Mr. Hathaway. I am like you. I didn't get the Purple Wedding to the Mountains, either. And admittedly, I didn't go to the ceremony, or exhibits. But unlike you, far be it from me to declare that something isn't art just because I don't get it. Or to question what the department does with its money. As much as you may worry that the university is prioritizing (Heaven forbid!) art over sports, that's not exactly what happened.
First, the event was largely funded through an Arts for Ohio grant, for which it did not compete with athletics or professorial salaries, so take heart. There was Art Department money involved, but not at other programs' expense. Departments get budgets ahead of time (and never fear; in terms of total budget, art hardly poses a threat to anybody else). From there, they decide what to do with that money.
This year, the powers that be chose to work with Dr. Sprinkle and Professor Stephens. I suppose they could've invited people who you believe would fit the mold of artist better. But personally, I find it only takes an ounce of humility to realize that Dr. Klein and her colleagues are probably more knowledgeable about their jobs than I. It's also easy to forgive them for not thinking a whole lot about students like you or me, who (true of me; guessing of you in your days here) can rarely be bothered to stop by Trisolini anyway. I also can't help but think you're being a touch hasty in saying that the program benefited no one and nothing. I have no doubt that many students, like you, saw the advertisements for the event and immediately dismissed it.
Hopefully, unlike you, they didn't let their feelings about homosexual hippies color the event negatively. But I'm also confident other students learned about the event and thought about it. A couple of my good friends were involved with it, and one received as gifts from Dr. Sprinkle: a print and a list titled 25 Ways to Make Love to the Earth. I read the list, expecting the whole thing would be lost on me. But as I read I found myself moved, because I realized I could, on one level, understand; these were just two people who cared deeply about the planet, and expressed that in a very personal way. It was a poignant reminder of how little regard most of society has for the environment. If I could understand that, I bet others were inspired by it. After giving it even the slightest chance, I'm certain the event was far from utter and complete inanity.
I could question your oddly limited opinions on Galbreath Chapel, or point out that because the wedding was performance art, your comments about same-sex marriage and polygamy being illegal in Ohio aren't so much tongue-in-cheek as totally irrelevant. But I think the bottom line is that ecosexuality doesn't seem to resonate with you, Mr. Hathaway. And honestly, it doesn't really resonate much with me, either. But Stephens and Sprinkle present an engaging new way to look at our world, and, at least in my view, that's the chief characteristic of worthwhile art.
Kate Gulino is a senior studying philosophy.
4 Opinion
