Fall 2019 Arts and Activism

Vision in Motion László Moholy-Nagy was an artist in the Bauhaus school, who was heavily influenced by the ideals of constructivism. In his work Vision in Motion , in the abstract he writes about the roles of an artist and the definition of social order of mid-20th century life. Some of the takeaways from it are: “...the content of art is basically not different from the content of our other utterances…” He opens this up by defining Hitler's degenerate art as him reacting to the reality around him. If art is not different from our sayings, then art is simply a reflection of the world around us. This is defined in his next point: “...art is produced mainly by subconscious organisation of the means implicit in the cultural and social setting of the period.” By reiterating the previous point, art to László is always within a framework or a context, and that can be defined by the period the artists is in and the interactions that the artist will have with the world a...

After reading the twelve steps or rather the twelve guiding principles, I could tell immediately that this subject matter must be heavy and weighted in its real life stakes. The 4th principle of “The Blessing is at the Center of the Wound” is just one example showing that work and the subject matters involved are in fact deeply rooted and a touchy area to say the least.  As an actor I can relate to this truth when creating art whose aim is to change perspectives. While reading “Sucking Water from Mud” I couldn’t stop thinking about how sensitive of a subject matter this event is. Dealing with personal aspects when creating art is truly the center of the matter, where the heart of the story is. Without digging into the core of what’s important, art is general and meaningless

While reading Roberta Uno’s “Steps Toward a New World” I kept going back to my sensibilities as an actor and the tools and words I use to describe being the best actor your could be. With each chapter in the excerpt, I was reminded of the power in trusting the piece, the art, having it stand as the impetus for its creation. Telling a story can be difficult if personal experiences and biases get mixed together. Roberta creates a kind of theater for the new world through her story telling. She understands the significance of what she is making in its specific moment in time, thinking about its effects that it leaves on people. Her work she writes about tends to have a strong sense of identity whatever that may be. 

Context with art especially art installations or gallery/ sculpture spaces is a fundamental aspect of the presentation. To not be aware of the context in which one is placed or sanctioned a space is quite risky and could be perceived as ignorant from a bystanders position, for example a piece in a museum will have a different impact on the viewer given the context. In a museum there is a widely understood objective with the art given the space compared to a public space in a park. This can play out in extreme favor or detriment to an artists and their work.  

Michael   Week 3 Sep 25  While taking the hidden bias test I went into the it overestimating my bias. There were times where I wouldn’t match the image with the associated image of a persons face. The nature of the test itself in its design is banally straightforward, so it made me take it pretty serious. In relation to arts and activism and biases we face, I resonated with the article as well. That these prejudices bare manifested and created from a very young age due to a particular moment, most likely subconscious, and that these become gradually established behaviors.  With art there is responsibility in starting this discussion.   

Theses on the Paris Commune - a list of critiques of the Paris Commune Militancy is essential to a revolutions' success Organization is essential even though leadership is not Spontaneity is the heart of successful revolution Centrists suck The Commune may have failed in intention but it succeeded in proving that community based revolution and action was both possible and within reach of the common man. Popotla - activist group organized protest of Titantic film set and abuse of surrounding environments Involvement of local communities Creation of art in conjunction with political action Use of media to raise awareness Create art for/with people affected rather than about them for a third party audience Artist can involve the audience without sacrificing their artistic integrity

I think the most important ideas outlines by Roberta Uno are "Go there" and "Commitment to the unknown". "Go there" is important because it encourages openness to new mediums and perceptions of the world, which is an essential attitude for artists working across such a broad range of topics. "Commitment to the unknown" encourages activist artists to go and seek out the gaps in the canon or their person practice rather than passively waiting for those changes to be made by others. Uno's percepts resonate in my practice by encouraging adaptability and engagement with alternative methods. The type of theater Roberta Uno described reminded me of storefront churches because of the emphasis on community and internal support over external. Bitter though it may be, when I reached the self-care portion of her list, I wondered where technical crew came into her grandiose vision of healthy theater boundaries, especially given the extremely fickle ...

I think the three monuments create a very interesting contrast and commentary on each other. The Bracero Monument is a celebration of an under represented and essential portion of the US's history compared to the giant war memorials of generals that litter parks and public spaces throughout the country. By contrast, Rumors of War and Fons Americanus are both critiques and condemnations of the memorials that they are emulating. Rumors of War also celebrates and uplifts black culture, but when considered with the context of its intended home in Richmond, Virginia, the critique is more overt than the celebration. The medium of monumentary already comes with a very loaded history, especially in the American South, with monuments often being an expression of power rather than a celebration or memorial. Kehinde Wiley's monument plays with that history in a very interesting way. Rumors of War celebrates modern black culture by representing it front and center in a huge publicly displa...

In the chapter “Aging” within Teya Sepinuk’s book about the theatre of witness, one of the principles that Sepinuk utilized was “Finding the gold”. In this chapter the author depicts her first experience creating a piece of theatre about the subject of aging. Sepinuk took out an ad in the newspaper and the four people who showed up were her collaborators. The author facilitated group discussions, improvisations, dances, songs, and even various visual art projects surrounding various consequences or subjects of aging, for instance the topic of losing one's lifetime partner. IT was through one of these exercises that Sepinuk “Found the gold” of this piece. Sepinuk describes one of her performers Abby Enders, who happened to be a fixture in her community, she was fiercely independent and infectiously vivacious. Sepinuk led the group in discussing how their homes were heated as children. These particular folks tended to heat their homes with some form of wood. Abby mentioned that wood...

From the Principles page I was drawn to the selection “Everyone has balls/ovaries of steel” because not only is the phrase eye catching but  I felt that the phrase can have a variety of different usages with a multitude of subjects. The author describes the work of Andy Bichlbaum, a subversive artist behind the Yes Man group and explains how often people say that he and others have “Balls of Steel” regarding their work. The author points out that Bichlbaum was often terrified before conducting his experiments. I really resonated with the following: “What the Yes Men have, which is mistaken for courage, is a need to follow through on crazy ideas (single-mindedness), and an ability to goad each other on to do so (peer pressure). Really, this formula can be reproduced by anyone.” It’s a bit of advice I think I will keep with me for quite some time.  In a tool found within the tactics page, I was intrigued by a piece written by L.M. Bogad called Electoral Guerrilla theater,whi...

Women’s Art: A Manifesto by VALIE EXPORT is a feminist declaration of values for women’s liberation within the world of art and the world itself. The work explains that throughout history women have never been fully realized in art and therefore women have never been fully realized by anyone but themselves. “we women must participate in the construction of reality via the building blocks of media communication”(202) The manifesto goes on to say that such a task will be met with resistance but is necessary for the equality of the sexes and that women must do so through art.“it is the right time that women use art as a means of expression so as to influence the consciousness of all of us, let our ideas flow in the social construction of reality to create a human reality.”(203) Men have been the only ones involved writing the history books, novels, paintings, sculptures; the only ones allowed to deal with the “Subjects of life” asking the great questions of life publishing them in books....

In her projects  Years, Home Tales, and Growing up Female, Sepinuck was just developing her process. Since these were the beginning of her theatre career, before the Theatre of Witness was even officially born, they were the prototype for all her future work. In how she discusses working with elderly and aging people, you can see the real core of her work-the throughline of her practice: Not Knowing, Bearing Witness, and Falling in Love. Not Knowing Sepinuck says that she was unfamiliar with old people and the world of the theatre. To jump into practice with complete strangers with a vastly different experience, in an unfamiliar world, is an incredible leap into the unknown. Bearing Witness It's clear that so much of Sepinuck's work is created through being there to see other people. The discovery she talks about is how putting "people onstage playing themselves" is possibly the key to making powerful theatre. In cultivating the shows she talks about in this sec...

Steal the Stars and the Moon Bear Witness The artist employed the strategy of bearing witness to the prisoners through the work done to share Benedykt's story. According to the principle, to bear witness is to join in the suffering of the individual or group, and just simply listen. There is also a larger concept to it, regarding sharing someones story of which they can not share. This was done when the inmate Benedykt could not share his story. His crime was too high profile for him to feel comfortable sharing, so the interviewer and another Benedykts cellmate came together to figure out how to work this out. His cellmate shared the story of Benedykt in a performance of his own, so that Benedykt did no have to deal with any negative images, while more importantly telling the story of his crime which was important to share. Hold the Paradox This strategy was seen also through Benedykt's story. Here is a man who murdered his family, yet the interviewer is to hold his stor...

The chapter I read in conjunction with the 12 Guiding Principals of Theater of Witness was These Hands, which explored the experience the author had doing a show about growing up and existing as a female. Through the reading of this chapter, it became abundantly clear how listening with an open heart and seeing the world through others eyes was an integral part of this particular production process. Without having the openness of being able to see a story from other's point of view, these stories would have lost their meaning. Being able to find the medicine in things as dark as sexual abuse and turning it into a women's manifesto was very powerful to read. These stories would most likely never have come to light if it weren't through the director's ability to expose her own shortcomings and vulnerabilities with the cast in order to allow them all to bond through shared life experiences and even empathize with those not shared in order to make a remarkable performance a...

I thought the art form behind Theatre of Witness is beautiful.. I love how the concept of what they do is to share stories through struggle, pain, and healing.. As well as helps bring other people from different cultures and divides to relate.. Whether that be through seeing human struggle in a general sense or completely relating with someone’s story.. I love the use of spoken word and film they intertwine the stories being told to give more of an impactful meaning.. As well as creative expansion for the work.. Not only does this type of theatre give everyone a voice, but it gives people a voice that you never hear from. And truly to have prisoners, victims of the abused, war veterans, and more share theirs stories with strangers, just to show what they’ve experience. It’s absolutely beautiful!

​ Once you have read both chapters, analyze how some of the twelve guiding principles outlined in the first chapter you read were evident in the case study described in the chapter you chose to read. What strategies did the artist employ in working with that specific group of people? What questions emerge? Write a blog post with your reflections.  I read Chapter 9, Stealing the Stars and the Moon . In this chapter, the artist shone a light on a dark and lonely place- Bemowo Prison in Poland. It was there that the artist met two inmates who had a profound effect on her. She came in with an unknowing mind like the steps mentioned as well as a compassionate and open being, bearing witness. One of the men was convicted of murdering his wife, kids, and grandmother but the artist still listened deeply. The other inmate had a long history of theft and the artist helped him use his story to perform it where it began to heal him. She also had the inmate who was performing his piece on t...

The Pechakucha assignment honestly surprised me. When it comes to slideshows I can usually just tune out after the first couple of minutes, but the time limit and clarity of the information combated these habituals of mine. I learned a lot, but even better I found it incredibly interesting to see the way people presented their information, because at times it was incredibly unique and enthralling. I learned that the nature of Pechakucha really prioritized efficiency, while also providing us with a certain constraint in order to get a bit creative with how we share information,

I read chapter 2, Growing Old is about Growing. It was about artists in their old age and how they used their writing and dance to exemplify their age. I think this chapter connected heavily to Bear Witness because as people who have experienced a lot, they might be more inclined to observe and reflect. Their poems dive straight into past events, such as the poem about the husbands death.       The section about the old aged man seeing his great grandchild for the first time. This reminds me of Becoming the Vessel because he is a vessel for experience of the youth in his life.  I would want to ask a person who died at 100 and ask which half of their life was better.  Why is it more sad when old people cry?

In this week's post I chose to use the 'Did you understand what you are dying for?' chapter. It is a profoundly deep case study on the psychological effects of war and how we can possibly tackle them. In the chapter I saw evidence of all the case studies being used like: hold the paradox, bear witness, deeply listen to the ears of your heart, and find the gold. All of these principles apply deeply to the kind of theatre being produced by survivors of war, but the one that stood out to me the most was "find the medecine." I was moved by this guiding principle because of its impact on life as a whole for these people. They were able to channel a deeply disturbing feeling, like the story about guarding the possibly boobytrapped body of a diceased woman; and create an artform that allowed those feelings to be expressed. They were able to find the healing that resides in every performer's story or persona. Another powerful aspect of the Man to Man play that was tal...

Once you have read both chapters, analyze how some of the twelve guiding principles outlined in the first chapter you read were evident in the case study described in the chapter you chose to read. What strategies did the artist employ in working with that specific group of people? What questions emerge? Write a blog post with your reflections.  Question: In Finding the medicine, does the artist have to do that with their imagination, like an assumption or educated guess from the person's story? Or is this something the person whose story it is to explicitly say it? Question: additionally for Finding the Medicine, I'm not sure what it meand when it says it can be found through the actor's joy or hidden talents; who is the medicine for and who does the medicine come from? Chapter 2: Growing Old is About the Growing The main connections I got from the piece were the not knowing, holding paradoxes, and deeply listening with the ears of the heart. It was all about tak...

Jake Jolley - Theater of Witness - Week 9 Once you have read both chapters, analyze how some of the twelve guiding principles outlined in the first chapter you read were evident in the case study described in the chapter you chose to read. What strategies did the artist employ in working with that specific group of people? What questions emerge? Write a blog post with your reflections.  - For my side of the assignment, I decided to do the section on refugees and immigrants, titled "Death is an Everyday Thing". The director artist worked with three cultures in 3 different performance pieces. The foundation of not knowing was found in the literal not knowing anything about the subjects of the performance before she met them and started the project with them, allowing the artist to work with an open mind. The artist bore witness to the individual stories and let them be told in their own ways to craft the stories in their own ways. I did not necessarily see any of the "...

Chapter 2: Growing Old is Growing Principles: Not Knowing , Take the Problem and Make it the Solution, and Fall in Love The piece Years was not originally supposed to be a theatre piece but was born out of the beauty and necessity of a truth no one was speaking. Teya Sepinuck was a dancer and a mom. She was in the process of choreographing a dance that utilized sound clips of her son laughing and her 88-year-old grandfather discussing his memories. She found the audio sample more compelling than her dance. She was then inspired to create a piece from it, even though she had no prior theater experience. I her first theatre piece, she also used the first principle of "Not Knowing". She had never had this experience but was determined for it to succeed. She advertised for mature people to come and share their stories, and they did. From there, Teya worked with these mature people and realized the so-called "problem" of working with older people was really a so...

"Twelve Guiding Principles" and "Growing Old is about The Growing" Teya Sepinuk's journey with outside criticism about her age limiting what she could do aligned very well with the guiding principle, "Trust The Process". In society, women are often told that they have to choose, home life or their careers. However, for Teya it was different. She chose to do it all. When reaching a certain age, society also told her to stop practicing her artistic form, that there was a limit to her creativity once she reached a certain number. Her choice to open her heart to life's possibilities and to feel free to create Theater of Witness is a brave example of trusting your own process.

During both of these chapters "Did you understand what you are dying for" and "Twelve guiding principles of theatre of witness", they touched on empathy and how perception can change how you see someone else. At the beginning of Did you understand what you are dying for, it was about the soldier in battle. Later, the end of the chapter ended with someone who was on the other side of the battle. Someone who was truly affected. Someone who found out her mother had her husband killed directly in front of her. While on the theatre of witness dealt with listening to a person's story regardless of what empathetic reaction the listener feels the need to say. This i feel can apply to anything that deals with listening regardless of context. Those are my thoughts

These 3 monuments were all very beautifully sculpted, but along with that they had such powerful backstory.  With the braceros statue, there was so much heart behind it.  The acknowledgment and recognition of the mexican migrant workers was so necessary.  And for Kehinde Wiley's monument, there's no better way to put it.  Having it in the middle of Times Square is brilliant.  This statue of a black man on a horse is very pure.  It made me happy to see this.  And honestly it was the first statue that I think I have seen of a black man with dreads.  Which is ridiculous.  As for the last piece Kara walker has an enormous 13ft statue showing history of the british empire.  All of these pieces has to do with race, Identity, Culture, and history.  Having more sculptures and art pieces from people of color is a necessity.  I love that this change is happening. 

The test that I took for the hidden bias was to see if I had any bias with skinny people and fat people.  Growing up I was always super skinny, my family has never had very big people.  However,  I don't treat people differently depending on their weight.  Given that, I scored a preference to skinny people. Hollywood always has had the looks, so being active has always been a big impact on my life. But society has made it that way.  Having an "aesthetic" look can be important depending on what you do.  But is obesity a recent thing in history? maybe just not to this extent? 

 In a blog post, address each of the following prompts: - What are the most important/significant ideas or elements outlined by Roberta and why? In concept, the idea of creating an arts space with inclusivity and social awareness doesn’t sound any more complicated than “treating others as you would like to be treated.” But in reality it requires constant vigilance and dedication to achieve. Steps Towards a New World lays out how it was done.  - What are the implications or resonances of Uno's precepts in your own practice? I question, how can I elevate works that I feel passionate about as an ally, without  colonizing someone else’s story or appropriating something that does not belong to me.  Throughout the chapter Uno talks about her work, which sometimes she had an insight on and sometimes she did not. Part  of her process as a theatre artist is knowing that some stories should not be told by her, but still facilitating a means for that to happ...