The Lost Art of Creating Joyous Art

There is both good news and bad news in the easy accessibility computers and the internet provide for aspiring artists today. The good news is almost anyone with a vision and the right software can turn their home into a recording or TV studio. The bad news is there are now hundreds of thousands of bad, poorly produced songs and videos to sort through. This makes finding the rare piece of undiscovered art all the more worth sharing.

Conservative commentator and author Dennis Prager has lamented the lack of art celebrating the simple joys of life. I couldn't agree more. We seem to have too much serious art, often political art, more likely than not Leftist in nature, that casts beauty and grace aside for shock value; to provoke, mock, and offend our everyday sensibilities. I wouldn't argue there isn't a place for such expression, just that it is most effective when it's rare. Unfortunately, today we are inundated by it.

On the bright side, I did find this home-created fan video to the song "Swing Tree" by Discovery that incorporates use of dance footage from the 1942 film "Ship Ahoy." It is everything I want 21st century art to be: whimsical, fun, and pushing our expectations by juxtaposing the old and the new. The old-fashioned dance choreography itself is very unique and graceful, a celebration of human movement from a simpler era. Setting it to a computer-generated, digital sound only makes it that much more appealing, tickling the ears and bringing a smile to my face every time I watch it.

The dancer is Eleanor Powell, and I am disappointed to say I hadn't heard of her until discovering her talents in this number. I would like to thank Dolezal06 on youtube, whoever you are, for creating this slice of joy.