From: fc03@ns1.cc.lehigh.edu (Frederick W. Chapman)
Newsgroups: rec.skate
Subject: Re: Skating as Art (was: Petrenko as Pro)
Date: 14 Apr 92 20:23:44 GMT
Organization: Lehigh University

In article <1992Apr14.114354.20121@cbnewsl.cb.att.com>, htr@cbnewsl.cb.att.com (
helena.t.robinson) writes:
>In article <1992Apr13.172258.127505@ns1.cc.lehigh.edu> fc03@ns1.cc.lehigh.edu (
Frederick W. Chapman) writes (in part):

>>Perhaps I did not like Hamilton's program as well because I generally feel
>>wary of attempts to appeal to my emotions on religious grounds (e.g., Battle
>>Hymn of the Republic, dedication to the 1961 team).  I feel that calling on
>>the intense emotions that most religious people already associate with
>>various religious concepts is "cheating" artistically; i.e., it is like
>>starting 500m ahead of the starting line in a 1000m race.  (I do like Karen
>>Kadavy's "Amazing Grace" program, though; she is a fine artistic skater.)
>
>Well, skaters tend to be an emotional lot - and the memory of the '61 team
>still strikes a well of feeling in many (and Cincy skating audiences have a
>reputation for being quite knowledgeable).  For more emotional appeal, consider
>Brian Orser's tribute to ice dancer Rob MacCall (Tracy Wilson's former partner)
>as shown in the Pro Championships in Maryland this past December (and recently
>shown on NBC).
>
>You may recall that one of the elements being judged in this competition -
>whether written or not is beyond me - is how well a skater can create a
>particular mood or appeal to emotion.  Call it a step up from the amateurs
>"selling" a program in competition.  This can help overcome a less than perfect
>performance - and could explain some of the differences between places in this
>event.

I would like to try to clarify my original point.  I'm not objecting to
emotions (I have quite a few myself), the expression of emotions, or
appealing to the emotions of the judges and the audience.  It is certain
*kinds* of emotional appeals that I feel "suspicious" about.  It is a fine
line that separates a sincere appeal to the emotions from an attempt to
manipulate the emotions of the viewer.  Let me make clear that I am *not*
questioning the sincerity of Scott Hamilton; I have complete confidence in
his integrity.  However, I cannot help my reactions -- which are undoubtedly
due to my own personal experiences with other people who do unabashedly use
emotional appeals based on religious concepts to manipulate and control other
people. (These negative applications do not invalidate either emotions or
religion, I hasten to point out.)  More than anything, I suppose my reaction
to Scott's program underscores that my present reactions are a byproduct of
my past experiences (i.e., those dirty bastards messed up my head for the
*rest* of my life :-(

Tributes to honor the memory of those who have passed away are touching, and
I am not objecting to them, either.  At the beginning of Scott's artistic
program, the TV network showed a picture of the plane crash in which the
members of the 1961 team died; to me, this was overdoing it.  I think a group
picture of the team members while they were *alive* would have much better
served their memory, and created a mood I might have felt I could allow
myself to participate in.  As it stood, I felt like somebody was trying to
yank my emotional chain from the outset, and I did not like that.

On "artistic cheating"... I think it is more of a challenge to create a mood
and reach the emotions of the viewer using only the elements of the music and
the skating, rather than by piggy-backing the program on the bundles of
emotions most people already associate with certain aspects of life.  For
example, Denise Beilman's (sp?) artistic program created a wonderful mood
using only her costume, her music, and her manner of skating; it was art in
the abstract.  She did not show pictures of rainforrests, and have a narrator
saying, "Take yourself back to a more primitive, savage time and place..."
(which is what her program made me think about).


P.S.  I seem to have lost the ability to spell.  Kindly overlook any such
errors on my part.


Best regards to all,

Fred Chapman
Tortured Soul Seeking Respite

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