Inner Michael

The soul arranges semiotic and sycnchronistic events to get our attention and draw into our consiousness, a constellation of energies and a mysterious convergence so that some aspect of our soul-in-potential can manifest and be embodied in our life at that moment. It is mysterious, and sacred and appears magical when the soul engages cosmic forces to make visible some invisible aspect of our soul. That moment can come in the form of an illustration by an event, a person, a conveyance of some kind, that seeks to stir the soul, only to awaken, to enlighten, or somehow make visible some form of soulspeak whisper that takes us somewhere else. We need only acknowledge it, attend to it, and act upon it in a conscious manner.

Soulspeak is a real language. While the soul has many voices, they are quiet, and it communicates mostly in metaphorical “whispers” heard and seen most clearly I think, in semiosis and synchronicity. Art is symbolic and by its very nature… must convey a message.

When you observe a painting or photograph, do you just look at it and form an opinion whether you like or dislike the piece? And then do you vocally give your opinion, thereby discharging the energy so that you can move on to the next exhibit and the next and the next?

Or do you engage with the artform? Some art slams its way into the space, into the psyche. It whams. Some worms its way in. When you engage with art, do you let it wash over you? Speak to you? Pull you in? Play with you? Tickle your fancy? Pique your curiosity? Slam into your solar plexus? Assault your sensibilities? Do you breathe it in? Let it become discordant inside you? Have it set your teeth on edge? Allow it to play your bones? Let it haunt you? Grab you by the back of the neck? Or even let it penetrate and have its way with you?

By way of example: As a wordsmith, my canvas is the blank page, my mind is the smudge pot and the medium to paint with is “words.” And hopefully something of interest is conveyed to you or perhaps something I think should be of interest. I have many voices at my disposal- the voice of reason, of dissent, of intrigue, of enthusiasm, of disdain, of satire, of alarm, of admiration, of incredulity, of inspiration…

For the artist a soulspeak is something like this…

Touching Words

Do you ever stop
and feel the caress of a word?
Let it shiver
across your cheek
and down the back of your neck?

Do you ever let it tap-dance
upon your spine
or play each vertebrae
as the ivory keys of a piano
climbing to crescendo?

Do you ever let it sink
beneath the fortress of your skin
and unfold its limbs
upon your aching muscles?

Do you tear into it like a present,
or let it tiptoe out of its chrysalis
and flutter around your ribcage?

Do you ever drink it like wine
and let it swim through your blood?

Or let it cry
through the porous shell of bone
into the uncultivated vitality
tucked away in our marrow
waiting for the moment
when we will actually start living?

Do you ever let it transform
your body from noun to verb?

(c) 2010 Jenna Wittaker,
Graduate Student and Voices/Inner Michael “Violence and Words” Curriculum Librarian

I love what Jenna did with words to say what words can say. What they can do. And that is how I want you to hear my words! That is how I want you to feel having engaged with me.

Now translate that to Michael’s art. What was Michael’s art? Oh, just everything about him. His art was: his song, his lyrics, his dance, his movement, his sense of timing, his message, his avant garde approaches, his use of fame to convey a message, his sensibilities about life, his fearless daring and bold execution, his sense of humor, his fashion sense, his style, his photo shoots, his sense of adventure, his ability to grab and hold attention, his body, and yes… his face.

An easier question might be: “What about Michael was not art?” The mistake the world made, regarding Michael Jackson, was that it saw him simply as an entertainer– a singer, songwriter, dancer, performer and recording artist. That’s like saying “Disney makes movies.” Disney is imagination and magic embodied in art. Michael had a flair for the dramatic and he always said: “Let it simmer.” Michael’s art was high art. Let me repeat that… High art.

So, the question for his audience became “Can you take the heat?” Can you simply be with a work of art—a work that you don’t understand? Can you allow it to play loudly or softly in your consciousness? Let it trickle into the dark and protected places? Can you live with the dissonance of it inside you? And can you let it simmer?

There were those who could and did. Some of them “got it.” And those who didn’t “get it” at least “got Michael.” But there were others who not only didn’t get it, but rid themselves of the dissonance by projecting their discomfort onto Michael. And it became important to find something to condemn him with or condemn him for and then quickly moving on to the next thing that came and the next, and the next… When the first questionable thing came along in his life, instead of asking the critical questions about who and what and motivation and means, they jumped on it seizing the opportunity to condemn this enigma whom they could not understand.

To vilify someone you don’t understand is an old game. Having contempt for someone and throwing to the lions, someone who makes you uncomfortable because you are roused from some kind of sleep that you can’t yet identify, is an ancient gladiator sport. To mock someone helps take the focus off of the discomfort within and is especially effective in relieving the tension when it is directed at that chafing source of discomfort. Making someone “different” or “bizarre” is a modern punishment that history called “banishment” or “excommunication.” Even if it’s for our own good and the dissonance makes us grow beyond complacency, we still don’t like that arousal. We still want to kill the messenger.

Good gurus shake the complacency with a teeth-rattling challenge. Pioneers startle those who would follow by their novel or even outrageous ideas. Unforgettable artists think out-of-the-box, to forbear and foursquare with results that are anything but cubical. The best teachers rouse their students’ ire and draw fire to douse a monotone complacency. Some really good writers and artists are consummate provocateurs. Michael Jackson was all of the above.

And it was all for soul: Individual, collective, planetary. This piece is one of his deepest soulspeak pieces. What he says quietly in the art and genius of this Arno Bani photograph is… well, forget the words for now; first let it simmer. Go back to Jenna’s poem and follow her advice.