness for a better future for us all. That has been my work in the world. A week ago, my board chair at The Charlotte Center, Deborah Bosley, sent me an essay by David Brooks entitled How to Save a Sad, Lonely, Angry and Mean Society
. Brooks makes the case that literature, philosophy, history and the arts teaches us how to deeply see and be seen, to construct meaning and live morally, to renew and redeem ourselves. In that spirit, we republish a 2008 essay from Deborah Bosley, Professor Emeritus of English at UNC Charlotte, entitled "The Heft of the Humanities." Deborah addresses the enduring role of the humanities in a world awed by science.
We include a 20o9 essay of my own entitled "Why Our Cities Needs the Arts," in which I argue that the arts make us smarter and provide tools for innovation, both of which are essential to the city’s evolution and civic wellness. We also include a review by Joshua Peters of public art by Shaun Cassidy; a poem by Sigrid Hice on being in the moment; and an artist gallery by Sam White. You'll see links to four of our PDF magazines from previous years that include lead columns from Mark Woods, David Tang, Doug Singleton, and Manoj Kesavan.
To art for art's sake, Mark Peres
Charlotte Viewpoint Founder The Charlotte Center Founder & Executive Director |
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The Heft of the Humanities
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We live in a culture that worships technology and is awed by science. Both have transformed the way we live, how we think about our bodies, how we move through time and space, how we communicate, and both have produced innovations that have made this country highly ranked in the world. Because of this power, we have become a culture dominated by, and under the dominance of, science and technology.
No one would quarrel with the importance of the technological professions: we need bridges, cell phones, computer applications, stop lights, roads, medicine and medical equipment – we need most of the products created by scientists and engineers. It can be a dangerous thing to focus less attention, both in universities and among the public, on the humanities. The baseline of our cultural and democratic triangle is the humanities, for they teach us what it means to be human. |
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From 2009: Why Our Cities Need the Arts |
In mid-June, 2009, about 150 citizens gathered at the new Fillmore Theatre in Charlotte to hear a presentation by the ASC
about its recently commissioned Creative Vitality Index (CVI). Attendees listened to a panel of two out-of-town officials from the Western Arts Foundation and one local researcher from the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute deliver a presentation benchmarking the region’s creative vitality against the nation. The bottom line: unpleasant news – our 2007 index value declined from 2006, and the Mecklenburg CVI was half that of Denver county, and considerably less than Seattle-King and Portland counties.
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| From 2015: The Sound of Everything |
Art doesn’t have to be something ponderous or complicated. Sometimes art is instant. Sometimes the artist has imbued a work with such a concentrated idea that the audience cannot help but instantly comprehend. Shaun Cassidy’s artwork is instant. One medium, one treatment, a constant underlying concept so human that even for its simplicity there is immense intrapersonal depth. We can all visualize what our favorite song “looks” like; we can close our eyes and imagine the shape, color, form, line and texture of the sound of a guitar chord, a dog’s bark or a bird’s chirp. |
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Sitting still
Owning the moment
Not pondering
Yesterday’s wilted petals
Or tomorrow’s burgeoning buds Sitting still |
| At her core, Sam White loves to identify with the goodness in people and celebrate all of the small events we all witness daily. She is a graphic designer by trade but even more so her passion is most clearly exhibited in creating spaces, props and gadgets that encourage people to connect, and foster memorable moments.
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About Charlotte Viewpoint |
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Charlotte Viewpoint is a magazine about the city and culture of the Charlotte region that ran from 2003-2016. Charlotte Viewpoint published civic and cultural commentary and programmed events about Charlotte for engaged citizens to nurture creative capital, elevate civic discourse and promote intellectual and artistic excellence in the Charlotte region. |
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| Charlotte Viewpoint has been archived by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room for its historical significance. |
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