art knocked for a loop

Skeptics abound. No matter the venue.

After spending the better part of yesterday at the Missouri Stream Team Conference, listening to folks engaged in the activity of trying to involve others in the activity of helping their fellow humans, I stopped by the recently opened Kansas City Live! entertainment district. The entertainment district is using the March Madness vibe and the Big 12 Basketball Tournament being held next-door at the Sprint Center as the genesis for its kickoff event.

The crowds were ample, although the area seemed to be designed largely as a place for white folks to gather and drink responsibly(?) in public. Between the tournament and KC's St. Patrick's Day parade to be held on Monday, the excuses seem to be in place for those looking for a 3-day party binge.


With the two top seeds moving into the championship round the street hustling activity was heavy and front and center. Lower level tickets were a standard $100 per ticket with center court tickets at 2 bills. Successful alumi surrounded the action, yakking into cell phones, brokering deals as though it were the Board of Trade. And tickets went back and forth. Is this the market economy everyone loves to tout? The effects of one too many pints? The surplus economy? A way to earn pocket money? A living?


Within the confines of the public/private (more on this later) space at the KC Live! were two views of art. One, a work by Marcus Cain for Project Billboard, and the other, a Cordish Entertainment commissioned piece, artist unkown. These works seemed to be offering two distinct visions for the future of our city - one abstract, unsure, and mysterious, and the other, cartoonish, over-sized, and stereotypically sexy.

Can they peacefully coexist?