Why Art? Why Now?
Now more than ever we need Art. Technologically these are the most craziest and dizzying times. The threat of all of us moving away from each other is real. Staying away from the community and from the people. We need art to bring people closer together. We need to collaborate and infuse life into some amazing magical visions and ideas. Ideas that belong to all of us. And not just an individual working or rather existing in isolation. Solitude is one thing. But isolation shouldn’t be the price we are forced to pay. Plenty of research and studies out there confirm the damaging effects of loneliness and isolation. The new Artificial Intelligence led revolution in art might isolate us further and bring upon loneliness. A major collaborative art form , cinema is under the fire of generative AI. If its tools and what it promises to achieve in the near and immediate future then cinema is set to transform. It might become less of a collaborative art form and more of a lonely and isolated pursuit.
Therefore, The Black Bored is a call to the collaborator in all of us. We must make sure it doesn’t disintegrate. We must make sure we and the generations that come after us are not deprived of the magic of collaboration and coming together to create something beautiful.
Recently, I learned about this story development technique called ‘devising’. It is often used in developing plays. According to Wikipedia’s definition- ‘Devised theatre – frequently called collective creation – is a method of theatre-making in which the script or performance score originates from collaborative, often improvisatory work by a performing ensemble.’
This is what meaningful collaborations lead to when humans come together to create something. This aspect of humanity is worth keeping alive.
Surrounding ourselves with meaningful people, finding a community is essential for our mental well-being. And so is Art. For time immemorial Art has helped us in coming to terms with life’s greatest tragedies, sorrows, sadness. It has helped us in making sense of our complex feelings and this world. We feel less lonely in our pain when we read or watch stories, or indulge in artworks created by artists living even in far off lands. Art is a need! Just like food, water and shelter, art is also a fundamental human need, crucial for a healthy life. Though a lot of progress is being made in researching, studying art and its impact on human minds, there are millions of people for whom Art is still largely inaccessible.
The Black Bored‘s mission in exploring art and media is to make Art accessible. It is to reach out and connect with people. And hopefully feel slightly less lonely in this chaotic hyper connected world.
Therefore, The Black Bored is also an invitation, a call for everyone sharing such ideas about art, who want to make art, who want to come together and create something beautiful, something meaningful and be a part of a community.
Write to us at theblackbored@duck.com