gracejjohnson

Extremely interesting and well-written article. The application of Lasch’s concept of narcissism here was fascinating, and explained much of my personal discomfort with how art seems to be consumed, displayed, and interacted with in this age. While I don’t think art of any kind should be ‘gate-kept’ and locked within the walls of an institution, there was definitely a sense of the art being cheapened when I attended a van Gogh immersive exhibition. One of the main things for me though was just how out of place the music was – they played only very well-known and frankly ‘comfortable’ pieces of classical music that complemented neither the artworks nor the artist’s time period. I thought that immersive art exhibitions could be much more plausible, enjoyable, and even beneficial to the understanding of the art, if only a bit more thought was put into the overall experience, rather than it just being a palatable opportunity for an Instagram post.

Excellent overview of enduring stories that have become archetypal! Also loved the question of whether modernisations cause more harm than good in their treatment of a beloved narrative – can they destroy the original message? But I guess, all in the name of continuing the existence of these timeless tales…

As someone who studied music and now wants to pursue writing, and has felt confused ever since about how to mediate the two art forms, this article has given me much hope! Not only am I more inspired to takes notes and apply lessons from different art forms to writing, your article has been incredibly informative in *how* exactly I could frame that learning and apply it to narrative fiction. Amazing content and a well-structured article. I’ve always been interested in how the “pure” musical aspects of numbers in musical theatre have communicated the unspoken feelings of the characters, thereby guiding the understanding of the audience as well i.e. like when a familiar theme sounds in the background. Very Wagner ‘leitmotif’ ! Also agree musical theatre definitely deserves much more attention as both a musical and storytelling form.