Sacramento U Evening Arts Lecture

[Jack Falley]

I wonder if Dr. Primoria is going to be here... Jack thought as he entered the lecture hall. Either that, or someone else who's high up in the Mysterium. Considering that someone from that museum is giving this lecture and assuming that more members of the order work there, it's likely that I'll meet someone.

Sitting down near the back of the room, he pauses while unzipping his backpack. At least, as long as I actually talk to someone or put up a spell... It'd be too weird doing that in here, though. Jack finishes taking out his old iBook G4, opens it up, and continues reading his usual forums from where he left off at his apartment, making sure to connect wirelessly to the university's network.

He looks up every so often to see when the woman up front will start and notices the Air on the podium. Jack sighs, shaking his head. Honestly? Why does someone need something that small when it's more expensive than something larger and more powerful? Unless they really want to hurt their eyesight even more, looking at such small fonts on a backlit screen...

[Joshua Morris]

Resigned to the fact that he is now sitting next to the Magister--a man who both mightily intimidates him, but he also respects greatly--Joshua nods to West's question. "Yes, we are," then nods towards Animus when he sees the Thearch enter the room. "He's with us, as well. I expect Theo will probably show up soon, and... perhaps Armstrong."
He relaxes a little when Animus takes a seat. "Nothing yet," he says in response.
"Are you an art fancier?" Joshua asks West, feeling a little lame at his conversational gambit.

[Aeolus]

Aimée entered the room, pleased to see that the lecture hadn't started yet. It was about time that she looked into the Sacramento arts community; the nights of partying were fun, but it grew dull after a while.

She took notice of all the other persons in the room - appareantly there were no other Kindred present - and sat down at a pretty central place. Who knows, maybe there was someone interesting to meet after the lecture. The pieces laid out were okay, but not really her style; secretly Aimée hoped that there was more to be seen than those ... old things.

[Orphan]

Orphan shows up only a bit before the lecture is supposed to start. He still had trouble considering himself much of an artist, even though some people said he had natural talent that just needed to be developed with more practice, and other than a little he'd read and only half-understood, he didn't know a thing about art theory, or art history, or even very many types of art. He drew and did a little painting, and that was about it. But the Arrows valued versatility in skill and knowledge, and not only had Miyamoto Musashi been a skilled painter and calligrapher, he'd also written that those who studied the arts could apply their knowledge to swordsmanship and martial arts. Between Musashi and Orphan's mentor, Typhoon, that was more than enough expert opinion to get him here tonight.

Besides, Orphan knew that sometimes magic took the form of art, so someone in the Arrows should know a little about the topic and he doubted Tug or Brutus had a lot of interest in Japanese woodblock printing or watercolor technique.

Orphan was somewhat surprised to see the other mages in attendance. West being into pretty much everything under the sun didn't surprise him, but Joshua's presence did.

He moves to sit by the other Arrows. "Hey, guys. Seat taken?"


**********************

Looking around the auditorium, Derek notes another changeling, one unfamiliar to him. "Like most of them" he thinks, castigating himself again for not being more involved in the local Freehold.

He tries to catch the other changeling's eye, sees the other Changeling do the same toward him, and nods in acknowledgement, planning to introduce himself after the lecture, or during the break if there is one. "I hope it's not long enough for a break," he thinks. Derek loved art in pretty much all its forms - mime excluded - but lectures? Not a bad thing, but he was more into experiential learning than didactic.

[West]

"No, go ahead," West motioned to the seat next to Joshua. Damned if he was going to be sandwiched in if he needed to move fast.

"Ummmm, not really," he answered Joshua. "More like preventative maintenance."

Wish they'd told me they were coming, I wouldn't have bothered.

Despite noting the lack of communication, West didn't bother to mention it, an irony totally lost on him. He shifted slightly in his seat, to adjust his pistols.

:tyria:

Tyria entered the hall, taking a few moments to note who was present, her gaze lingering on the Arrows. She gave Ruby an encouraging wave and happy smile as she made her way to an empty section of seats to sit. Her grace and poise turned a single woman sitting by herself into a woman possessed of self-confidence enough to not need the presence of others nearby for validation.

[tsameti]

Ruby looks out quietly, but heartened as the audience fills with a surprisingly large crowd of students, faculty, and members of the community. Ruby nods in greeting to the ones she recognizes, surprised to see the Magister, glad to see Tyria, is that Animus too?

The big double doors in the back of the room clank and seal as Clarice would like to get the show on the road. The students hush to half volume, (silence is yet too much to ask of them) and Clarice makes her way to the microphone.

"Hello everyone, and thank you for coming. My name is Doctor Clarice Williams, an associate professor here at Sacramento University's department of History." Dr. Williams smiles, takes a storyteller's tone, and motions for her student aide to dim the lights just a smidge.

"My true passion has been, and always will be, the history of Art. The stories of the society which inspires it, and the people who create it. These stories, and these amazing people, give us so much insight into... our own humanity." She really sounds like she enjoys the sound of her own voice.

"I had the pleasure to meet tonight's speaker several years ago, in fact, when I was in the position you are in right now; while I was still studying at University. I was admittedly older than she was at the time," Clarice manages to draw a few polite chuckles from the grayer members of the audience. "But I knew right away that this woman had a special gift, and a passion, and even today I am proud to call her a friend."

"Now without further ado," she says, following with further ado, "a graduate of Texas A&M with a Bachelors degree in sculpture and a Masters degree in art history, Miss Ruby Jordan is currently a researcher at Sacramento's own Fillard Goldman Museum of history, as well as an accomplished and talented sculptor. She looks to Art's past for inspiration, as she sculpts her share of it's present... I present Miss Ruby Jordan." She beams, giving Ruby a huge hug before stepping offstage.

Ruby looks out over the hall, standing before the mike.

[West]

Although useful most of the time, West truly hated a Multi-Tasking mind at times like this. Keeping one mind awake during a lecture was hard enough... three was... unpleasant.

[Joshua Morris]

Joshua opens his mouth to ask West what on Earth that was meant to mean, when Clarice steps to the mike and starts the introduction. He's trying to steel himself for the lecture to come--Joshua isn't much of one for art. Pretty pictures are nice and all, but they don't do much; and nowadays far too much art doesn't even look like what it's supposed to be. The creative class confuses Joshua. He tries not to think about it, much.
When Ruby gets up, looking out over the crowd, he gives a small smile and a thumbs up.

[Jack Falley]

After listening to Dr. Williams for a few moments, Jack continues reading his computer screen. He switches to another window after a few "clicks" (which sound more like soft thumps that only people within 3M can hear at all).

Don't really need to hear your life's story...

Jack looks around when a few people laugh at the Doc's joke, then looks back at his screen for a bit. Just as she starts the "real" introduction of the guest speaker, he looks back up and pays full attention... Or, at least as full as he can give with thoughts swimming in his head concerning the forums that he's reading.

Jack readies to applaud Ruby, but doesn't see anyone else doing it, so he resumes his previous position.

[tsameti]

Well, hello everyone. I want to thank you all for comin'. I also would like to thank the University and Dr. Williams for invitin' me to speak today.

My name's Ruby, and right now I help with restoration and research at the Millard Fillmore Museum of History here in Sacramento and before that I worked closely with the Archaeology department at Texas A&M for two years.

Before we get started, would you in the audience who're playin' on their phones or computers mind turnin' them off? You chose to come here tonight, so it's fairly rude of you to do so whilst someone's speakin'. Thank you.

...

So let's talk a bit about art. I've been scuptin' in a professional capacity for nearing on six years now, before that four more just for my own benefit. Durin' that time where I was just startin', I looked just about everywhere I could for inspiration. I might guess a good number of y'all out there are interested in art yourselves, so I imagine you know just as well how hard it is to come up with a good idea. I think the key is to find something truly meaningful to say.

My personal experience with art's always been the thought that expression allows us to touch on themes and truths that are bigger than ourselves. And what theme could be bigger than our relations with the Divine?

Now, mankind's been lookin' since its inception for a proper way to understand its place in the world, searchin' their own soul any reflection they might find of him who made them. Artists and thinkers through age after age all wondering the same thing: did God his-self leave his fingerprints on the world as he made it?

So let's step a moment through history to see if there are commonalities we might glean by taking an objective look at the art of our forebears.

At this point, to the disappointment and surprise of the audience, the lecture becomes highly technical as Ruby turns to the ceramic pieces on the table, comparing striation ratios, pattern variations, and ideal hues and relating them confusingly to number theory and fractal mathematics. She keeps hinting at a particular theme, using the term Divine Geometry. It seems to mean ordered patterns which are somehow fundamental to the laws of creation. Her terminology seems to take smatterings of Plato, Euclid, some Einstein, and a dash of Brian Greene.

Although some in the audience may have been led to believe she would be showcasing her own work, not a single piece that she displays or discusses during the talk is her own.

So I suppose I leave you all with the same question I'm askin' myself. What can we learn about our world from the laws its run by? What can we learn about ourselves?

Think we have time for questions, don't you?