So brilliant, charming, and lovely. What a wonderful evening. Thank you, UMS!

Personally, I would rather have to sit through the SAT exam again than be subjected to another hour of “Superposition.” When I think of the stress of taking the exam that would decide my fate for my college career and future prospects, it was not nearly as physically taxing as sitting through the performance of Ryoji Ikeda’s work. That being said, just like taking the SAT is necessary, I do feel as if watching the show gave me a new experience. While I consider myself to be fairly well versed in the world of performance (my parents filled my childhood with opera and Broadway and modern dance rather than cartoons), I have never seen anything quite like “Superposition.” The trouble I find with this is that I am not sure that I can personally find merit in watching a show for “the experience” rather than for joy or entertainment.
During Ryoji’s lecture on Saturday, November 3rd, he mentioned that some people “refuse to call his composition music because it is too loud.” This would lead one to believe that those who do not enjoy the piece are simply looking down on it for being new. The alternative might be that those who enjoy the work look down on those who do not for not appreciating modern art. Does anyone else who did not enjoy the performance have trouble deciding whether or not they are being too critical or if the supporters of modern art are asking too much in trying to enjoy such a sensory overload like “Superposition”?