There's something truly profound when you find yourself caught up in something happening in front of you. You see things from your own standpoint and not one determined for you by a man dressed in black with a lensed box on his shoulder. A creative act can truly be directed AT you, because you are the one standing smack in front of it. It can be a life-changing experience. It can be something that you'll never forget. You were THERE. You FELT it.
On the other hand, permanent media (such as youtube video, dvd, recorded music, etc... you know what I'm talking about) has a much harder time directly connecting to an audience. Even a video recorded for a specific event can completely miss the mark if the atmosphere isn't right or if something is distracting, etc... it's impersonal and will barrel through even the most hostile of situations, not yielding to the moment. A steamroller whose motto is “Catch as catch can.” To be honest, it thumbs its nose at the individuals watching it, as they have no choice but to engage it on predetermined grounds or miss out on the experience, because nothing they do can change what happens. It's a one-way street.
So from an audience's standpoint, it seems as if the impermanence of an event heightens the creative potential, and often the importance. I know, not a revolutionary thought. It's easy to see how a live event (even if it's a set performance that has happened many times) has its own inherent value. It has an ephemeral quality... now it's here, now it's gone. This will never happen again in the exact way that it just happened, so pay attention. As they say, you can never step in the same river twice. And, for the most part, they are right.
But it may not be so easy an answer, this valuation of impermanence above the rest. In the case of an artist hoping to find an appropriate niche, it's certainly a difficult situation. Does one train (yes, training is an essential part of art... it doesn't just appear out of thin air, thank you) to provide an audience with fleeting art, one that is beautiful for a moment and then is gone? Because here's the deal: a portfolio is a good thing to have. To have a good amount of experience in permanence allows you to be able to provide future employers/agents/managers with evidence of capability. Audience testimony typically doesn't impress a professional. Just sayin'.
So from an artist's standpoint, it seems as if the permanence of an event provides a larger audience and proof of a job well done. The payoff seems much higher for the artist whose niche is in something that will last, meaning the creation of an event that is both reproducible and distributable. Fred is creating an artistic experience that will last longer and impact more people than, say, any artist near you.
Which brings up my final rabbit trail: cultural impact. The scope of culture has gotten too far out of hand to reign back in. The vocabulary of art is now a global one. Whereas the local artist was once able to address local issues to locals, now the global artist is the primary influence. Why? Because he or she is most likely far better as his or her craft than the local artist. And of course they are. They have to be to make it to that point. They are, by definition, better than all the other local artists... insofar as they have mass appeal. But here's the trick (brace yourself... this is a bit muddled): the tastes of the masses to whom they are appealing are now based on the features of those who have attained that mass appeal. Ok... we made it, but that was rough. I'll restate: most people now compare the art that they are viewing to a global standard. Why? Because now everyone has access to it, whether on TV or on the internet. That's all we know. We're not stupid. We want the good stuff if we can get it. But it has created a great gulf fixed between local and global art. In short, this sucks and is stupid. I could go on... there's a pretty good comparison between this and consumerism in general, and it's pretty dead-on with the idea of locally grown food versus the supermarket, but I'll spare you. Yes, yes, you're welcome.
So what should an artist strive for? It's hard to tell. Personally, I think that an impermanent event that comes organically from a community is the most powerful kind of art. It most reflects real life. It elicits the most catharsis; it evokes the greatest power. It's real. And when it can't be reproduced in the same way, there's a possessive value to it; it becomes yours to remember. However... it seems that the map has lost the territory. Culture has created a platform to display the artistic output of the global community, and in return the global artistic output has limited the language of the community to strictly global terms. To fully meet the expectations of the new techno-savvy, globally-aware audience, an artist is forced either to re-train his audience (much like an optometrist re-trains the eyes of his patients so they can see near AND far) or succumb to the new language of culture and work in a medium that is easily digestible to the audience. We're not used to making our own art. It's given to us, right? You just have to get online or turn on the TV.
It's a tricky game, this art thing.
This is a very personal subject, I realize. Some musicians are better on their albums than they are live. Some subject matters are better suited for movies than live plays. Some writers should be shot. But there needs to be a balance. It seems that we are in a time where if a piece of art can't translate to youtube, it's not going to make the rounds and be experienced by those who need it. And, yes, that's just wrong. But that also means that an artist has to think about how they come across to an audience that's used to getting their artistic references in binary.
So... what do you think? Is it worth the effort to produce art that will only be experienced as it happens? Or would that energy be better put to use in creating a permanent art that might be able to outlive the artist or... gasp... go viral?
-Matt
www.mypatchworkpants.blogspot.com
As someone who produces art that may only be experienced a few moments I can say that memories win out over instant gratitude every time.
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