The Firsts B-Side

The B-Side

Evelyn Mousigian

A First represents total novelty, a beginning, a moment in time that sets off all that follows or stays a distant memory, nevertheless changing our perception of everything that comes after it.

People cannot create or experience art without firsts: the first time, the invention, an original work or idea. The world also does not go around without personal firsts: first kisses, chance encounters, first losses. These are all captured in art.

We all have personal firsts with art: the first movie we watch, the first concert we attend, the first song we enjoy. Firsts are critical to how we understand art and, ultimately, how we understand ourselves. The first time we consume a work of art is a defining moment. Maybe it will become a show/movie/album/book we consume repeatedly, but the first time is the most important. Art becomes a memorial for the point in our lives when we first experience it, yet its meaning fluctuates as we develop. As we grow from our first days, kisses, dates and breakups, art supports us in all the angst and excitement of “firstness.” We also grow with our favorite artists and forms, starting with their first works (or the first works of theirs we consume) through their evolutions and rise. From the first moment, we might be hooked forever.

Firsts can be scary or exciting, something out of the ordinary or something that sets the tone for lifetimes or generations. Whether a personal first or an artistic first, we face novelty as the moment begs us to ask if it will be the first of many or the first and last.

Are firsts the worst or the best, or whatever rhyming word we made up in a childhood adage to process the enormity of our personal firsts? A first is always the most memorable — for better or worse. What do your firsts mean to you?

Senior Arts Editor Kaya Ginsky