Speed of Life

by Gregg Chadwick In response to  Spring for Music 's Round Two query in  the 2012 Great Blogger Challenge : We live in an aggressively visual age; images dominate the popular culture.  But which art form has the most to say about contemporary culture, and why? Tokyo Streets photo by Gregg Chadwick  The dense visual language of the Tokyo cityscape immediately came to mind when I considered Spring for Music's second query in the 2012 Great Blogger Challenge. The visual cacophony of signs and images that line the streets of the city's shopping districts provide a visual metaphor for the images that threaten to overload us each day as we turn on our computers and televisions. But do images themselves say more than other art forms about contemporary culture? The uncertainty and ambiguity often found in our 21st century lives calls for a rich cultural exploration that images may only hint at.  ...

by Gregg Chadwick In response to  Spring for Music 's query: New York has long been considered the cultural capital of America.  Is it still? If not, where? Yeah, I'm out that Brooklyn Now I'm down in Tribeca Right next to De Niro But I’ll be hood forever I’m the new Sinatra And since I made it here I can make it anywhere Yeah,  they love me everywhere - from Empire State of Mind - recorded by Jay Z and Alicia Keys  Lyrics by Angela Hunte and Jane't "Jnay" Sewell-Ulepic Vermeer in New York Metropolitan Museum, New York photo by Gregg Chadwick  Like Florence in the 15th century, Amsterdam in the 17th century and Paris in the 19th century - post World War II  New York City seemed to embody the dreams and cultural aspirations of the age. Does New York still claim that distinction? And does it matter? J.F. Kennedy Jr. would often say that New York City was a verb - not a noun. In that sense the ...