Art over the longnow
Autism, mindfulness and buses: Canterbury travels. Podcast: Maryann Ochota on Chernobyl, nature and resilience. Fellowships.
Time: Longnow, longplayer and Noh. What can art do for the future?
Autism, mindfulness and buses: Canterbury travels
Podcast: Maryann Ochota on Chernobyl, nature and resilience
Naomi Fisher podcast. Thanks those coming from Naomi’s Substack, see end for links to our podcast and other education thoughts.
Meracatus Scholars programme for classical liberal thinkers new and old.
Theatre: UK UnConference Openspace Devoted and Disgruntled.
To come: Bright Side optimism, Free Will, Report on EV UnConference, Nick Cave
In 2007, I delightedly sat through 25 performances of the Japanese Noh play, Nakamitsu, staged in London. (Times 4* review here; Travis, blogger thought here) Admittedly, I had adapted the play myself but, still, seeing the performance transform each night with subtle differences depending on audience and performers was an experience that will live with me.
Ansuman Biswas, composer and musician for the play, played a hang, which sounds like this:
The instrument seems like it could be ancient but was invented in 2000, in Switzerland but had stopped being made by 2013. No single Ansuman performance was ever quite the same.
The first time a version of Nakamitsu was performed was likely around the 1370s.
Noh theatre, one of the oldest performing arts in the world, originated in 14th-century Japan and remains a highly stylized and spiritual form of drama. Developed by Kan’ami and perfected by his son Zeami under the patronage of the Ashikaga shogunate, Noh was deeply influenced by Zen Buddhism and the aesthetics of yūgen (幽玄), meaning subtle grace or mysterious profundity. Its origins can be traced to earlier popular entertainments, but Noh refined these into a codified, elite art form, combining masked acting, poetic chant (utai), dance (mai), and minimalist music. Performances are slow, deliberate, and symbolic—every gesture is intentional, often carrying centuries of meaning.
In classical Noh, the stage is bare except for a symbolic pine tree and a bridge (hashigakari) through which actors enter from the world of the gods or spirits. The lead actor (shite) typically plays a ghost, deity, or tormented soul seeking peace, while the chorus and musicians create an atmospheric, otherworldly soundscape with flutes and hand drums. Watching Noh can be an almost meditative experience, demanding patience but offering profound rewards. It embodies the idea that beauty lies in restraint, transience, and suggestion
There are still in the range of a few hundred Noh performances a year in Japan, and maybe 20 or so outside a Japan.
An art form which is barely living but still alive. Still, over 600 years is a decent run. I did a search. These are some art forms I’ve never heard of which are gone, or effectively gone.
Bugaku (Japan)
Ancient imperial court dance with Chinese and Korean roots.
Rarely performed today outside ceremonial contexts in Kyoto or by a few dedicated troupes.
Considered nearly extinct among the general public.
Liyuan Opera (China)
One of the oldest Chinese opera forms, dating back to the Tang dynasty.
Replaced by more popular forms like Peking Opera and now barely survives in isolated performances in Fujian province.
Jatra (Bangladesh & Eastern India)
A mix of folk theatre and melodrama.
Still performed in rural areas but rapidly declining
Egungun Masquerade Theatre (Yoruba, Nigeria)
A ritual performance invoking ancestral spirits through dance and elaborate costumes.
Still survives in sacred contexts but is increasingly under pressure from urbanization and religious change.
Maya Rabinal Achí (Guatemala)
A pre-Columbian dance-drama performed in the Achi language.
Once widespread, now performed only once a year by a single troupe in Rabinal, declared UNESCO heritage.
Court Masques (England)
Lavish Renaissance performances combining poetry, music, dance, and elaborate costumes.
Favored in the 16th–17th century under monarchs like James I.
Died out after the English Civil War and the fall of court patronage.
And so, the challenge is: What can art do for now and the future, if it can barely save itself?
I had last seen Ansuman perform in 2007 and then, earlier this month, I saw Ansuman play some of Longplayer at the Roundhouse in London.
Longplayer is a unique musical composition by British artist and composer Jem Finer, designed to play continuously for 1,000 years without repetition. It commenced at midnight on December 31, 1999, and is set to continue until December 31, 2999, at which point it will complete its cycle and begin anew .
The piece is composed for Tibetan singing bowls—ancient standing bells known for their rich, resonant tones. These bowls can be played by both humans and machines, and their sounds can be accurately reproduced in recorded form . Longplayer is generated by an algorithmic score that combines six short pieces of music in such a way that no combination is repeated until exactly one thousand years have passed .
I found this an elliptical resonance to my Noh play adaptation that Ansuman played in 20 years ago.
On reflecting on time and stewardship, I found it interesting that there are some big challenges in researching and implementing strategies to keep Longplayer playing, considering the inevitable changes in technology and society over such an extended period.
It reminded me of a conversation with my son about the need to design something so that in 10,000 years society knew that it had to avoid some big negative like nuclear waste. Language and symbolism may have changed so much that today’s warning signs might not be understood.
The piece also made me think about art across generations. I think back to cave art from time to time. I don’t think we will ever know what those cave painters (and who knows if they even thought themselves as artists) thought and so their art rests mostly in our minds and interpretations.
Thinking about stewardship and nuclear waste. I had a podcast with Mary-Ann Ochota.
Mary-Ann has been to some extraordinary places such as Chernobyl. It was great to chat to her about her experiences and adventures.
Mary-Ann Ochota is a broadcaster, anthropologist, and writer known for her work on Time Team and books on archaeology and the British landscape.
“Archaeology is ultimately about people – the stories of people in the past and how they lived their lives.”
Mary-Ann discusses her visits to Chernobyl, British henges and the Australian Simpson Desert; exploring themes of resilience and environmental recovery.
“One of the big misconceptions is that archaeology is just about digging things up.”
She shares insights on ancient British sites and the broader implications of sustainable development and access to nature. We discuss her role as president of the Countryside Charity and her thoughts on the future of rural development are highlighted, along with her creative writing process and advice for connecting with nature.
“We’re all living on top of layers of history, whether we realise it or not.”
Mary-Ann makes the point that nature can be everywhere. There are things to enjoy wherever you are.
This can be hard, but I try and constantly remind myself this can be done everywhere.
Recently, we had to go and track down a very specific bus in Canterbury with my autistic son. It’s easy to make such a trip into a chore, but you can also re-frame it as an adventure to learn about bits of Canterbury.
In the little bits of Canterbury, I saw there is an awkward enjambing of old and new buildings. This doesn’t have to be the case. There are parts of London (or Amsterdam, Tokyo and other places) where old and new sit together fine.
I think this is a problem. Not only because many people find this ugly but because there is a second order effect around civic pride and joy from urban place making. This comes out in my conversation with designer Hana Loftus (podcast here).
I speculate perhaps we spend more on internal and functional matters now (one would opt for internet infrastructure over patterned outside brick detailing) but good design need not be more costly.
We passed an old piece of Canterbury. This turned out to be the doorway which used to belong to Margaret Roper ( daughter of Thomas More )
Sir Thomas More (1478–1535) was an English lawyer, scholar, statesman, and martyr, best known for his book Utopia and for his principled stand against King Henry VIII, which ultimately led to his execution.
Legend has it that after Thomas More’s execution in 1535, his head was displayed on London Bridge, as was the custom for traitors. Margaret Roper reportedly bribed the guard to retrieve it. She preserved the head, and tradition holds that she kept it in a lead box, which was eventually buried in the Roper family vault in St Dunstan’s Church, Canterbury.
Utopia (1516) More’s Utopia is a satirical and philosophical work that describes a fictional island society and its religious, social, and political customs. Ideas in Utopia include:
A communal society without private property.
Religious tolerance.
A welfare state with free hospitals.
Education for all.
A six-hour workday.
More critiques European elites of the time although it’s unclear how much he supported the ideas in Utopia of if they were mostly provocations.
In the context of the early 1500s, the idea of a welfare state with free hospitals was radical. Add in universal education and the state looking after the poor and disabled - these ideas did not take root until hundreds of years later.
This also reminded me of my conversation with Rebecca Lowe and whether we would have prisons on utopia ? (Podcast/transcript here).
On a break after our bus hunt we also passed this stone trough.
The stone trough near Dunstan Gardens in Canterbury is a historical artifact associated with animal welfare efforts. Such troughs were commonly installed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to provide working animals, like horses and cattle, with access to clean drinking water.
The movement to protect animals from cruelty gained significant momentum in the 19th century. In England, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) was founded in 1824, primarily to address the mistreatment of carriage horses. It was the world’s first animal welfare charity, and in 1840, it received royal patronage, becoming the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA).
And we passed this tree.
…one of Canterbury’s distinctive “Baobab” plane trees, a type of London plane (Platanus × hispanica) that has developed an unusually thick, knobbly trunk. These trees are believed to be around 200 years old, likely planted in the early 19th century by the famous nurseryman William Masters, who was instrumental in shaping Canterbury’s urban greenery.
The bulbous trunk and twisted branches of the tree suggest it may be one of the virus-infected plane trees, which have grown in an unusual way due to a non-lethal condition affecting their bark and trunk growth.
In the end, we found the bus and I found little pieces of Canterbury.
Fellowships:
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We start with a $100K investment in your research (through a C corp) and follow on with $1M+ investment if you’re taking us Back to the Future! To learn more about Flux, read here.
I popped into this theatre openspace UnConference event. It’s Devoted and Disgruntled and has been going on 25 years. Here are some of the discussion that took place. Full 50 session list here. Random 10 below:
What's your exit strategy?
AI actually stands for "Artificial Impersonation" – What is AI really and why should we be creatively worried and excited about it?
Is it ever too late to be interviewed by Smash Hits?
Why do we do what we do?
If I’m not doing anything more "important", I’d better sit + write my play
Creative role-sharing – Who is doing it well? Is 2 really company?
How can we start to help UK society see the value of the arts again?
How are artist and audience development linked?
Opera & classical music – How do we drag the industry forward with us?
An alternative national theatre??
Home Education / Education links. Welcome to all those recent joiners to the newsletter. If you are interested in the education strand then check out my podcast with Naomi Fisher on self-directed education with a UK perspective and also Peter Gray with a US view. The pod with Daisy Christodoulou on the importance of knowledge in education (and also video assisted referees) is also good here.