Artistic Communication
On a less obvious level; communication does not need to involve speech or conversation at all It may be the passing along of one man's ideas and perceptions on an emotional level through his art. On this level, the cliche "A picture is worth a thousand words" is certainly true. A newspaper photo of a man's h-and dripping with oil sludge after being dipped in Lake Michigan sparked the "Save the Lake" campaign in that area, leading to multimillion dollar antipollution proposals. No words were needed to arouse public interest in the situation.
The music of today's youth, probably more than that of other eras, serves as an outlet for their feelings on life, and should not be too lightly dismissed as "noise." Despite a number of banalities, and some works recorded for the sheer pleasure of rhythm, there are others which carry a serious message. "The Sounds of Silence" by Simon and Garfunkel and "Blowin' in the Wind" by Bob Dylan are examples from past years, and more appear all the time. The quasi-religious revival in some sectors could be seen in the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar of 1970. The phenomenal success of such songs or hymns as "Amazing Grace" and "Put Your Hand in the Hand of the Man" are further evidence of this. Songs openly or indirectly referring to the drug scene can be heard, as well as many questioning establishment values. A parent truly concerned with communication, with his teen. ager could do worse than listen. The titles and emphasis will change, but the effectiveness of their communication probably will not.
Literature, movies, painting, and sculpture as media of expression are also genuine communication, whether anyone agrees with the "message" or not. Andy Warhol's faithfully copied painting of a soup can and his elaborately tongue-in-cheek movies show a phil. osophy of a different sort. The paintings of Norman Rockwell are seen ·hopeles.sly saccharine to some and appealingly true to life to others,
but they are the communication of his views. The "minimal" sculpture and "junk" sculpture of recent years could also be seen as communication of a sort without overly stretching the imagination. The man who covered the whole side of a cliff with plastic wrap had a message for some.
