Map of Farmer's Market:
What observations did you make? What conclusions did you draw?
How might the participatory aspects of the Bloomington Farmer's Market be similar to the participatory aspects of music? (similarities: musical structure and social structure)
In the map pictured above, our group documented the social and performative environment of the Bloomington Farmer's Market. Images representing different produce sold are placed on the rectangles correlating to where they were available during the market. Triangles denote the many families and children present, running all around and enjoying the market's inviting atmosphere, especially in the DIY/crafts section of the marketplace (with the occasional crying child who fell down playing near the spiral fountain).
The bird(s) pictured in more than one place track the movement of a parrot and his owner, who we ran into twice. The owner of this parrot was informing our group of how they have been coming to the market for over 30 years. He had adopted the bird many years ago from quite a sad condition inclusive of missing feathers and an angry demeanor. Through his care, the bird has been greeting and entertaining market-goers for decades. The location of the bird accompanied by a music note on the map signifies the time we met with them for the second time, along with a very friendly ukelele player who had also been attending the market for over 30 years. The various music notes/microphone on other areas of the map identify where the other musicians were that we met, such as the inspiring brother-duo known as "Busman's Holiday" in the top corner to the right (Kerry's favorite band!).
As a group we observed the friendly and familiar interactions of a community that supports each other and, in turn, itself. Outside of our own conversations with locals, happy chatter was everywhere. Many vendors and/or farmers were more than happy to tell us their stories and by-hand processes of production. One potter we met gave us a detailed explanation of how she both made her mugs and decorated them with bikes. There was something so fulfilling in this interaction between market-goers, it took me quite a while to attempt to put it into words. I realized that too often the gaining of gifts that give us energy (such as fruits and other produce, like the quart of delicious green apples I bought!) or gifts that give us happiness (such as those with sentiment, like the matching stamped bracelets I purchased for my sister and I) is a cold and uninspiring happenstance. We miss an immense opportunity for creating and giving meaning to each other... And in doing so, scramble even more desperately to fabricate meaning through separate, more temporary distractions. For while eating an apple or enjoying a musical performance or asking an artist is also a fleeting moment in time, it is much more energizing and sustaining than the synthetic elation that "likes" on a post may bring. These are the people who help supply us with the basics of our lives, and they are us. And, even though it took--seemingly--more energy to walk down to, around, and back from the fair (in the pouring rain!) than to sit on a couch and post, the energy we received back far surpassed any that we had to expend in the process.
There definitely was a kind of lightheartedness, and rhythm, to the way the market flowed around and through us. I was even overwhelmed at one point while listening to Busman's Holiday, eating my crepe lunch, and noticing the rain... I remember saying to Kerry, Mary, and Abbey that "this was happiness". I'm at a loss to describe it other than my heart felt so full from all the fun had and connections made. I truly felt apart of something I had only just joined. To be able to join in a moment or activity with people you've never interacted with before, and still be able to appreciate together the beauty of your collective efforts.
That, to me, is the "magic" within music as well. How too in participatory music you have that only-slightly daunting spontaneity, as well as the togetherness felt when a community spends time with and for each other. There is a greater meaning for all when the meaning can be shared and is translatable across the language of different personal experiences. Everyone, in both a market and musical situation, derives meaning from each other's stories and emotions, allowing everyone to "get something from it". In a way, it seems like a church gathering, where the belief is within the self combined with everyone around. In both situations, all can participate in their own way. In both situations, all are upheld and renewed by the efforts of their community. It is a phenomenon that seems to me to be like a "between the lines" experience: people's conversations/singing/music-making may focus on other happenings, but beneath the words/surface are acknowledging the unspoken support of one another.
-Krista Schaarschmidt
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