Ephemeralities
__There are parts of my practice that remain ephemeral at least for now.
Much research, process, and participation in the development of practice
and form remains what I call 'the invisible work' however 'ephemeralities' also refers to my improvisation practice.
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Improvisation
I approach improvisation as a series of responses and choices rather than purely following a mysterious outside force often called 'impulse'. This is a political stance in that I am always claiming responsibility for my actions within a situation and even whether or not to 'act'. It is important that I serve the work as it unfolds as a conversation between me and the world, rather than the work serving some sort of need in me. This focus on what we are doing rather than what it is doing for us sets the conditions for some truly amazing work to take place, but once and once only. This approach is sub-set of how improvisation can be approached generally. It is able to be practiced in the studio or with audiences. I rarely use it as a tool for moving toward making set material for a work, but as an evolving system in itself. Generosity
It can be difficult to maintain generosity in the face of it all, but living within a system of human generosity and what that does to creative practice means a lot to me. It's ironic that I often feel I have to fight to maintain systems of generosity as in some places this 'lending a hand' or 'just being there' is unusual and somehow means swimming against the flow. |
Documentation
I do not often document improvisation as it is in the moment of its becoming that it has meaning. Thereafter it is a memory. A document holds memory in relation to form (image, audio etc) and may supplant the memory of the experience of the work. That said, my collaboration with Manuel Vason making performance images challenges my own prejudices. However, in that case we are not working toward an image as document but as something that has a life of its own. The Invisible Work
The invisible work is the work that can't be seen (or heard). It is the watching and the listening and the fact of 'being there' which sometimes is what matters. The invisible work is the work of communicating, of being slow, of waiting, or of choosing the moment to intervene. It is the work of not saying. Of letting someone else come to their own conclusion. It is 'yes'. It timely and thoughtful and generous. It does not always work. It is rarely seen. |