OF SUFFERING
Pia Lindman and the
Performance of Grief
Kriss Ravetto-Biagioli
PAJ: A Journal of Performance and Art - PAJ 84 (Volume 28, Number 3), September 2006, pp. 77-92
(This article refers to "the New York Times" performances by Pia Linderman)
"She does not address particular site-specific issues, such as genocide or mass rape in Sudan,
terrorism, human rights abuses of prisoners in Iraq, etc. Instead she draws on images
of people who have suffered abuse or the violent death of loved ones to explore how
the representation of vulnerability calls on us to react. I read her work as paralleling
the discourse of Judith Butler and Adriana Cavarero who have turned away from
arguments based on the notion of feminine experience to explore how any “structure
of address” introduces its own “moral authority.”4"
terrorism, human rights abuses of prisoners in Iraq, etc. Instead she draws on images
of people who have suffered abuse or the violent death of loved ones to explore how
the representation of vulnerability calls on us to react. I read her work as paralleling
the discourse of Judith Butler and Adriana Cavarero who have turned away from
arguments based on the notion of feminine experience to explore how any “structure
of address” introduces its own “moral authority.”4"
- Is this a question of how does one remove the question of personal/secular bias on the part of the artist?
I find it interesting that points were brought up in this article concerning bias of representation as Lindman's work questions representation and the authority of re-representation. This is something that I do not have much background in questioning or considering. I have always come from a point of view of the "artist." That the artist has a viewpoint- and orientation, a grudge if you will. It seems that to use race and gender or other sujects deemed as unequal in current power structures invites by default a sense of victimhood. So it would seem here in Lindman's work it is preferable to avoid such subjects to get at the meat of the matter- not to let the specifics of wheather it is a korean monument or a vietnam memorial- the polotics of/ the history of get in the way of what she is trying to highlight.
- How does one get to the point where one can strip down all the elements to what Kevin Everson refered to a fighting weight?
I am not exactly sure yet. I am unsure of how to make my own work that is at once personal, make it accessable as universal but not be specific about it to land it in a trap where it gets mired down and exploited? I believe thatt one of the things that I believe in art is that everyone should have a voice, both in art but also in life. So I tend to come back to art that speaks for those who can not speak. I could not speak for a time, and then I fear I spoke too much. This speaking too much is that trap. I do not wish to do art that speaks to victim hood rather bears witness to it and can speak outwardly to everyone.
"The journalistic photograph lies precariously between empirical evidence (the witnessing of the Other’s pain) and outright propaganda (the manipulating the way we see). The image also cultivates a public awareness of the plight of the Other. It constitutes public taste and the aes-
thetics of Otherness. In the process, it tells us not only who the Other is, but how
to read the Other. Through an intricate process of identification, “we” are addressed
as a virtual subject and then are asked to witness “events,” experience these “events”
by proxy, and ultimately react to such “events” by giving consensus."
thetics of Otherness. In the process, it tells us not only who the Other is, but how
to read the Other. Through an intricate process of identification, “we” are addressed
as a virtual subject and then are asked to witness “events,” experience these “events”
by proxy, and ultimately react to such “events” by giving consensus."
2 comments:
Hassan,
I think you might want to readdress these questions and the article. The questions do not really speak clearly to the article or the quotes. Maybe it is just a matter of being a bit more focused toward presenting an idea to your reader.
Paul Thulin has read your blog up to this point/entry.
Post a Comment