In the world of the Arts, there is constant, never ending tension between tradition and contemporary creativity. For some, the preservation of established values, forms and norms of the past must always be exalted and revered above what is contemporary. It is the past custom over what is current. For others, modernity is the child of now….of being in the present.
Here’s a thought……
Is current a form or the result of energy? We see that which is current or a current as the result of movement, motion and change. Light, the winds, the oceans and the forests are the elemental children of fire, air, water and earth. All give birth to the never ending currents, cycles and beings of organic life. If the western world’s most famous equation E = mc 2 (Energy equals mass times celeritas or speed of light squared) is “true”, then Energy and mass, which is the same as matter, cannot actually be destroyed. It is constantly changing, evolving, regenerating, becoming…”new”.
And some will say that nothing in life on Earth can grow or give birth to its “child” or something “new” without its root(s). That one’s DNA is the same and has always been the same. Thus, we must sustain the root(s) of something for it to survive and give birth to its fruit or “children”. This is true. We must protect, feed and nurture the root(s) of an organism so that it can regenerate and bring forth life!
It is also true that microevolution reflects changes in DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) molecular frequencies within a population and/or species over time. And over a long period of time, genetic drift and the accumulation of other gene changes can result in speciation, which is the evolution of a “new” species, but still relative to its original gene pool. Thus, even DNA or the molecular root of all life is dynamic not inert, and can change and develop variation over time.
Roots are not stagnant or still. They grow, lengthen, twist and turn, expand and change shape and at times push through not only soil, but rock and stone, seeking new terrain to expand and shift form.
Culture, creativity and artistic expression follow the same laws of being! Culture is dynamic!
Did Baroque music evolve into Classical and then Neo-classical music? Did realism find its way into surrealism? Is American Classical Music or Jazz the marriage of its African rhythmic roots of syncopation, polyrhythms and improvisation with European instrumentation and theory, thus giving birth to Dixieland, Swing, Bop and countless forms of musical expression? Is Hip Hop the result of a century plus of the evolution of music, rhythm and dance from its African roots and the great American cultural experiment? How much of it was centered in tradition and that which was contemporary?
And so, do the roots of the Arts beckon and bring forth creative expressions containing that which is familiar and what it was, but also yearn, desire and give birth to that which is “new”?
Did tradition have its origin by attempting to create a “new“ or different idea, step, rhythm or sound, a variation of what was, and then pass it from person to person, group to group, generation to generation, eventually becoming what is “normal” or traditional, only to eventually seek an alternative one day and create something contemporary that is or at least feels “new” and different ? Does now give birth to the “new”?
Is this ultimately the way tradition and innovation coexist and find balance ?
Your thoughts?
