I've always hated describing what I am or what I do. People seem to just want to hear that you do one thing. If you rattle off a list of things you do then people think you're either a heavy pot smoker or a jack of all, master of none. I wonder what Leonardo Davinci told people he did? I guess if I had to pick one tag if would be Performance Artist. Not only is it acceptable for a performance artist to incorporate numerous mediums in a work, but the word performance implies a perceivable process in the production of the art piece. Process is probably the most important component in a piece of art to me. I think this is because I love learning new things, and one of the best ways for me to learn something is to watch how it's done. Process might then also be considered the opposite of demystification and obfuscation. Does it ever bother you that so many things in our lives, the car, computer, toaster oven, are a complete mystery in how they work, how they were made, how they can be fixed? That line of thinking always leaves me feeling depressed, powerless, like somebody else has control over some critical aspect of my life that I depend on. Maybe performance art to me is an unconscious effort to balance out all these mysteries that plague me. Maybe it's a humble, honest approach to creativity, what ever happens, happens. Spontaneous, serendipitous, anything and everything is perfect where it is. Something different than the polished art product which hopes to manipulate, control and sell a predictable quota. |