|
|
About Performance (1986)
I often use the term "field work" as a title for my works. It may be possible however, to charge the word "field" to the word "environment." And one could say that my "work" consists of asking questions that give me the opportunity to walk to and search in a chosen "environment."
The "environment" is not composed only of what spreads beyond our bodies, but also consists of an inner field, where human perceptions lie. In my art, and specifically in my installations, I use the concrete part of the "environment," (for example, where the land meets the water, or a tract of reclaimed land) as my springboard for ideas. But for performances, the latter inner fields (which informational media produce, for example) are more inspirational. At present, these two forms of expression are not one and the same for me. Installation and performance are, of course, interrelated, but I believe that these two artforms have different characters. For instances, performance better suits expressions of space and time, since a performance has a clear timeframe itself.
Recently I have felt that by working from these two artforms I am moving towards a better understanding of the "environment." That is to say, I am gaining a knowledge of how culture functions within the natural world. Generally speaking, the different actions required for various artforms, in themselves constitute artistic expressions. When one observes the natural world, one does not have an existential recognition of what is observed, but rather, the brain acts as a filter, selectively closing what to recognize. When one then creates a work derived from the stimuli, it is by no means just a response - it is human transformation of what was in the environment - In my case, my "Field work" shifts my filtering process, hopefully allowing images and thoughts produced by my constant immersion in the shower of reality to leak into my consciousness.
When pursuing my "Field work" and happen wander into an "open" space; open in that there are strange voids and unintelligible indications of what constitutes the space, or the history of the space (reclaimed land, which is a symbol of contemporary urban systems theory, for example) I find my entire being is inspired. This same sensation comes upon me when I listen to the practically inaudible noise-patterns of the television after all programs have ended, or most intensely, when a collection of people pronounce words outside the threshold of recognition, thus changing words into other sounds.
(MARUYAMA Tokio)
