Art Outside the Classroom

Some high school students go to great lengths to be accepted into their dream university.  Perhaps you wrote an inspiring letter of intent or had a professor write a prestigious letter of recommendation for you.  But did you probably did not go to such great lengths to have a grand piano placed on a sandbar. According to an article on msn.com, this is what 16 year old Nicholas Harrington did.

Harrington had mysteriously left the piano on Biscayne Bay in Miami to evoke a feeling of mystery and magic. He told the Associated Press quote:

“I wanted to create a whimsical, surreal experience. It’s out of the everyday for the boater.”

This whole idea of Harrington’s was to gain him recognition and hopefully earn him a spot at his dream arts school at Manhattan’s Cooper Union College.  When the piano was first dropped off it remained a mystery or perhaps a prank as many came forward claiming the idea to be theirs.  Harrington had recorded himself placing the piano on the beach and had hoped it would be viewed by others as an artistic movement from a creative student.  He has hoped to remain anonymous aside from including pictures of the endeavor on his college application, but once others started claiming his idea, he had to speak up.

Harrington is the son of J. Mark Harrington who is a production designer for the show “Burn Notice.”  Coming from an artistic family, Harrington’s artistic scheme had been approved by his parents after the piano had been trashed during a holiday party.  Over winter break, Harrington, his brother Andrew, and their two cousins hoisted the instrument aboard their boat and left it on the most elevated part of the sand bank.

The piano had remained unnoticed for about a week until a local, Suzanne Beard, drove her boat over to capture images of birds resting on a grand piano on the shore.  Her pictures soon popped up on National Geographic and as you can imagine, the rumors sprung up.

I asked a couple local artists for their opinion of whether they find Harrington’s stunt art or not.
Philip Lucas, a professional photographer, who has a Master in Arts from Pittsburg State University believes this is art. Lucas says quote:

“The piano itself took on a sculptural quality, perched on the sandbar like a monument to something left for us to interpret. Very cool! I wish they could have left it there! I don't know what the intentions were of who put it there - but to some extent it doesn't matter. Art is in the eye of the beholder!”

Kansas City Photographer Adrianne O’Kane also finds this art, but is of the opinion that anything can be made into art if the person is truly an artist. Adrianne says quote:

“I would have to say yes it is art. But almost anything or pretty much everything can be considered art. The world is one of God's pieces of art, but it's not in a frame. Art is very subjective.”

Hopefully after all this Harrington will be accepted to his school of choice.  I guess this just goes to prove that creativity cannot only be harnessed by a paint brush, video, or design. True creativity can easily run off the paper if the artist can think outside the classroom.