Intimacy

The Important of the Question

Posted on November 1, 2012 by Leanne McKettrick

From the beginning of this module, it has been highlighted to us the importance of having a question behind our piece. The question is a vital component in Contemporary Experimental Performance, as it is what drives the performance. As performers it is important to discuss what it is you want to explore, to experiment. It was important to have this question in place as it provides a framework in which to begin constructing our performance, as we discover ways in which we can explore and work out the answer to our experiment.

Over the past months, our ideas have drastically changed and developed. However, despite the vast differences there has always appeared to be a linking theme within each of the ideas and in the research that has been undertaken. This emerging theme has always been concerned with the notions of intimacy and the ideas around the various ways of creating this. In light of all this our question has become stripped back to basics and all we simply what to explore and experiment with is:

What is intimacy and how do we create it?

The importance of the question, for us as a group has been discussed throughout this module. With every performance we have watched we have found ourselves asking ‘what is their question?’ or ‘what is their experiment?’ As a group, we have found the ambiguity of the question a very interesting and exciting aspect of the process. By not directly telling the audience what the question is, we believe it can allow for their own interpretation, just as we have done with the pieces we have seen and discussed during the last week. In regards to Marina Abramović’s piece Rhythm O , we believed the experiment was looking at what happens when people are given compete control and what are they capable of doing when given this opportunity.

Or the various works of Franko B where he has cut himself, in which we though he might be exploring the limits of the human body.

I find it very interesting to see if our interpretations link with the artist’s own driving question and I am very excited to see what the audience will make of our performance. Will they see what we are trying to discover and what our experiment is, or will they take away something completely different?

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Olivier De Sagazan: Identity and Transfiguration.

Posted on October 27, 2012 by Jordan Edward Tallis

Exploring different performances, I came across one that stood out to me more than anyone I’d seen so far. Olivier De Sagazan is a performance artist who provokes a very different way of experimental performance, through the use of make-up and smudging it all around the body in a violent manner. Thus becoming a thrilling and eye catching piece of art. Not only does De Sagazan submerge his body in make-up but he also focuses on distorting the image of the human face, which I believe to be disturbing.

Distorting the face in a way that goes beyond human comprehension, and exploiting different forms of disfigured and deranged faces compelled me to keep watching. It was disturbing but quite poetic in the way De Sagazan expressed himself, especially when he adds more paint to create more unsettling images. Researching through some of De Sagazan’s art work, his style seems to represent themes of torture, occult, voodoo and combinations of other ancient cultural art forms. I find it intriguing the idea of how the changing of identity and transformation has such a profound impact on audiences, especially me. This is something that most people are scared of too as their identities belong to themselves and when you are unsure of change, you are often frightened of it happening.

I then began to question a few things:

Do we know exactly who we are?

Are we still trying to find out who we are? What happens if we have a revelation about ourselves?

Do we then spiritually/emotionally transform?

Does this then affect our perspectives and future?

Written by Jordan Tallis, Edited by Demi Morrison

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‘Why is this Art?’

Posted on October 24, 2012 by Jordan Edward Tallis

When I first knew I was doing this module, I was quite unsure what to expect. The words contemporary experimental performance came to me as something that grasped on key words such as development, no boundaries, originality concepts messages, presentation, style and interaction. I had very little knowledge about this side of performing art, and that boundaries and limitations? Well there was not any. I felt in a way contemporary experimental performance was a way of intertextualising cultures and other art forms into one performance. Something that would inspire and emotionally affect an audience through the use of sounds, visuals and maybe even through breaking that boundary of touch to create a more realistic connection with performer and viewer/audience.

Watching Marina Abramović: The Artist is Present gave me a real look into the deep layers of what contemporary experimental performance is about. Watching her performance of gazing into the eyes of her audience enabled me to think that maybe these performances are a work of art, but art in a different form as just a piece of work on the wall, but as something that connects us all as human beings. I felt her work especially within The Artist is Present , in a way she transforms us and helps us look into our inner core to stop and think, which predominantly makes us think we are exposing our inner most fears and sharing a direct link with Marina. The performance itself was a very emotive piece, and affected people deeply, Marina herself as stated that she was struck with how many people appeared to be hurting on the inside.

On a personal level, I feel Marina creates a psychological atmosphere especially within The Artist is Present. She brings about audience association and connections that we all can relate to as human beings. Which I believe is the very root to her art.

Witten by Jordan Tallis, Edited By Leanne McKettrick

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Exploring Ideas

Posted on October 22, 2012 by Demi Morrison

Personal responses to the beginning of the rehearsal process:

Demi Morrison’s Response:

We have decided as a group to experiment with a few different ideas in rehearsal as we have had a few problems trying to agree on something to do.

We set ourselves tasks to meet up, prepared with a few ideas, and once we did this, we settled on experimenting with one idea at a time. We began with Leanne McKetterick’s idea of exploring human contact without an agenda. We started with finding a comfortable space for the whole group, and settled on a bed, and then spent an hour just talking. We wanted to see whether the experience would be awkward or whether we would relax into a rhythm.

I personally felt slightly awkward when we started, not knowing what to say or how to start. However, we soon picked up a rhythm and were all talking about anything that came to mind. We began with talking about phobias and our own experiences with horror and then moved onto other topics.

I think that this was beneficial as despite it being mainly about a rehearsal and experimenting with different ideas, I now feel a lot more at ease with all the members of the group, which I think proves it to have been a useful exercise.

I think the next thing we should look at is the idea of agendas, because it could be argued that even if we ended with a final performance based around human contact ‘with no agenda’, it could still be argued that we, as an ensemble, have an agenda; this being that we are doing it solely for a performance.

Leanne Mcketterick’s Response:

What Happens If We Just Sit Here?

To explore my ideas, as a group we met at my flat and all just sat together on the bed. Although this was essentially a rehearsal we made a choice not to talk about the performance but simply sit together and see what happened.

At first it felt a little awkward, I think it was because it was not natural as to why we were all sat there, but forced and because of this we were just sat there like ‘what should we talk about?’. However, after a while the conversation was flowing naturally, and even got personal in a few parts, with each of us opening up about our past or problems we were facing at the present. I felt the experience really helped us bond as a group.

By doing this experience, it really helped me explore my ideas to an extent but I would like to create the experience again but next time with more of a driving force behind the decisions we make. For example, how did the experience differ without words, or sight, or sound, etc.?

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One to One Performance

Posted on October 21, 2012 by Leanne McKettrick

In a previous post, I had asked the question;

Can you create a meaningful encounter with a complete stranger?

To me it seemed that this question could best be explored in only one context and that was the context surrounding one to one performance. To gain insight I researched into the performance artist Adrian Howells. I took particular interest in Adrian Howells, because I felt this work correlated with the my ideas about the nature of our performance and that of the question I wanted to experiment with, as his artistic policy describes his work as, “to create work that promotes intimacy and genuine exchange with an audience, often in a one-to-one, autobiographical or confessional context, in a range of non-traditional performance spaces.” (2012). He discusses his work and the questions behind them in further detail in the following interview;

I was stuck with how meaningful Howells’ performances appeared to be for the participant. I began to think of reasons why this could be, we live in a world where people do things constantly with an agenda and I believe that Adrian’s performances affect people so deeply because it can be argued there is no agenda. He is not doing this for any gain, he is simply giving his time to someone and it is purely for their benefit.

I love this idea of simply giving someone my time, without any agenda but just purely for them. I’m interested in exploring not only how it will affect the people who take part of in the performance but also how it will affect me. It would be interesting to see that if after developing and performing a piece of work surrounding these ideas, would I change the way I interact with people on a daily basis?

Work Cited

British Arts Council (2012) Adrian Howells Online: http://www.britishcouncil.org/arts-performanceinprofile-2010-adrian-howells.htm (accessed: 21st October 2012)

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