Re: [-empyre-] live performance vs. studio/other

["Stasisfield.com" <john@stasisfield.com>]

tobias wrote:

> > I see that as presenting the
> > audience with an anchor to keep them engaged in what's going on, to ease
> > their level of comfort. In a sense, the visuals metaphorically become the
> > blank wall that is stared at during zen meditation, if we're to take that
> > as a model for concentration -- but by using a set of images rather than
> > one static image, it is easier for the audience to remain attentive; it's a
> > bit much to ask that the audience remain silent and mindful of the sound
> > without a visual focal point, especially if they aren't used to that type
> > of deep listening situation.
>
> Since when did art become TV?
>
> Why do we pamper?


I fail to see your point. There's a slight difference between watching an 
episode of "Married by America" and watching an abstract video which 
accompanies a microtonal audio performance. ;-)

Increasing accessibility to music which I feel is not easily accessible 
doesn't seem like pampering to me, it seems more like respecting the 
tolerance level of an audience that gives me a reason for performing. I'm 
not trying to spoon-feed the audience by any means. I'm a strong believer 
in the artist - art - audience relationship, and I feel there are certain 
obligations on all sides of the relationship. Just because I make something 
and decide it's "Art" doesn't mean anyone has any obligation to acknowledge 
it or worship it...what gave me that right? My diploma?

One of my main motivations for creating what I do is to provide a temporary 
refuge from an increasingly grim reality -- a space in which to think. 
That's not what I feel all art should be, but it's what I feel that my art 
should be. My goal is to create an experience which transports the person 
experiencing it. Using another of the senses to create that experience is a 
logical progression for me.



> Two tactics:
>
> 1. Pamper. Ie, seduction to the image draws them into something else,
> thereby rendering the image superficial in the final analysis, a simple bit
> of eye candy to avoid "unnecessary distractions," thereby devaluing the
> image in the end reflection as a simple means to an end.


Providing a focal point is not pampering, especially if the visuals are 
created specifically to support the audio in a cohesive artistic statement.

Besides, it's better than having a roomful of people staring at me. ;-)



> 2. Engage in art, fuck "the audience."


I guess I'm just not this angry about the artist/audience relationship.



> Which doesn't necessarily mean confrontational tactics, but perhaps it also
> means we are thinking too much like marketeers, PR salesmen & magic lantern
> enthusiasts -- it's a trap I find myself brushing against all the time.


Is making art in a vacuum, with no concept of or respect for an audience 
(or the art's effect upon that audience) anything but a self-gratifyingly 
hollow and (ultimately) boring gesture? Why make the art in the first place?

I very much understand and respect your position; however, after many years 
of artmaking, I've realized (for my personal situation at least) that art 
without an audience is worthless to anyone but the artist. I don't create 
what I create as a catharsis (although it can function that way if I want 
it to), yet I am still driven to create. This doesn't mean I will do 
"whatever it takes" to make people pay attention by any means -- but I feel 
a certain obligation to make the experience of my work enjoyable as well as 
provocative (see my above comments about providing a temporary escape).

That doesn't mean I've lowered my standards one iota -- I've merely 
embraced a secondary medium which supports (and IMO enhances) the sound 
work I create, and more fully fulfills the goals I've set for my work. This 
doesn't seem unnatural or pandering to me, especially since my growth as an 
artist began in the visual realm -- it's a logical meeting point of two 
media of which I am adept at both. If the audience can slightly more easily 
digest what I'm doing because of it, then I feel I've succeeded as an artist.




>>

john kannenberg

[ http://www.stasisfield.com/empyre ]

[ http://www.whistlingpariah.com ]

[ http://www.stasisfield.com ]