Birds of a Different Feather

I just spent forty-eight minutes and thirty seconds listening to an interview with Tony Cragg. It's a little sad but before hearing the podcast, I really hadn't a clue as to who he was. I found his ideas absolutely fascinating and his demeanor interesting. Listening to him at all was a bit of an accident though.

Last week, I was tiring of the small collection of my subscribed podcasts. I went in search of some new audio sources. Somehow I came across a program called Think and added it. At that time I really had no idea of what to expect or even the fact the show originated from North Texas. In fact, didn't check its Internet information until writing this sentence.

I think one of the biggest problems in the world today is that people rarely have to leave their own comfort zones. We have a tendency to conceptualize the world into two sections at best: those who believe like us and all the nasty others. Then, we hang around, almost exclusively, with the former.

Even technology comes to our aid by masking real world choice by allowing us to experience primarily what we already know. I love how Netflix can look at my ratings and suggest titles that I'll probably like. Often, they're spot on. Fortunately, the online video service also allows one to browse. To come across the unexpected is what enriches life. Another example would be the Internet. Right now at your screen, you can pull in data from a vast variety of humanity, but you, like all of us, generally hang around the same comfortable locations, don't we?

If I were to select a topic for three quarters of an hour, I almost assuredly would not have picked an interview with a sculptor. That just isn't in my general frame of reference. I am happy that it was automatically downloaded to my SD card and that I started listening. I must ensure that I always go outside my normal routine. Learning how others think is good. The world would be a better place if others did it too.

Listen: "Seeing Things with Tony Cragg"
9/8/2011

[2011-09-08 13:00:00] How is an artist’s view of the world represented by their work and what is necessary to make the leap to the physical form of an artwork? We’ll spend this hour with award-winning, internationally-acclaimed artist Tony Cragg. His exhibit “Tony Cragg: Seeing Things” opens this weekend at the Nasher Sculpture Center.

The photo used here was kindly shared on Flickr by Verity Borthwick.