It’s been more than a fortnight since Jesus’ birthday, and yet still today, a sense of glee lingers in the air: that blessed, Yuletide musk that freshens our souls and our malls.
And while you can still see the glow on the faces of America’s children and the faces of their children, the glow and the glee are gloing to fade soon enough. The bulbs on the tree will burn out. The wreath on the front door will shed its needles and that Virgin Mary hanging up in the bedroom will head back east to college. Yet again, the hope of Christmas will give way to the crushing reality of another new year.
So what can we as artists do to help perpetuate the joy of the season? (Non-artists, please refrain from answering). How can we use our talents to keep the holiday spirit alive? (Non-talented artists, please refrain from answering).
I posed these questions to a couple of artists whose work I respect and who celebrate Christmas around the same time each year…
Todd Milkton, a renowned sculptor living just outside of Prince Edward Island, had this to say, while bobbing on the surface of the water:
“Today’s sculptor need not rely on predictable materials like plaster and clay to construct their work. I take great strides to preserve the festive spirit in my art by incorporating seasonal materials such as tinsel (which is useful if you are sculpting elderly hair), and myrrh (which is useful if you are sculpting a reddish-brown resinous type of dried sap).”
For his first freestanding sculpture of ’08, Milkton chose to use the Christmas fruitcakes he received from his aunts to form the great contiguous mass of the piece. The result, a monument to the abstraction of light, is quite stunning, and the very sight of it brought me back to the holidays of my youth. And it tasted delicious.
Chart-topping Christian rock outfit, The Sunday Best, have always strived to maintain a sense of piety in both their music and lyrics; but with the release of their new record, Rocking The Good Book, they have upped the ante considerably. Their manager, Sol Bernstein, explains:
“There will be no stadium or arena tour for The Sunday Best this year. Instead, the boys have decided to uphold the spirit of the holidays by repeatedly walking the food courts and shopping concourses of America, ‘caroling’ the new singles from their record. This type of mobile performance is no easy task, particularly for the drummer. But the boys are committed to continuing the Christmas cause. They’ve even decided to forgo their usual hotel accommodations for a less glamorous booking in the local manger of every city.”
There is no reason why the joy of the holiday season need fade so quickly. And the artistic community has the cultural reach and sway to ensure that it doesn’t.
So fashion designers…keep us donned in gay apparel. Let’s make red and green the new black, and giant stockings the must-have for spring. Screenwriters…remember that nothing sets up a chase scene more than a well-written Nativity scene.
For with a few subtle shout-outs to St. Nick, we artists can surely help stave off the February blahs and the certain pall of tax season; at least until the sights and sounds of Christmas come ‘round again next November 1st.
I end this week’s Blog with another interesting musical fact:
-The very first DJ to scratch records was Murray Badner in 1976. His employers at the radio station were none too pleased-
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