World building June - Day 25 - ART
More art? Seriously, I feel like I know more about the art in this world than I know about the art in my own world. :) Spero is saturated in art. It is something they value, something that is widely participated in. Art is their spitting into the wind (even though they have no experience of wind), their defiance in the face of millennia of evidence to the contrary, that their faith that Spero will eventually get them (or their great, great, great grandchildren) to a home that is not a spaceship, is more than just hope. Anything that can be turned into a work of art, is turned into a work of art.
There is the obvious art (more on that below) but there is also the less obvious. The maintenance workers are craftsmen, valuing work that is functional and astethically pleasing, or at least not ugly if beautiful is not possible. The hallways, in addition to being spaces for murals, are also gardens and plants have been bred over the millennia to have variegated leaves, interesting flowers, different foliage patterns and so on. These are used to varying effects by different people in different places. Their palate of different flavors is limited, but food is valued and effort is put into making it tasty. Meal time is more than just sustenance.
(It’s not pottery but…) For day to day pieces of functional ware, bowls, plates, combs etc, there are a few of the ship’s original complement left - passed down family lines and carefully treasured. The original stuff was made from some impossibly strong extruded material - smooth and cool to the touch - with interesting colors swirled through it. Whatever that substance was, they can not make it on Spero. There are other plastics that they can, and do make. And there is a limited supply of wood from the gardens. Most of those functional daily-ware items are now made by non-crew artisans, rather than crew. Though there is a group in ops that work in forming plastic to various uses and if there is a need they can and do make these items.
Writing: There is a rich tradition of storytelling that spans re-tellings of folklore and ancient stories from Grendan, tellings and re-tellings of historical events, and flat out fantastical. Stories are written and archived in the ship’s database, but there are also oral storytelling and poetry performance events.
Some notable writers - Gina Constance Ianson : Writer from ten generations ago or so. Wrote a series of stories about two men: Alexandre and Flynn. Alexandre and Flynn were lovers and haters and cheaters and they had some epic fights and some gut wrenching reconciliation. The stories were written as a serial, but they have become iconic symbols of what is both best and worst in a marriage. Contemporary of muralist Tillie Tennyson and Willie Dresder. - Herbie Robynne Stacy: A poet who wrote a poem about the empty blackness of space that makes everyone’s skin crawl, but it hits something so true. - Domenic Joaquín Zimmerman: A modern writer that the kids are reading now. Writing the equivalent of Percy Jackson, but retelling a series of classic Grendan folktales. (See the Magic day.)
Murals: I have written about these a lot, but here are some notable artists: Kristel Tillie Tennyson - Tillie (as she went by) had a thing for blue. She painted in all blue. Dramatic, abstract murals in blue. Now, “Tillie” is word for a particular shade of blue that she used a lot in her work. Contemporary of Connie Ianson and Willie Dresder - ten generations ago. Ilean Agata Arterbury - A current painter who paints works with musical artists to create visual versions of their songs. Known for muted colors and great detail. Judah Susuth Rhodes - He was a portrait painter from the time of the Dying (about 50 generations ago). He survived but lost whole family. He devoted the rest of his life to painting portraits of as many different people as he could manage.
Fibers: I have written about fiber arts on Day 16: Fashion. Anything that can be made from scraps from recycled uniforms is. The more colorful and swirly the better. Clothing styles are non gendered.
Song: There is a musical tradition that includes non-crew professional musicians and nearly everyone in a non-professional way. When they left, they had a huge library of the music of Grendan in recordings. Over the centuries, the styles have shifted - periods of traditional revival, periods of instrumentalists, periods of singer songwriters, periods of improvisions, fusion, etc. There is also a library of “folk” songs - sing along songs that everyone knows. They may be drinking songs, or teaching songs or call and response songs that range from silly to serious. People sing, people go to performances by singers, people listen to music, people make music.
Some notable musicians include: Sarah Ciannait Specht - “Cindy” - she has a long standing collaboration with Ilean. Her songs are quiet, introspective, and often ballads that tell intricate sad stories - sometimes from literature, sometimes original. Most of her stories involved lovers or married couples and someone dies or is lost. Paint vivid images. Graciana Hedy Simon - Although few people know her name, is the creator of dozens of songs in the common repretoire. She is from way back around generation 10 or so, once they had been in space for a long time, but before they had any idea just how long they would be in space. Ifan Wilfried Dresdner - Willie - His instrument of choice was a plucked string instrument like a harp, but he both played and composed for many different things, including symphonic ensembles (all strings and percussion). He created and performed instrumental pieces with catchy melodies and intricate themes (think: Mozart). The melody of many of his pieces make the core of introductory songs (twinkle twinkle little star) but the full pieces are part of the advanced repertoire that any serious musician knows. Contemporary of Tilly Tennyson and Connie Ianson, from about ten generations ago.
Performance - At any given time there are one or two professional or semi-pro performance troupes.
Food - food is art. It is art in presentation and in flavors. See Day 13 food.