I like the language of jazz to describe what happens in Open Space and
I think open space closely mirrors what happens in a jazz performance.
When people come to open space I think of them as an ensemble. They
come to bring their musical voice to the group. There is no set score
written and followed. Improvisation is the structure that all agree to
operate in. Not only to we expect and agree that improvisation is the
structure we welcome it because inside of that structure we can go as
far out as we want and the ensemble will bring us back. We can't get
lost or unconnected no matter where we go with our instrument because
the ensemble looks for the how our expression is connected to the
expression of the whole ensemble. The ensemble remembers the melody
for us so we can get lost in our own personal moment of expression.
So within that ensemble there is definetely a structure that the
ensemble relies on. There are definitely Mingus's that act as if they
are "king of the heap" , there is a mentality that tries to keep some
in and some out, "elitist" but inside the music there are just
players. Some have technical skill, proficiency and maturity that
others don't for sure. But inside an ensemble that has improvisation
as its identity it is always possible for any of the players to
channel the music's voice and reponse to the question
Pat Black
Harrison wrote,
"I think Kaliya is absolutely correct in pointing out the utility of a
"repetitional meritocratic hierarchy" (WOW! -- the words
sort of roll off
the tongue!!). And if I understand the words at all, I think
that is pretty
much what "we" are. I would also agree that experience,
training, maturity
are critical -- in Open Space, as everywhere else. But I
would take some
issue with the notion that, "Open Space Technology is fundamentally
different then these two community practices -- OST is not
trying to build
an operating system or have 100,000 all collaborate on the
same thing - it
doesn't 'need' the kind of hierarchy that technical communities do."
From where I sit, the adventure we have embarked on is
actually larger and
more complex than the "simple business" of creating an
operating system. Our
task (or at least the one I choose for myself) is not so much about
designing a system but rather the appreciation of the
infinite complexity
and elegance of the self-organizing Human System. And this is not just
"music appreciation," performance is the name of the game. How do we
effectively live in this system, and maybe even more
importantly, what can
we do to enable the system to live?
*
*
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