Humor Round 5

After our meeting, The M mustered his courage to write the final draft. This is what was sent to the people at Das Arts this morning regarding our thoughts on humor in the arts, and how we, The MOST, might approach a curriculum in this vein:

The Group for Aesthetics and Silliness in Everyday Situation (GASES) Committee

"Where humor is the methane released from the cow of artistic process as it digests its food"

Committee Resolutions

The Spirit of Humor
The aim of humor is discovery, and the province of humor is human nature. Humor is a vessel that slyly conveys themes and ideas, even when those themes and ideas are difficult, serious, or frightening. Laughing out loud can lead to serious trouble, wile being too serious can be funny business.

Humor and Process
Humor is largely a side effect of process. Humor requires the setting of a context and the surprising or insightful alteration of that context. Context evolves from the development of processes: patterns, narratives, or reliances on expectations.

Vulnerability in Humor
Humor is learned through practice, but often the failure of the intention is what meets the goal: trying to be funny is sometimes harder than being accidentally funny. For the practitioner, setting out to discover humor makes a person vulnerable and requires courage. In order to explore it, parameters of emotional safety have to be set and gentleness implemented. Working collaboratively in a safe situation allows for failure without losing faith. The ability to tell the same joke again and again until someone laughs at it is valuable.

There Are Mentors, and There Are Experts
The M.O.S.T. recognizes that although humor is an integral part of their artistic output, they are not experts on the subject. The members of the M.O.S.T. see themselves as facilitators for artistic and humorous discovery, rather than experts on the subjects. Visiting guests are the source of expertise.

Committee Suggested Themes for a Framework

Individuality

• The M.O.S.T. believes in recognizing and respecting the existing processes and practices of program participants.
• The M.O.S.T. honors the importance of individual needs and desires of participants, and as such will be partners in the facilitation of projects, rather than dictators of what should be done.
• Individual initiative in the investigation of Humor in Art is integral to each participant, and will not be forced by the M.O.S.T.
• It is recognized that senses of humor differ greatly from indivdual to individual, and this will be explored.
• It is recognized that guests have their own perspectives, and this will be honored.

Collectivity and Collaboration

• The M.O.S.T. believes that humor does not happen in vacuum, and values the dynamics of working as a group.
• The M.O.S.T. believes that collaborative practice allow for greater insight into the minds of others, and open up new avenues of experience.
• The M.O.S.T. believes in the idea of emotional safety, and are dedicated to facilitating collaborative practice in an environment that is helpful rather than hurtful.

Mystical/Poetic Research and Action

• The M.O.S.T. believes that humor in life is integral to humor in art, and that not all practices are directly related to humor.
• The M.O.S.T. believes that seemingly mundane actions, such as daily physical exercise, can easily lead to humorous results. Similarly, the M.O.S.T. believes that fantastic exercises, such as Silly Walks, can lead to serious results.
• It is expected that the mundane will lead to the fantastic, and that the fantastic will lead to the mundane.
• It is also expected that the mundane will lead to the mundane, and that the fantastic will lead to the fantastic.