During our sessions we have looked at a number of different solo artists and the work these artists have produced.
Matt Chewiwie:
First we looked at Matt Chewiwie’s artistic statement and were asked “to what extent is Chewiwie an artist?”. The question was actually more complex than it first seemed for to answer that question, you first have to ask “what is an artist?”. It seems hard to judge whether or not Chewiwie is an artist without defining what an artist is, however defining what an artists is can differ from person to person. Coming from a fine art background, when I hear the word “artist”, I think of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Vincent Van Gogh, Leonardo Da Vinci and other painters and I would not necessarily think of performance artists such as Chewiwie. Although that does not mean that I do not think he is an artist. If I was to describe his work I would probably describe him as a performance artist or as a performer as, in my opinion, the term “artist” is to closely linked to fine art and Chewiwie’s work would not fit into that category. That is just my opinion however for work like Chewiwies might be different to Da Vinci but it is still apart of an art form. Also given that Chewiwie defines himself as an artist, I am hardly in a position to disagree with him for, Chewiwie’s work fits his into definition of an “artist”.
The Oxford dictionary defines the term artist as:
A person who creates paintings or drawings as a profession or hobby.
- 1.1 A person who practises or performs any of the creative arts, such as a sculptor, film-maker, actor, or dancer.
- 1.2 A person skilled at a particular task or occupation.
‘a surgeon who is an artist with the scalpel’
Chewiwie’s work does fit into this definition of an artist. Chewiwie does not make it clear, however, what his work actually is in his artist statement which is why his use of the word “artist” seemed questionable. Chewiwie also refers to himself as an entertainer. This is opens up the question of whether there’s a difference between being an entertainer and being an artist. I would say that to be an entertainer and to be an artist are two different things. People on shows such as Big Brother are entertainers given that their sole purpose, on those shows, is to entertain the viewers yet I would not describe them as artists. While an artist might entertain, their focus, I believe, should be in their “art”. Whereas an entertainers focus is to entertain.
After seeing his work however I think that Chewiwie is in his an artist even though personally I would probably call him a performer but that would just be my preference. I can not argue that Chewiwie is not an artist given that everyone’s opinion on what is an artist is different. Perhaps art is something that should not be over thought about, for it is something that at the end of the day comes down to personal preference. I also really liked Chewiwie’s performance. It was performed very casually and naturally which I liked as it seemed to invite the audience in. It was as if he was having a conversation with friends rather than performing. This might be a useful style to use in my own performance.
Marina Abramovic:
Marina Abramovic was the only performer I had already heard of, out of the ones studied so far, so some of her work I knew about. Although I can appreciate the ideas behind her work, I do not like Abramovic’s performance style. The only performance of hers that I do like is The Artist Is Present as I find the simple-ness of this piece is effective. The piece is a one to one performance that involves Abramovic sitting facing a member of the public. The member of the public is invited to sit opposite Abramovic for as long as they wish to. Abramovic does not speak to them, they simply look at each other. There is something about how simple this piece is that I find intriguing. There are photos of participants crying after sitting opposite Abramovic, so it seems that in that simple moment there was something touching or moving that the participants really responded with. I think this piece shows that sometimes you do not need to do a lot to do something people respond to. The fact that Abramovic is staring right at the participant, gives the participant nowhere to hide which is why some who are uncomfortable with this leave quickly. Although I think that it is unlikely that I will use any of Abramovic’s performance styles, looking at her work does show that you can do a lot with a little and that perhaps a small idea could be an affective one.
Spalding Gray:
The next performer we looked at was Spalding Gray and his piece Swimming to Cambodia. The piece was really interesting as it jumped around in topic quickly that it was hard to tell what the “point” to the piece was. Gray also started from the audience, he came in, after the audience had sat down, from where audience had entered instead of being found on stage. He then sat down and began to talk about a holiday gone wrong. It was quite a casual conversation that at times got louder and more dramatic. What was interesting to what was that seemingly small gestures, like taking a sip of water or a change in the lighting, would completely change the context of the conversation and the tone in which Gray was speaking. He went from talking in a dramatic tone about a drug high gone wrong to then talking more calmly and seriously about war and then returned after a lighting change to a lighter tone. The piece was very engaging to watch as I was not sure where it was going to go next. The use of sudden changes in the conversation meant that the piece at times seemed random yet all the pieces ended up sort of interlinking. The contrast between the funny and serious meant that the piece, although at times talking about serious topics, was not too heavy and the moments of laugher seemed to increase my attention to the moments of seriousness. It was very engaging to watch even though Gray actually did not really move. He used a lot of gestures but he remained in his same spot and did not stand up or move about. Another factor that worked well was the way Gray changed the tone of his voice to suit certain moments. For instance, when he was giving a exact time and date, his voice became cleaner and serious and sat in a set position which made him look a bit like a news reader. I really liked Gray’s style of performance and might look to include some of it in my own piece.
In class we did an exercise were we has to write a monologue and then change topic/ tone of the piece midway through. We could can this via a lighting effect or by a change in pace but it had to change the tone of the piece right as the piece was starting to build up, like how Gray does. I decided to write my monologue on the fits I used to have and then change the piece but suddenly talking about a lighter and somewhat random topic. What I also tried to do is, even in the random topic, mention something that kind of links into the topic of my seizures so that there is still something that links the two together.
The monologue:
[Slow pace, serious tone]
Non-epileptic seizures.
Unlike epileptic attacks, these seizures are not caused by disrupted electrical activity in the brain which means that they cannot be treated with the same medicine use to treat epilepsy.
Sometime these seizures come with a warning.
These warning would occur as my brain starts to dissociate and would come in the form of sudden loss of vision or sudden uncontrollable laugher.
Often there is no warning.
One minute I would be sat having a conversation…
The next minute I’d be collapsed on the ground.
My limbs shaking out of control and my joints continuous dislocating.
In socket, pop, out of socket, pop, back in socket.
The worst part is I’m partially conscious at the time.
I can feel my body shaking.
I can feel my joints dislocating.
But I can’t stop them.
I can’t do anything.
I have no control over my own body.
Then finally after a minute, or three, or five, or ten or even fifteen…
It stops.
My body goes limp.
But I still have no control.
The seizure has stopped…
But I can no longer see.
I can no longer hear.
I can no longer move.
I can no longer speak.
All I can do is breathe…
And even that is difficult.
After a couple of minutes hearing returns…
A couple more minutes and breathing returns…
Over an hour later some basic movement returns.
Three to five hours later sight returns.
Six to twelve hours later speech returns…
[Quicker pace, brighter tone]
I really like pandas. I mean they’re just so cute and cuddly. They’re also no longer endangered! Yay! I really like pandas. They’re just cute. There isn’t a better word to describe the other than cute. I think if I was an animal I’d want to be a panda. They just sit and get fat from bamboo all day. I could totally do that! Though realistically if I was an animal I’d probably be a sloth. Coz sloths sleep all day and so do I. Not because I’m lazy, though I am lazy, but because I have chronic fatigue…