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hi Laura:
did not at all mean to put anyone on the defense.
i quoted you as writing "get a little backing..." you didn't mention
collaboration, which i clearly do not oppose, nor find anything wrong with. nor
did i say anything about going solo. in fact, i spoke of my own funding
efforts, and did not suggest that money is bad, only that which theresa seemed
to pick up on, that is, just go with it and the forces will gather in your
favor, economic and creative.
i also do not say there is anything wrong with doing antiwar work, nor do i say
that there will always be war. i say that war is with us all thru history,
suggest that maybe history has a reason for making us behave in ways that find
something wrong with someone other. when i say the blame game increases pain
within the self, i am suggesting alternatives that might diminish that anguish.
when i say that 100,000+ kids might march in silence, i'm certainly not saying
i'm opposed to collaboration.
when i discuss the falun gangsters, i do not dismiss the use-value of their
antics. i say, "paradigms for art are everywhere." again, i am suggesting that
they have been accused of imposing their will upon others, and i hint at the
irony of their opposition to torture.
maybe i am not being literal enough. maybe my communications are too loaded.
that you feel isolated does not mean that we all feel that way. in fact, i feel
rather connected, and didn't wish my text to irritate your frustration.
basically, i'm just thinking we might look at this business of war, of which
torture is just a part, in another way. maybe look at the business, or maybe
look at the peace. all of it is connected. but when the papers flood the senses
with waves of violence alienation madness disease murder mayhem, etc., i think
we would do well to find ways of flooding the senses with alternatives like
peace, joy, love, laughter, giving and forgiving, etc. will we ever see a
headline that says 2 BILLION FALL IN LOVE TODAY! is there no power in the
positive? are we embarrassed by love and peace to the point that we refuse to
talk about them? are we more comfortable identifying the deadly sins and the
rest of the ego"s fears? maybe, when it's cloudy or rainy, we can say "let the
sun take a holiday" or "rain keeps the plants green." which does not mean that
when the sun is shining, we should complain about how bright or hot it is. and
what is it, anyways?
peace love and soul
norman
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> response to that list *
> -----------------------------------------------------------
>
> By "support" what I basically mean is finding like minded groups (like women
> against military madness and amnesty international) and finding people to
> work with on it. Since when did performance become a completely solo genre
> that we don't seek out people to help us locate a space, talk through the
> implications of what we're doing, lend moral support, and maybe help scare
> up some cages and some orange jumpsuits? I'm not exactly going to US Bank
> Foundation asking for a grant. But again, I know from my activist work that
> if you're going to do something provocative, you need to anticipate
> consequences. I don't feel emotionally prepared to do something like this
> completely alone or just with a group of my friends who are equally as
> unprepared as I am, nor do I think it's advisable. I also don't have the
> resources on my own to pull off something credible looking.
>
> Geez, I think this is pretty indicative of how isolated we all feel that
> people would feel so uncomfortable at the idea of an activist performance
> that seeks support from like-minded groups and scopes out all the angles
> before proceeding. Isn't this what I excoriated Critical Art Ensemble for
> over several weeks of emails? Failing to anticipate the consequences of
> their work? Again, when you commit civil disobedience, you don't just run
> out into the street and yell Fuck you! and throw yourself in the middle of
> the street. I mean you can, but most of the people I know prepare for it.
> What if you get hit by a car? Who do you call when you get arrested? Who's
> holding the bail money? How do you respond to the police without escalating
> the situation in violence? I think a performance artist who masturbates as
> their performance has thought through all the angles and probably talked to
> the gallery about obscenity laws and what will they do if the police come in
> and tell them to stop, how they should respond, how they will deal with
> media inquiries, how they will respond to complaints, etc. To do something
> provocative and not seek support and not think through what you're doing is
> just irresponsible and naïve.
>
> Maybe I would do this performance and nothing would happen and no one would
> bother me and everyone would get it and there'd be lots of great publicity
> and the media would give it all the right context and I wouldn't feel
> uncomfortable or I wouldn't get sick sitting in a cage all day etc. etc.
> But I just feel better having a little moral support and some people to help
> plan it and to be around "just in case".
>
> By the same token, I don't see anything wrong with doing work that is
> antiwar. Slavery was an institution that was acceptable in societies for
> centuries, dating back to ancient times, and eventually became considered an
> outmoded, socially unacceptable way to treat other human beings. Saying
> that "war has always been around and always will be" continues the failure
> to question this basic premise, this basic attitude, and seems to be me to
> be just a stone's throw away from "well, torture's just a part of war". It
> is. And if we can be nonplussed about torture as an instrument of war, so
> much more we need to really be publicly discussing and questioning the
> institution of war and the mindset and the effect it has on civilians as
> well as those who are engaged in it.
>
> Am I going to end war? Am I going to single handedly shut down Guantanamo?
> Not likely. But I wrote to two organizations last night and this morning I
> got an email from Act for Change about their new campaign to shut down
> Guantanamo and I felt a certain Zeitgeist. I feel the need to lend my
> voice, to take my profession and my talents as they are and apply what
> resources I have to speak up and try to make people aware of something that
> they probably know, but too easily forget about. If performance is so often
> making that which is familiar, that which we take for granted, strange and
> putting a frame around it, a context, etc., then this seems a perfectly
> legitimate topic. It seems equally important and less navel gazing and
> solipsistic that the vast majority of performance that I end up being
> exposed to and that gets "support" from a variety of organizations and
> funders and media etc.
>
> I am aware of Falun Gong and some of the controversy around them, but not
> very much. I've heard them accused of being a cult and they certainly have
> all the earmarks of one based on what I've seen. I certainly wouldn't
> follow them into a bunker.
>
> I do however think that it's interesting to look at extreme performances and
> to talk about the responsibilities of the artist. There are those who think
> that there are "higher purposes" and that artists need to do work that wakes
> people up. And there are times when that could interfere with the
> sovereignty of the individual, which in this country we take very seriously.
> I don't come down necessarily on one side or the other, but think that it's
> worth talking about. I don't necessarily find it useful to wholesale
> denounce a certain type of or approach to performance, but to think through
> what's going on, the outcomes, the aftermath on the spectator/participant,
> etc.
>
> There are certainly performances that I would not participate in personally,
> including pushing people into elevators or masturbating in a gallery. But
> then again, I am interested in pushing my own comfort level. Again, if I
> want my audience to stretch and to grow along with me and take risks with
> me, who am I to ask them to do it if I'm not willing to push my own comfort
> zone and do performances that make me nervous or uncomfortable or scared. I
> wouldn't sew my vagina shut, as one performance artist did at NYU at the
> Encuentro. That doesn't mean there aren't a range of terribly valid,
> interesting, and disturbing things to come from that and that I should
> denounce such performances as always ineffective or not valid as
> performance. At this point I am becoming more interested in the whys and
> wherefores and what happens.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Performance Studies international Extra
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Theresa K Smalec
> Sent: Tuesday, May 31, 2005 6:19 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [PSI-EXTRA] "Is Everything a Performance?"
>
> * This email is sent via the PSi-Extra mail-list. 'Reply' will send your
> response to that list *
> -----------------------------------------------------------
>
> Hi Norman,
>
> Great to hear from you again; I thought you might
> have fallen off the edge of NY State, into Canada or
> something.
>
> I haven't heard about the Falun Gong movement's
> implication in abducting and isolating members; like
> I said, I feel the need to run away when I see their
> exhibits, so I don't know much about the movement.
> If I see them in the future, I'll force myself to
> look carefully at the elements of their work, and
> figure out what bothers me. You're RIGHT about the
> "stand up" aspects, though, and the "candid camera"
> effect. I hadn't thought about those elements in
> relation to Falun Gong before, but they are subtly
> in there. Hope none of you are practitioners... :)
>
>
> Laura, I agree with Norman that you should just do
> your project, and if the will is there, it will
> complete itself. It sounds fascinating already, and
> I think you just need to figure out the form of
> interaction you wish to have with your audiences.
> Will you interrogate them against their will? Will
> they perhaps interrogate you against you will? What
> will you ask them? I am not sure what torturers ask,
> but I think they ask it over and over again... "Are
> you with Al-Quaeda?" That would be sort of pointless
> if you captured people off the street, since most
> people are not with Al-Quaeda, but there must be
> some sort of good questions that most people would
> be reluctant to answer.
>
> If "reality TV" shows like FEAR FACTOR can obtain
> waivers to prevent the people who appear on them
> from suing, then maybe you too can secure something
> of this nature? FEAR FACTOR is that show where
> people are enticed into seemingly "normal"
> situations, but thenheld hostage by mad doctors,
> viewed as an accomplices by serial killers,
> threatened by mobsters, or otherwise forced to react
> to deeply uncomfortable situations. At the end, it's
> like "Smile, regain your composure: you're on FEAR
> FACTOR."
>
> I'm still thinking about my reluctance to view the
> Falun Gong exhibits and torture in general as a
> "performance." I'll get back to you on that later;
> there are actually good reasons to exclude Falun
> Gong at the level of basic PS definitions, depending
> on whose definition of performance you use. But more
> on that another time.
>
> Thanks for your very wise comments regarding toxic
> energy and the need to radiate health. Some days, I
> think my psyche should open its own toxic waste site
> and rent it to NYC as a general disposal ground. But
> then I read posts like your guys', and just end up
> thinking that things are still ok in the world. :)
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: norman douglas <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: Tuesday, May 31, 2005 5:14 pm
> Subject: Re: [PSI-EXTRA] "Is Everything a Performance?"
>
> > * This email is sent via the PSi-Extra mail-list.
> 'Reply' will send
> > your response to that list *
> >
> -----------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > hi there
> > maybe we should
> > stop reminding each
> > other that war is bad and start reminding
> ourselves that life is
> > the only thing
> > worth living for; that there is no way to peace,
> peace is the way.
> > imagine a
> > peace demonstration in which no one spoke or
> chanted or carried
> > signs - or
> > maybe just one big peace sign - just 100,000+ kids
> walking silently
> > through the
> > streets, standing silently when confronted by police.
> >
> > this blame game only makes one feel better about
> oneself, after
> > all. and there
> > is really no reason to feel better about oneself
> unless one feels
> > bad about
> > oneself, and only oneself can change that feeling.
> if toxic
> > energies harm us, it
> > is because we allow them to do so. our job is to
> repair the toxic
> > energy, which
> > is not done by reflecting its toxicity, but by
> radiating health.
> >
> > try it
> >
> > peace love and soul
> >
> > norman
> >
> >
> > --
> > Through the electromagnetic vapors, space clamors
> to be recognized.
> > The sun's
> > unitary heat and the cold-infused moonlight cross
> our fragmentary
> > borderlines,joining and erasing them in a single
> undulating polar-
> > charged space.
> > -- "Art Space as Borderline Interface," unlimited
> specialist
> > international, 1997
> >
> > --
> > norman douglas
> > po box 1311
> > hudson, ny 12534
> > 518.928.0445
> >
> >
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> >
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--
Through the electromagnetic vapors, space clamors to be recognized. The sun's
unitary heat and the cold-infused moonlight cross our fragmentary borderlines,
joining and erasing them in a single undulating polar-charged space.
-- "Art Space as Borderline Interface," unlimited specialist international, 1997
--
norman douglas
po box 1311
hudson, ny 12534
518.928.0445
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