MMeO. make me over.
I am working on a new project idea. It might stay in the idea phase for a while, but sharing I am nonetheless.
make me overWe live in societies and we communicate through a myriad of different means - with words both spoken and written, using our bodies (willingly and not), and through our appearances and actions. (These are just some of the major ones that I think about on a regular basis.) We use these means to dissent and to follow (and other things, but again, this is supposed to be short). And I'm interested in why it is important - or not - for us to follow popular (i.e. widespread, functioning) communication methods.
The example that most irks me is appearance, particularly women's appearance (I focus on women b/c I know them better, sorry guys).
I am not a make-up wearer. Like most little girls, I did experiment with it some -- and for a stretch even worn minimal amounts. But I finally gave it up - mostly b/c it was easier to go without. A few years after that, I remember preparing for an interview and asking my friend (who does wear make-up) whether I should put on a little mascara or lipstick. "Well," she said "it shows effort." And like the big dope that I am, I thought that was logical and put on the mascara. What I forgot is that on me, makeup just looks foolish.
I remember another time I let a friend do my eyes. She dressed them up very dark and smokey. She loved it b/c it made me look sexy and mysterious. I HATED it b/c I couldn't recognize myself! I thought it looked false and fake.
I am a terrible liar. I wear every thought on my face and no amount of makeup will disguise that. Though I may be bewildering to people, I am not sexy and mysterious. At least not in the smokey eyes kinda way.
So here I am, hungry to know more - objectively and emotionally - about how we communicate what we want to be through such established methods as "dressing up" or "putting on our faces". There's a great deal more I need to explain here, but I'm running out of time, so I'll just finish by saying that the project is first and foremost a study. I'd love to make a performance piece out of it, but now is the time for research - and I'm the guinea pig.
Stay tuned to find out how...
Labels: MMeO
studio. feet.
Just for fun.
Labels: studio
studio. knee out.
So, my knee has been hurting for a while now and it's getting really annoying. I'll admit it. I have no patience for injury. I can't STAND to have my body feel out of sorts. It makes me grumpy, grouchy, and mean. grrr.
But I whine enough at home, I don't really need to do more of it here. I simply wanted to throw out there that I am setting out to make knee-safe dances in the coming weeks.
Look for lots of arms.
Labels: studio
musings. precious moments.
Last night I took part in a fun show at the new
Galapagos Art Space in Dumbo: 60x60 Dance. It's a collaboration between the compositions of 60x60 and 60 invited choreographers who create something to perform alongside the music. It's a hoot. An hour is a lot longer and a lot shorter when you're counting the minutes. And half an hour is a whole f*ck load longer when you're waiting to perform your second minute after the first one was over in 45 seconds.
Mostly, I had fun seeing so many choreographers and dancers do their thing --there was some old stuff, some inventive stuff, and some really fun stuff. (We had only two weeks notice to put the show together, but with more time and a tech run-through in the space, it could be even MORE fun.) I was reminded that this dancing thing we do is a language -and I really don't know how it's a language for non-dancers (though I'd love to hear about that), but for the dancers in the community, this is one way we talk. We learn things about each other through our expressive, moving -and still!- bodies. It's powerful to connect without words. It can be riveting, too, to make that bond without ever following up on it, without ever using words - something that art does for us in a way not much else can... except maybe those unplanned moments when you develop an entire narrative in your head from just one exchange of glances with a stranger. But are they not art, too?
Earlier this summer, I was commenting back and forth with Claudia La Rocco of
The Culturist and up came the question of whether art is -or should be- "precious". She said no, and while I don't unreservedly say yes, I can't say no either. Art that is made to be seen and marketed - and to live in the public realm should not be above anyone. In that way, "precious" is out of place. But what about the moments (in life or not) that are precious and for which we use art to replicate or explore?
Precious moments. Those are art for me. They inspire me to continue making art, even as the work I make engages in the less touching moments I experience.
What do you think?
Labels: musings
