The Kaprow reading was a collection of excerpts and stories dealing with experimental art. Through these stories, Kaprow poses some questions. What is experimental art? What is the purpose of experimental art? How does one participate in experimental art?
Robert’s presentation on Tuesday was very similar to content of this reading. It helped me understand where Robert and the other artists may have been coming from when performing their works. I saw each situation described in the Kaprow reading as setting up a series of rules to a game. The outcome of the game as well as the direction and purpose of the game may not be known, but each “player” must follow specific rules set up at the beginning. Kaprow describes it as “playing.” The very first example, what I like to call the Follow the Leader’s Shadow game, is a good example of setting up a system, or rules to follow and seeing where it might take you. The rules were established beforehand and the two men acted out the rules, observing what happened as a result of those rules.
I was talking to a friend in the engineering department and he hated the entire idea of experimental art. “Are you saying that all 3-year-olds are experimental artists?” was his response. He just could not grasp the point, the lack of a point, or why anyone would even want to do this kind of thing. I must admit, I more than likely do not grasp completely the experimental art idea, for I am definitely what Kaprow describes as the “analytically inclined.” With my architectural background, I have been taught to always ask the “whys,” and look at the deeper meaning behind things. I look for the purpose and the statement artists are trying to make. If there is not supposed to be a statement, I look at the lack of the statement, and why the artist is trying to NOT make a statement. I understand that Kaprow warns against this way of looking at experimental art. He states, “the experiment is not to possess a secret artistry in deep disguise… As soon as such acts and thoughts are associated with art and its discourses, it is time to move on to other possibilities of experimentation.” This will definitely be a constant struggle of mine.
Curiously, this experimental art situation, as well as the others described did not seem so completely strange to me as it was to my friend. Although I had never experienced this kind of art before, it just seemed like any other kind of improvisation in any other art form. In theater, there is Viewpoints, an exercise that is a group improvisation in which the only rule is that your movement/words react off of those around you but in your own way. In dance, Contact Improvisation is establishing some base techniques, or rules, for how people can interact with each other’s weight and reacting off of your partner/partners. I have played a group improvisational sketching game in which each person draws a line on a piece of paper and passes it around, eventually seeing what comes of the sketch. In architecture, I am often told to establish a base system and “see where my work takes me.” The only reason I believe that others cannot accept the experimental art described in Kaprow’s readings is that it is not in an “artistic” setting, but rather deals with everyday scenery. It is not performed on a dance floor, a canvas, or in a theater. It is performed walking down the street, crawling through pipes, and interacting with everyday people. Anyone can participate in experimental art and the performer does not have to have an educational background or a focus area of study to effectively participate.
While reading Kaprow, I asked myself the following questions:
Is experimental art more of an art to living than living art? Is it a way to appreciate the world around you? A philosophy? A guide to soaking up all that is around you? A way to eliminate the mundane? Maybe it is not an art at all? Maybe it is a way of life? A way to observe the world as it comes to you?
Is it silly? Do people perform experimental art every day without knowing it? Do people “play” every day without knowing it? Do you look both ways before you cross a street or just use the peripheral vision and hearing to? When driving on the highway do you “play a game” to try and pass the car in front of you without missing your exit? Do you “play a game” to see how little you can read text for a class and still participate in class discussion? (no implications here I promise) Do you see how late you can possibly sleep in while still making it to class on time, decreasing the amount of time to get ready each day until you are late?
Is switching out a bucket of dirt and talking to people about it beautiful? Or is it crazy?
Is it selfish to do art just for the sake of creating art? Is it bad to participate in experimental art of your own every day and not tell anyone about it or is it modest? Do you have an obligation as an “artist” to share your work?
1 comment:
You bring up a lot of excellent questions that people have asked, do ask, and will continue to ask about the purpose and validity of experimental art. I think there will always be people who champion experimental art performance and people who will not accept it. Some people need the stage, the page and the canvas to define what art is, while others are open to finding and experiencing art anywhere it can be made.
It is also interesting to ponder your question of whether people can "perform experimental art . . . without knowing it." I personally think that art, traditional or experimental, is based on some intentionality and awareness on the part of the artist/performer. For example, your action of sledding down and walking up a hill is not necessarily a "performance" to me; however sledding down and walking up a hill as an expression of your thoughts/feelings about place IS a performance. Although random happenings on the street may not be "art," they certainly can provide inspiration for the observing artist.
I once choreographed a dance called "Sidewalks and Bus Stops" based on watching people at a bus stop bench in Seattle. One elderly woman in an overcoat and scarf on her head, was sitting on the bench with a bag of groceries by her side and another at her feet. She began to methodically remove items from one bag and place them into the other. After sitting still for a while she began to look from bag to bag, and then she carefully moved the items she'd placed into the second bag back into the first. Although most people would not think of this woman's actions as being a "performance," they became the "jumping off" point for my dance.
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