View of Public Space/Two Audiences Dan Graham: Beyond Whitney Museum of American Art
"I am not myself he thought as a faint fluttering feeling began in the vicinity of his heart. But what does that mean, anyway, he added bitterly. After all,'les acteurs ne sont pas des gens', as the great ham Fredrick had explained in Les Enfants du Paradis. Masks beneath masks until suddenly the bare bloodless skull."
Mr. Saladin Chamcha, The Satanic Verses
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Amanda Moore
Perception, Performance, & Parasocial Interaction
Myth and Ritual in Cultural Philanthropy:
A Proposal for presentation at monthly member’s meeting
“Every moment of our life presents the two aspects, it is actual and virtual, perception on the one side and recollection on the other…Whoever becomes conscious of the continual duplicating of his present into perception and recollection… will compare himself to an actor playing his part automatically, listening to himself and beholding himself playing.”1
Film and the structure of crystals function interchangeably in Deleuze’s metaphorical explanation of the actual and the virtual.2 Through reflection of these concepts, “the actual and the virtual,” I have begun to develop metaphors of my own, concerning the duality of existence. I would like to continue to investigate these theories in the form of a demonstration and lecture for the upcoming members meeting. I propose a demonstrative participatory performance making use of crystalline objects followed by a lecture in which I will discuss my research of the structure of crystals and the physical, psychical, and philosophical metaphors associated with them. This type of gathering brings to mind two particular notions, culture and philanthropy. For my purposes, I will define culture loosely as, “the customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation, people, or other social group.” Philanthropy can be defined as, “the desire to promote the welfare of others.” Through the demonstration of participatory ritual with symbolic objects in the gallery where Anna Konik’s, Disco Relaxation, (2000) rotating skull is currently installed, I aim to elucidate connections between types of culture, while exploring potential models for philanthropy.
I am a regular American-I am part of Anglo-American culture-but part of my genealogy is Cherokee Indian. I have a unique perspective on how indigenous, supposedly primitive cultures are forced to assimilate. Assimilating to avoid extinction, becoming extinct through assimilation. As an American, I am also obsessed with the appearance of perfection and have always wanted to belong to something that I am not part of. Americans aim for solidarity and within that homogenized ideal, there is comfort that we are all a part of one whole, yet at the same time we are not really part of one thing enough to belong. Americans identify with their ancestral origins. As with America’s suspicion/fascination with exoticism, my curiosity with the artifacts and customs of other civilizations reveals the desire to be someone or something else-even for a moment.
Crystals have traditionally been used in Native American culture. The Cherokee people have five sizes of divining crystals, each composed of quartz. The largest crystal was consulted each year at a gathering of all members of a tribe at the beginning of the lunar year.
“Before sunrise on the appointed day, the priests of each town would gather all men, women, and children into the town council house and seat them in rows with their faces turned toward the east. Then he would open a crack in the east wall and set his divining crystal there to catch the first rays of the rising sun. He backed up until he was four feet from the crystal and with his eyes riveted upon it and his face toward the sun, he offered a prayer. As he prayed, the crystal shone brighter and brighter, until a brightness as dazzling as that from a mirror with the glare of a midday sun full upon it reflected from it to the ceiling, where the light moved back and forth. The light descended lower and lower until at last it would glance toward the seated people.”3
The demonstrative part of my presentation will consist of an interpretation of this ritual, tailored to fit the context of this specific gathering. The focus of this demonstration is the nature of human beings, specifically the philanthropic desire to support the cultural welfare of others. By calling into question particular cultural objects, which are disregarded by most contemporary cultural constructs, science, religion, etc, I emphasize these rejected remnants as I alter the situation, in the hopes of revealing something disguised and inherent about human nature and potentially leading to an awareness of artificiality and life’s essential components. By beginning performatively, I will try to facilitate an atmosphere in which the audience/participants may suspend their disbelief. The environment of the gallery space in which Disco Relaxation is installed provides an ideal site for this type of presentation the play of light and mirrors already result in sensations of disorientation. The icon of the skull also has strong cultural significance, specifically with ancient cultures, and appears in the myths and rituals of the Cherokee peoples.4
The ensuing lecture will consist of a slide presentation including structural diagrams of crystals in the German language. As the presentation progresses, the slides will evolve into similar diagrammatical depictions of other phenomena, the structures of which can be understood metaphorically in relation to crystals. Through these diagrams, I will explain the ritual use of crystals in Native American culture, the myths of the crystal skulls, John Ruskin’s “The Ethics of the Dust ,” Franz Anton Mesmer and animal magnetism, the uses of crystals today in harnessing powerful “orgone ” energy, or life force (since I am delving into the topic of the metaphysical), the philanthropic giving of such energies, Wilhelm Reich , and the origins of “Orgonomics,” the misuses of these energies (the Soviet Union and psychical research ), ending with the notion of the actual and the virtual and its specific relationship to philanthropy. The lecture will be supported by images of my own work as well as drawings and photographs for additional reference.
“The indiscernibility of the real and the imaginary, or of the present and the past, of the actual and the virtual, is definitely not produced in the head or the mind, it is the objective characteristic of certain existing images which are by nature double.”5
[1Deleuze, Cinema 2: the time-image, University of Minnesota Press, pg 79, 1989.
[2Deleuze, “The Crystals of Time,” Cinema 2: the time-image, University of Minnesota Press, pg 68-97, 1989.
[3Thomas E. Mails, “The Cherokee People, the Story of the Cherokee People from the Earliest Origins to Contemporary Times,” Oklahoma, 1992, pg 152.
[4"The skulls were kept inside a pyramid in a formation of tremendous power known as the Ark. The Ark was comprised of the twelve skulls from each of the sacred planets kept in a circle, with the thirteenth skull, the largest, placed in the center of this formation. This thirteenth skull represents the collective consciousness of all the worlds. It connects up the knowledge of all the sacred planets.” Native American Cherokee Medicine Man, Harley Swift-Deer Reagan.
[5Deleuze, Cinema 2: the time-image, University of Minnesota Press, pg 69, 1989.
Anna Konik’s, Disco Relaxation, (2000)
copyright Württembergischer Kunstverein Stuttgart
Amanda Moore
Amanda Moore is a visiting researcher from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, MA, United States. Moore is currently engaged in an internship at the Württembergischer Kunstverein Stuttgart. As a Native American visual artist working in a variety of media and contexts, Moore addresses issues of performance, perception, and parasocial interaction.
For the upcoming member’s meeting, Moore will perform a participatory demonstration making use of crystalline objects followed by a lecture, which will contextualize the performance in relation to her recent research on the structure of crystals and the physical, psychical, and philosophical metaphors associated with them. Crystals have traditionally been used in Native American culture. The Cherokee tradition refers to five sizes of quartz divining crystals, the largest of which was consulted at a gathering of all members of a tribe at the beginning of the lunar year.
“Before sunrise on the appointed day, the priests of each town would gather all men, women, and children into the town council house and seat them in rows with their faces turned toward the east. Then he would open a crack in the east wall and set his divining crystal there to catch the first rays of the rising sun. He backed up until he was four feet from the crystal and with his eyes riveted upon it and his face toward the sun, he offered a prayer. As he prayed, the crystal shone brighter and brighter, until a brightness as dazzling as that from a mirror with the glare of a midday sun full upon it reflected from it to the ceiling, where the light moved back and forth. The light descended lower and lower until at last it would glance toward the seated people.”[1|#_ftn1]
The demonstrative part of the presentation will be an interpretation of this ritual, focusing on cultural perception and communication.
The presentation will be held in the gallery space in which Anna Konik’s, Disco Relaxation, (2000) rotating skull is currently installed providing an ideal site for this type of presentation as the icon of the skull has strong cultural significance, appearing in the myths and rituals of the Cherokee people.
The ensuing lecture will consist of a slide presentation including structural diagrams of crystals in the German language. As the presentation progresses, the slides will evolve into similar diagrammatical depictions of other phenomena, the structures of which can be understood metaphorically in relation to crystals. The diagrams will aim to elucidate connections between crystals; Native Americans; philanthropy; John Ruskin; Mesmerism; Wilhelm Reich; and the Soviet Union.
[1|#_ftnref1] Thomas E. Mails, “The Cherokee People, the Story of the Cherokee People from the Earliest Origins to Contemporary Times,” Oklahoma, 1992, pg 152.
und in Deutch:
Amanda Moore. Performance + Vortrag
(in englischer Sprache)
Die Künstlerin Amanda Moore, die am Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Visual Arts Programm) in Boston studiert (Postgraduate), absolviert derzeit ein Praktikum im Württembergischen Kunstverein. Aus diesem Anlass wurde sie eingeladen, ihre künstlerische Arbeit im Rahmen des kommenden Jour-Fixe der Mitglieder, am Mittwoch, den 30. Juni 2010 um 19 Uhr, vorzustellen.
Die Künstlerin arbeitet im Schwerpunkt im Bereich der Performance und setzt sich mit der Wahrnehmung und parasozialer Interaktion auseinander. Zum „Jour-Fixe“ wird sie eine partizipatorische Performance mit kristallinen Objekten aufführen. Im anschließende Vortrag stellt sie ihre jüngsten Forschungen zu Kristallstrukturen und den Metaphern, die mit ihnen in physischer, psychischer und philosophischer Hinsicht verbunden sind, vor.
Kristalle spielten in der Kultur der Ureinwohner Nordamerikas eine große Rolle. Die Kultur der Cherokee-Indianer kennt fünf verschiedene Ausprägungen von „weissagenden” Quarzkristallbildungen. Die größten wurden traditionell bei einer Versammlung aller Stammesmitglieder zu Beginn des neuen Mondjahrs als Orakel angerufen:
„Der Priester einer jeden Stammesniederlassung führte am festgesetzten Tag vor Sonnenaufgang alle Männer, Frauen und Kinder in das Versammlungshaus, wo sie sich, das Gesicht nach Osten gewandt, in Reihen hinsetzten. Dann brach der Priester ein Stück aus der Ostwand des Hauses heraus und stellte sein Orakelkristall in das Loch, um mit ihm die ersten Strahlen der aufgehenden Sonne einzufangen. Er zog sich etwa 1,20 m weit vom Kristall zurück und begann – es mit den Augen fixierend und das Gesicht zur Sonne gewandt – zu beten. Während er betete, leuchtete der Kristallkörper zunehmend heller auf, bis ein Leuchten, gleißend wie ein von der Mittagssonne bestrahlter Spiegel, an der Decke sichtbar wurde. Dieses Licht, dass sich vor- und zurückbewegte, sank langsam in den Raum herab und glänzte schließlich in den Augen der Sitzenden auf.”[1]
Der Performance versteht sich als eine Interpretation dieses Rituals und macht kulturbedingte Wahrnehmung und Kommunikation deutlich.
Die Vorführung findet im dem Ausstellungsraum statt, in dem die polnische Künstlerin Anna Konik derzeit ihr Objekt Disco Relaxation (2000) zeigt.
Der anschließende Diavortrag zeigt über eine Abfolge von Diagrammen Verbindungen zwischen Kristallen, Uramerikanern, Philanthropie, John Ruskin, Mesmerismus, Wilhelm Reich und die Sowjetunion auf.
[1] Thomas E. Mails, The Cherokee People, the Story of the Cherokee People from the Earliest Origins to Contemporary Times, Oklahoma, 1992, S. 152