Do we really recognize the art and beauty all around us? [True Story]

[Deleted]

Pictured: Joshua Bell playing at a Washington D.C. Metro.

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that 1,100 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by, and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace, and stopped for a few seconds, and then hurried up to meet his schedule. A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping, and continued to walk. A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried, but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally, the mother pushed hard, and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money, but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the most talented musicians in the world. He had just played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, on a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste, and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...040401721.html

[Maharishi]

Beauty, like all things, is contextual. I don't fault the people who walked by him, people need to be able to compartmentalize to survive.

[Ihnasir]

holy shit. I am bookmarking this. I am also ashamed in DC more than ever.

[Professor Oak]

Sad to say, but if it's not on the radio or the TV, we probably won't pay attention.
I, for one, always stop and listen to those people. I don't give a fuck what I'm doing, or where I'm going.

[Thetruth1400]

Beauty, like all things, is contextual. I don't fault the people who walked by him, people need to be able to compartmentalize to survive.

In all honesty, this.

I'll agree that priorities are completely screwed up in society, but people have lives that they have to deal with. Whose to say that the majority of the people didn't listen to the music as they walked by? Whose to say they didn't have something more important to do then stop and listen to the music? Whose to say that his music was relevant to them in any way that would make them want to stop?

There are just too many unanswered questions to sit there and say, "People don't recognize beauty that's around us." For all you know, the commute to work is more beautiful to people then music written by someone that died 262 years ago.

Heck, even your post says what these people were most likely doing, meeting their schedules. If it were me, I'd love to stop and listen to this guy play, but that doesn't mean I would always be able to.

It's almost naive to think that people just have free lives to stop and do what they want, when they want, with no repercussions. Heck, for all you know those people would be fired if they didn't hurry about their lives like they were doing.

In addition to that, since you aren't hearing what people are saying, nor reading their minds, there's absolutely no way that you can say people didn't enjoy the beauty of the music.

I'm also fairly certain that the person that paid most attention to him was the person at the end who walked up to him and told him she had seen him before. She stood there and enjoyed it, then basically thanked him at the end.

[Bucknazty]

If I heard this shit I would def stop. Its sure dosent sound like just some random ass person playing music trying to get tips. This is amazing.

But, as is true with most people, they have places to be, things to do, are thinking about their entire day, and dont really pay attention to surroundings. I am sure we have all been guilty of this.

[Noomz]

Because people have zero trust for beggars and street musicians that sit and play for music.

Around here, they're most likely part of organized criminality and/or simply not in any freaking need of the money they're begging for.

I would definetly recognize talent though and someone playing a violin is definetly out of the ordinary. It's an instrument that require a lot of skill to play well.
But no-one wants to stop and pay any mind to something like this when they're out. It's not the place for doing so.

[Feel The Power]

I always try to take in the sights of places and recognize the beauty in things...but, if it's going to make me late for work = get in trouble, then I'm afraid I have no choice but to ignore something.

[saberon]

One of the biggest factors in this little "social experiment" is that too many stimuli were present. A busy washington morning in a train station. Noise and people everywhere. The brain simply cannot process all that information, and thus... it does not. It has been documented frequently (although for the life of me I can't remember what it's called...).

So yeah, the results are skewed at best. You could be handing out $10 notes and 99% of people would still pass you by without a second glance.

[yeast]

One of the biggest factors in this little "social experiment" is that too many stimuli were present. A busy washington morning in a train station. Noise and people everywhere. The brain simply cannot process all that information, and thus... it does not. It has been documented frequently (although for the life of me I can't remember what it's called...).

So yeah, the results are skewed at best. You could be handing out $10 notes and 99% of people would still pass you by without a second glance.

This reminds me of something.

So yeah, it looks like you were right. I also think it has something to do with the mentality people have when they're in groups. If everyone else walks past this musician then he mustn't be very good, right?

[Providence]

The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

you mean people who had stuff to do and work to get too didn't take time to pay attention to potentially 1 of literally thousands of hobos on the street playing a violin? well no fucking shit.

[Morogoth]

Listen to this http://www.break.com/index/street-mu...wesome-2293863

you'll see why your guy is nothing.

[Deleted]

First of, there is a HUGE difference between listening violin music on a noisy street and listening to it in a specially build room with good acoustics. Secondly beauty and art are about taste. Tastes vary a lot. For example I consider nearly all classical music depressing and not that beautiful (there are exceptions). On the street you get random people with random tastes and maybe only a few who really loves violin music but when selling tickets, you get people all over the country and maybe even some from abroad.

And finally, beauty and music is just enjoyment. Lot's of things give it. If it was normal and natural to enjoy every thing and not say no to them or temptations, we'd have drug addicts on every corner and no work getting done because people are looking at flowers or listening to music instead of getting to work:P

[Deleted]

This is very old and fairly gay too... You go to a theatre, would you care to see the same play on the subway on your way to work? Hardly, as the first post says, it is all contextual.

[Niku]

This reminds me of something.

So yeah, it looks like you were right. I also think it has something to do with the mentality people have when they're in groups. If everyone else walks past this musician then he mustn't be very good, right?

That is awesome!

[Jackmoves]

People don't really notice other people nowdays tbh, and even less so the arts. Arts are generally underated, it's sad really. I kind of pity people that don't appriciate or have no interest in music/photography/art/etc, they are missing out on some amazing things.

There is power in music(for example), people who don't realize this is ignorant to history.

[Meteoric]

It's a train station during rush hour. Almost every person there either works there (and thus has a job to do) or has a train to catch.

I mean, yeah, we probably miss a lot of things in our daily lives because we're preoccupied. But this is a poor example.

[Orby]

Funny you mention this as yesterday I was in London's Trafalgar square, I watched loads of different people act, sing and play instruments, and while walking towards the underground I saw a man playing a traffic cone as an instrument, I must admit that was pretty awesome

Then again the thing I pay attention too things no one else will, like pigeons fighting over bread, have you ever seen 30 pigeons fight over 1 piece of bread? Its like a pigeon mosh pit.

As for others its up tot hem what they want to look at, but myself I have a fine eye for detail...

[Djuntas]

Bad example imo. I would for sure look by it as I pass it, maybe stop. But if he played inn a less busy area he would have more succes to get listeners?

[apepi]

I would say it would be better to test this at a park or on a street, everyone at a train station is usually in a hurry so it kinda cancels out paying attention.