It’s a sunny afternoon, and I am working on a project in Marion Square. My partners and I are filming each other kicking around the soccer ball with a plan to somehow relate this video to globalization and its inequality. It’s a beautiful day, and I am basking in the 70-degree weather when a ridiculously attractive man approaches holding a basket of flowers.
A cameraman follows shortly after, and the basket man begins to talk to us. We explain our project, and then, naturally, he explains his as well. He is “spreading happiness,” and with that, he hands us each a flower. He then starts to kick the soccer ball around with us as the cameraman slyly tracks each kick and smile.
“Is he famous or something?” we whisper to each other as the ball bounces from foot to foot. The answer comes from a nervously energetic teen who approaches him for an introduction and a picture. As he turns to appreciate his fan, another man approaches us with release waivers for the music video they are shooting.
Turns out, Brett Eldredge was the man who gave me the yellow daffodil. Turns out, he’s a country singer. Turns out, I’m actually a fan of his music: I’ve spent about a week of my life humming his ballad “Beat of the Music.” And I didn’t even recognize him.
Don’t get me wrong, I love a funny story like this one, especially if I end up in his music video. But the fact that I did not recognize him tugged at me more than I thought it would. I was such a superficial, fair-weathered fan, and I knew it.
It really bothered me that I knew the song but not the person behind it, it felt as if I had a shallow understanding of his version of art. Half of understanding something is understanding the meaning behind it.
How many paintings do you own? Do you know the face or name of the man or woman who created them? If you love someone’s music, shouldn’t you know more about them than what’s on their album’s cover? Do you know the writer and director of that movie you loved? We need to look deeper into the art that we enjoy, and furthermore, we need to appreciate the people who take the time to create. It’s not always about the Taylor Swifts, Drakes, and J.K. Rowlings of the world. Don’t get me wrong, they are talented, but sometimes the lesser-known people whose art we love deserve our attention as well. Thanks to the Internet, we all have access to endless amounts of art, yet we don’t take the time to look at the artists, whose information is just as accessible. This doesn’t seem right to me.
We should know more about the things we love. Liking someone’s art should also include liking its creator. Being knowledgeable about the artist behind something such as a favorite song is a way to show your appreciation. And someday, like on a nice day in downtown Charleston, it may just pay off and give you an unexpected opportunity to talk to them about their work.
My run-in with the country star taught me to look beyond the direct thing that catches your eye or your eardrum. Knowing more background to that song you love or that photograph you like makes you appreciate the work of art all the more. I now refuse to approach my favorite forms of art in a superficial way -- the deeper I dig, the more I appreciate. Speaking of appreciation, to Brett Eldredge: I do love and appreciate your work, and I wish I would’ve told you that.
