Discussing 'Why do we compete?' and an Interview with Dina Scoppettone

Broadcast on 6 September 2014 on KSCO AM 1080, KOMY 1340 and KSCO.com Live Stream.

‘It’s A Question Of Balance’ balances the intellectual with the creative. The show combines a debate topic with an arts interview because discussion and creativity are two of the most vital ways we engage with the world.

For more info on Ruth and the show go to www.itsaquestionofbalance.com

HOUR 1: Talk With Listeners' Views

We consider ‘Why do we compete? For excellence or dominance?' How important is winning to you? Do you get a thrill from competing or do you avoid it like the plague? How does categorizing people as winners or losers affect our society? And perhaps most importantly how does competition affect how we think about ourselves? For Out and About this week I went a bit further out and about than usual to Laguna Seca Mazda Raceway in central California to interview two professional racecar drivers, Fernando Rees and Brandon Davis, who drive for Aston Martin and compete in races around the world including Le Mans, the FIA World Endurance Championship and Pirelli World Challenge. They talk to me about what drives (no pun intended!) them to compete. We consider whether competition is the best way to evaluate individual worth, and the merits and drawbacks of America’s obsession with competition. For more information visit www.fernandorees.com and https://www.facebook.com/brandondavisracing 

Hour 2: Begins at 0:55 minutes Interview with Dina Scoppettone

I interview local Santa Cruz resident Dina Scoppettone who is an award-winning fashion model, Vogue fashion portrait photographer, and an academic teaching modern art history at Cabrillo College. As an ocular centrist, Dina gives precedence to the sense of vision in her work. Her photographs range from fashion editorials to soul-catching portraits. The vibrant nature of her work at once evokes the glamour of Mario Testino, Annie Liebowitz, and Helmut Newton, while expressing an understanding of composition and contrast which is all her own. Before turning completely to the camera to express her art, Scoppettone conceived and produced a cultural project with the Cuban Government, attracting the participation of 100 renowned international artists to create a mural in the center of Havana for the opening of the 2000 Havana Biennial. This production was the climax of her Master’s degree in Modern Visual Culture, which she earned from the University of London’s esteemed Courtauld Institute. Based in the California Bay Area, Dina has a studio in her home at Sunset Beach and in the Santa Cruz Mountains at the former estate of Alfred Hitchcock, another ocular centrist. For more information visit www.dinascoppettone.com