I was struck by the quality of comments to a post of mine (selling out) that I thought we should take it up with a new post.
Here's the excellent query material:
Is the artness of art happening at the time of creation, or at the time appreciation is posted? What about works that are neglected and then discovered? Or lauded and later rejected?
This is huge for me as an artist: I feel I must NOT be too swayed by feedback, critique, etc., in my work. So even though I will be changed by input (yes, there are plenty of studies about how being studied changes the subject being studied, but I think this is different), I must NOT change my final product.
But the second part of this feeds into artistic voice. Over time producing multiple pieces of art, my voice should grow or at least change.
Those wonderful products that, over time age well are proof of art as useful, as transformative over time. The first part: works neglected, then discovered. This is so true for dead artists, think Van Gogh. The second part, whoopee you get the nod, then fade to obscurity.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Games we play and adopting persona
After watching Apple Tree's production of The Gin Game, I was struck by the challenges of changing persona. This is a play for two very mature actors - well cast, this means actors in their 70's. If you are sitting close, it really helps that their hands are the hands of 70-somethings. This production did that. I was front row, but current Apple Tree space is basically in the round with two rows. How brave! Hope the theater is recruiting 20-something audience, they need to see this.
Just because we get wrinkley, have veins showing or difficulty in raising a leg to adjust a sock, does NOT mean that life's issues have changed. And let's talk cussing. Wow, the first time a woman says the F-word, if it's this late in life, it has IMPACT. Doesn't mean she didn't think it, hear it, suffer from it. But to say it - this actress really made that experience real.
Anger management gets the real treatment in this piece about two retirement home residents, living in a place neither of them 'planned' for. This guy goes over the top, shouting, throwing, basically doing all the things that aren't allowed in public anymore. Is he a tyrant? I think so, but oh so human, I could be him. And her reaction, she's dominating in terms of winning every card game round they have. Wish it were me winning, but knowing he'll be crazy with irritation each time...what to do. I don't want to be in her shoes because it's clear he will not be gracious.
They talk the middle class game, so how, they reason, did they get the welfare label? Guess what, this isn't the automat where you pays your dollar and you gets your egg salad sandwich. Sometimes stuff just happens to you. It sure does to me and all my friends. I so like these characters, even though they both behave less than perfectly. That's real.
They adopt meeting-each-other personas. And then there is getting-to-know-each-other persona, and then final dreadful, final scene, it's going-to-end-badly persona. How far do we take ourselves in reaching out, trying something uncomfortable?
Just because we get wrinkley, have veins showing or difficulty in raising a leg to adjust a sock, does NOT mean that life's issues have changed. And let's talk cussing. Wow, the first time a woman says the F-word, if it's this late in life, it has IMPACT. Doesn't mean she didn't think it, hear it, suffer from it. But to say it - this actress really made that experience real.
Anger management gets the real treatment in this piece about two retirement home residents, living in a place neither of them 'planned' for. This guy goes over the top, shouting, throwing, basically doing all the things that aren't allowed in public anymore. Is he a tyrant? I think so, but oh so human, I could be him. And her reaction, she's dominating in terms of winning every card game round they have. Wish it were me winning, but knowing he'll be crazy with irritation each time...what to do. I don't want to be in her shoes because it's clear he will not be gracious.
They talk the middle class game, so how, they reason, did they get the welfare label? Guess what, this isn't the automat where you pays your dollar and you gets your egg salad sandwich. Sometimes stuff just happens to you. It sure does to me and all my friends. I so like these characters, even though they both behave less than perfectly. That's real.
They adopt meeting-each-other personas. And then there is getting-to-know-each-other persona, and then final dreadful, final scene, it's going-to-end-badly persona. How far do we take ourselves in reaching out, trying something uncomfortable?
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Transit rage: is this just ranting?
Reviewing the many uses for blogs, I was informed today that blogs are really for ranting. With the exception of the one that places Mr. Bush and Miss Winfrey in the same sentence (horrors for them both), I have refrained. Clearly it is time to bust out and have some fun.
Here in Olympicmaniatown, it turns out that all forms of mass transit are slower, smellier and less reliable than ever. Why do we wait for a rapid transit option (every 9 minutes overnight) for an actual 30 minutes of an evening? At this point any sane person would look at the packed situation onboard, the state of the heaving train, the lack of apology on the driver's face and having dreamt of a cab, would now find the excuse she was waiting for and hail one. I get right on.
Hmm, the aroma that is that summertime El smell. Old sneakers with some sort of special sauce on top. On Mondays your feet will stick to the floor. Later in the week, there will be additional sniffy treats because of all the meals consumed (against both rules and good sense) enroute. As the week matures, other types of detritus will appear in paper form. IF YOU'RE LUCKY. It does keep the stick-factor down. Clearly it takes ghost busters to wash these things out. I picture the guys in the white suits with full body gear.
Turn to expressways (now, every one of which follows the Dan Ryan mantra -it's been rebranded to take the snailway), add in either a transponder (to ponder what?) or double your fun (and spendrate) by paying cash at tolls every 16 feet. You will crawl, but you'll be able to apply your makeup...or read the paper. But you cannot talk on the phone, that's a $200 fine.
Metra is the way to fly (posh commuter trains for those not yet cozy with the city of big shoulders). Only my friend messed up tonight (I thought I had it bad) and he found himself going back for keys. Going back? He had to go back downtown, get the keys and then ride out to green pastures. His once an hour option turned into once every 2 hours. The last ride starts well after midnight. If he's home by 2am, I'll be surpised. He threated to go to the bar - maybe he found a hotel instead. Only there's 100% occupancy in town now (that means no available beds in English).
Do we have some work to do to get ready for the next Olympic round in '09? It would appear so.
Here in Olympicmaniatown, it turns out that all forms of mass transit are slower, smellier and less reliable than ever. Why do we wait for a rapid transit option (every 9 minutes overnight) for an actual 30 minutes of an evening? At this point any sane person would look at the packed situation onboard, the state of the heaving train, the lack of apology on the driver's face and having dreamt of a cab, would now find the excuse she was waiting for and hail one. I get right on.
Hmm, the aroma that is that summertime El smell. Old sneakers with some sort of special sauce on top. On Mondays your feet will stick to the floor. Later in the week, there will be additional sniffy treats because of all the meals consumed (against both rules and good sense) enroute. As the week matures, other types of detritus will appear in paper form. IF YOU'RE LUCKY. It does keep the stick-factor down. Clearly it takes ghost busters to wash these things out. I picture the guys in the white suits with full body gear.
Turn to expressways (now, every one of which follows the Dan Ryan mantra -it's been rebranded to take the snailway), add in either a transponder (to ponder what?) or double your fun (and spendrate) by paying cash at tolls every 16 feet. You will crawl, but you'll be able to apply your makeup...or read the paper. But you cannot talk on the phone, that's a $200 fine.
Metra is the way to fly (posh commuter trains for those not yet cozy with the city of big shoulders). Only my friend messed up tonight (I thought I had it bad) and he found himself going back for keys. Going back? He had to go back downtown, get the keys and then ride out to green pastures. His once an hour option turned into once every 2 hours. The last ride starts well after midnight. If he's home by 2am, I'll be surpised. He threated to go to the bar - maybe he found a hotel instead. Only there's 100% occupancy in town now (that means no available beds in English).
Do we have some work to do to get ready for the next Olympic round in '09? It would appear so.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Selling out
The real problem with being poor is that you never really get to play the grown up. You have no money, you don't develop that much taste because you cannot execute on that taste. Likewise, someone else always has the purse strings and thus makes all the decisions. If you are good at Jane Austin-speak, you'll become adept at being the perfect guest, the right size for hand-me-downs, great at being unpaid help for posh events that let you pretend. But you will not grow better at decision-making because you will make none that are not reactive.
Having lived most of my life as a fully employed and earning performing artist, I wasn't part of the genuine poor class, but rather the artist class. This group has the same issues as the poor, no health insurance, no real sense of where the next paycheck is. But we develop our tastes, get good at recycling items and tarting them up, we decide we wish for our freedom. But what freedom do we actually exercise? It generally sits flabby and palid in the closet waiting for a really good choice to appear. The green see-through chiffon or the chocolate body paint? They both sound good, but they always come with a price tag that someone else sets. What is art and what is commerce?
If it is popular is it still art? If it is perfectly delivered, easy to produce, is there still art in the mix? I always learn something different in performance than in studio - is that fair to the audience? For a singer there are gravy gigs, Easter Messiahs, Holy Week, High Holidays work, that perfect church or synagogue that guarantees weddings, funerals, services without much learning to do. How to manage the balance between building confidence and adding knowledge through risk taking?
Having decided a few brief years ago to take a day job and starve on my own time (note to self - gained 2 dress sizes on this plan), I find that there are points to recommend as well as detract from this plan. I really can choose my medium, pursue the outlay to learn something new, go hear or see someone else who does it well, take a lesson or five. How many times can you sing the same piece of music and add something special to the performance? Is delivering the same performance alright if it is excellent enough? At some point this experience creates challenges to personal growth. But does the growth happen in studio or on the stage or both places? Back again to self-confidence through repetition v. growth through terror....
Here's the final question: an early lesson for me was that striking the right price was important. At some point it is better to 'donate' the performance or piece, but demand quid pro quo of some other sort. That ultimately became my path from $25 pay for a full concert (including my paying an accompanist) to earning $1000 for a single performance of work I had performed numerous times. When I can afford to rest, put myself into peak form for a performance, feel my most confident, I can deliver an 'experience' an audience that is transformative. How do we value this in terms of dollar price? And how does an artist maintain freshness - access the artistic universal soul?
How does the audience perception change when they pay? If you have the chance to attend the opera (dance, film, rock concert, pro football game, etc.) through the generosity of a friend, employer, winning a contest - WILL YOU SHOW UP? I think chances fall in this scenario. Yet this model pays for many of us to do the thing we love, commerce often pays for art.
My best recent experience was listening to a free classical concert of Russian piano music at DePaul. I knew up front I could only attend the first half because of additional work on my plate that night. A friend found the listing, we met, ate, listened. Paying for the ticket would not have caused me to stay for the entire event. The quality was amazing. I was there to enjoy the music which I could share and discuss with my friend, not because I hoped someone would see me. I was quality audience. Did that help the performers...maybe.
Having lived most of my life as a fully employed and earning performing artist, I wasn't part of the genuine poor class, but rather the artist class. This group has the same issues as the poor, no health insurance, no real sense of where the next paycheck is. But we develop our tastes, get good at recycling items and tarting them up, we decide we wish for our freedom. But what freedom do we actually exercise? It generally sits flabby and palid in the closet waiting for a really good choice to appear. The green see-through chiffon or the chocolate body paint? They both sound good, but they always come with a price tag that someone else sets. What is art and what is commerce?
If it is popular is it still art? If it is perfectly delivered, easy to produce, is there still art in the mix? I always learn something different in performance than in studio - is that fair to the audience? For a singer there are gravy gigs, Easter Messiahs, Holy Week, High Holidays work, that perfect church or synagogue that guarantees weddings, funerals, services without much learning to do. How to manage the balance between building confidence and adding knowledge through risk taking?
Having decided a few brief years ago to take a day job and starve on my own time (note to self - gained 2 dress sizes on this plan), I find that there are points to recommend as well as detract from this plan. I really can choose my medium, pursue the outlay to learn something new, go hear or see someone else who does it well, take a lesson or five. How many times can you sing the same piece of music and add something special to the performance? Is delivering the same performance alright if it is excellent enough? At some point this experience creates challenges to personal growth. But does the growth happen in studio or on the stage or both places? Back again to self-confidence through repetition v. growth through terror....
Here's the final question: an early lesson for me was that striking the right price was important. At some point it is better to 'donate' the performance or piece, but demand quid pro quo of some other sort. That ultimately became my path from $25 pay for a full concert (including my paying an accompanist) to earning $1000 for a single performance of work I had performed numerous times. When I can afford to rest, put myself into peak form for a performance, feel my most confident, I can deliver an 'experience' an audience that is transformative. How do we value this in terms of dollar price? And how does an artist maintain freshness - access the artistic universal soul?
How does the audience perception change when they pay? If you have the chance to attend the opera (dance, film, rock concert, pro football game, etc.) through the generosity of a friend, employer, winning a contest - WILL YOU SHOW UP? I think chances fall in this scenario. Yet this model pays for many of us to do the thing we love, commerce often pays for art.
My best recent experience was listening to a free classical concert of Russian piano music at DePaul. I knew up front I could only attend the first half because of additional work on my plate that night. A friend found the listing, we met, ate, listened. Paying for the ticket would not have caused me to stay for the entire event. The quality was amazing. I was there to enjoy the music which I could share and discuss with my friend, not because I hoped someone would see me. I was quality audience. Did that help the performers...maybe.
Friday, April 6, 2007
Equus and Realism
Equus at Actor's Workshop is excellent. The staging is extremely spare, almost non-existent. Because I had difficulty seeing (if you care, you'll want to get there early and sit up front), I had to rely on voices for some of the production. NO PROBLEM. The main actors were up to the task. In some ways this added to my experience. The work itself is dense and strong emotion, or lack of it, is part of the subject matter being explored. Having an aural component and a certain difficulty in seeing everything was perhaps intended by the director. The doctor's internal dialog is all the more real for being more vocal and something seen.
The lighting was used entirely to set emotional tone rather than for realistic effect. First we were in a therapeutic, almost chilly space, then a bit of red conjured warmth, relaxing into emotion. A beach scene was suffused with soft, mostly blue light for outdoor space. I could almost smell salt water (some foley work helped here). This use of lighting occured again and again, yet was not intrusive. In act 2 backlighting for the young lovers really racked up the sense of a pressure cooker and served in contrast to the dramatic and literally dark scene blinding the horses.
I found the sound design filmic, subtle and personally directed. Music or foley work was added only as needed to increase emotional temperature (warmer or cooler) as originally set by lighting. Because the space at Actor's is so intimate, there was no need for anything overly loud. A courteous audience meant that very small sounds penetrated and were effective.
Directing through a spare concept allowed for strong dramatization by the two main actors. They were not required to compete with a busy set and were often in semi-darkness, as are we all when living with our thoughts. In a dense and atmospheric 'place' there was more work for my imagination than anything solid on stage and this added to to my experience. In food terms this show is both meat and potatoes and the best dessert you will find. The writing makes for serious content, the presentation here is artful. The dramatic voice of the director is clear with lots of light, high tones and authenticity. The playwright's language shown through.
This was a superior use of 2.5 hours.
The lighting was used entirely to set emotional tone rather than for realistic effect. First we were in a therapeutic, almost chilly space, then a bit of red conjured warmth, relaxing into emotion. A beach scene was suffused with soft, mostly blue light for outdoor space. I could almost smell salt water (some foley work helped here). This use of lighting occured again and again, yet was not intrusive. In act 2 backlighting for the young lovers really racked up the sense of a pressure cooker and served in contrast to the dramatic and literally dark scene blinding the horses.
I found the sound design filmic, subtle and personally directed. Music or foley work was added only as needed to increase emotional temperature (warmer or cooler) as originally set by lighting. Because the space at Actor's is so intimate, there was no need for anything overly loud. A courteous audience meant that very small sounds penetrated and were effective.
Directing through a spare concept allowed for strong dramatization by the two main actors. They were not required to compete with a busy set and were often in semi-darkness, as are we all when living with our thoughts. In a dense and atmospheric 'place' there was more work for my imagination than anything solid on stage and this added to to my experience. In food terms this show is both meat and potatoes and the best dessert you will find. The writing makes for serious content, the presentation here is artful. The dramatic voice of the director is clear with lots of light, high tones and authenticity. The playwright's language shown through.
This was a superior use of 2.5 hours.
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