…Yea, I really cannot get enough of performance based arts. Because I have not had an incredible amount of experience in performance art, everything I find and explore has an enlightening appeal to it - much like if one was to uncover lost treasure. Although I might be partially exaggerating this wave of feelings that I get.
But seriously now, all these posts I have mentioned had to do with collaborated arts in which people speak face to face. What about if they didn’t? What if they didn’t speak face to face in the sense that no spoken word is communicated? What I would like to introduce is a collaborative art that is less vocally direct - dance. Dance as a form of collaborative art; an art in which communication is in the form of body movements.
Body language is often overlooked as people tend to put more meaning into spoken language. This is pretty much expected in that words are often more definable and give a solid explanation. Although it is tough to find the right words that a performer wishes to speak with the body, it certainly adds another level of connection with the audience. When one views the intricate movements played out by the dancers, our minds are put to work to make sense of it all. Even when there are no words, people are generally intuitive as to the emotions that are trying to be explained in such gestures.
What I enjoy about having a less direct form of communication such as the spoken language, is that body language leaves it to the viewer to interpret what is being said. And when it comes to interpretation, it is based off one’s own culture, background, experiences, etc. Thus, every interpretation is different. So when people explain a work of art or a performance in a straightforward explanation, it probably isn’t entirely true or entirely complete. Art is what you personally make of it.
Anyway, I just wanted to highlight an interesting dance group. They are called “China Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe”. This was partly why I was interested in exploring dance as a collaborated art and the connection that is formed between the performers without words. These performers are all hearing impaired so they do not communicate with the song played in the background – rather, they communicate with one another through the movements made prior to theirs. It was really amazing and inspiring to see their triumph over their disability and that they could do something so intricate through movements.
3 comments:
I agree with the idea that a straightforward explanation of a piece of art probably isn’t entirely true or complete, and would say this is still true even if the explanation is by the artist him/herself. I am somewhat skeptical when artists have an absolutely concrete explanation as to what their works are about, because I don’t believe that art is that easy—there are various thought processes that go into a work of art, and various meanings existing simultaneously. This is definitely true with the content itself, but it is also so with the aesthetic and other formal choices that are made.
And, of course, an artist will not usually have the opportunity to explain his/her work when presenting it to the viewer/audience, and it thus becomes very true that the meaning of the work largely depends on the interpretation. In fact, I have even heard people argue that the act of interpreting itself is the art, as opposed to the actual art object (or in this case performance). I’m not sure that I would completely agree with this argument, but it does stress the importance of interpretation within art.
The key to dance is the synchronization of body movement within the performances, and learning how to communicate through body language. I began to become a fan of flamenco music and dance about 2 years ago, first through the introduction of the Spanish guitar. The guitarist becomes one with his or her guitar and is in tune with the rhythms. Likewise, the flamenco dancer must also find a connection between their movements and the rhythm of the music. Furthermore, the dancers themselves communicate with each other through rapid hand and arm gestures, accompanied by footwork that speaks a response to each action.
After reading this blog I started to think about body language in day to day life, not just as an art form. About half of our communication is through body language. It’s not just what you say but how you say it with your body, the stance of the body, the posture of the body, and how it is carried are all important factors in how someone interprets the message being delivered. When it comes to body language as an art form it becomes interesting. The performer must then not speak, but move the words to you. Then many interpretations can occur as the viewer to what exactly is being said. This is an interesting interpretation that I never really thought about before, just enjoyed before.
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