JR - Street Artist/TED Talk

While on Hulu today, I came across a talk by JR, a street artist from France. Feel free to check out those links to get a low down on JR, who's doing some really potent work around the world. I really appreciate how insistent he is on his acts/art creating a connection between people on a very everyday level.

A really nice example of this was in Brazil where he posted prints of women who had been raped/killed by militant groups, in an area frequented by violence. When members of these groups confronted JR and his crew about their activity and the cameras they were using, he explained that their desire was not to show others the violence of what was happening - much like journalists/members of the media that would usually come through. Instead he was looking simply to highlight those who lived in the area, and the depth with which their lives held. They were not stopped from putting up their prints or taking pictures/video.

For a broad overview of JR's career, check out good ol' Wikipedia.

norms

...this is a reference to this post.

Alright, norms can be described in a few different ways. I like to think of norms (normal, normality) as the product of someone telling another or him/herself to "do this," and for that person to respond by following and/or accepting the order/suggestion. As the process repeats (with one, or a large number of people) it eventually is seen as something that happens. As it becomes something that happens more and more, this something is logged in one individual's/group's mind as a part of his/her/their life/lives, as part of something that dictates the way in which they approach their life, and how a decision(s) are made...one might call it a style of living that dictates what types of choices are made.

As generations pass, and styles are passed down via instruction/talking/music/movies/books/other forms of expression on an individual and broad level, these styles become norms that build societies and cultures. Some of these norms change over time, while others stay stable for many years. While I cannot say that this is universally the process in which this creation of norms take, this is how I currently understand it and what I will be referencing when I talk about norms from this point on.

...next time, I'll start talking about some applications/reasons for these norms, then I'll probably follow it up with why they're created at all. soon, somewhere along the way I'll actually get back to talking about guerrilla a little more directly.

a loaded act

this is a follow up to this post.

so let me see here, the issue of the loaded act...an issue that stems from the societal/cultural creation of a norm - what is deemed by any given society as normal.

Here's why normality is related go gdance.
Someone is walking down the middle of downtown, they see a space that looks particularly inviting and this person has the urge to dance in that spot.  Like a child wanting to play with a new toy, this desire is innocent. The person moves towards the spot, and a pang finds her stomach. All these people walking to and from work will notice me (hesitation) that'll be weird; I'm not gonna do that.

That would not be normal, like the normal act of walking next to someone you know while you walk to Subway for lunch, or like the normal act of driving down the right side of the road in the States: an act that would be weird in somewhere like France. This is how what is normal relates to guerrilla. Normality is constantly in opposition to acting beyond the norm, and most importantly to me, can often be in opposition of someone doing what someone wants to do. Not an act that hurts anyone else, simply an innocent desire to dance in a cool place. Guerrilla dance is in the business of supporting what people want to do, and what makes them happy/feel fulfilled. Our norms can get in the way of that.

Now, before I end this post on that note, let me clarify that when I say "supporting what people want to do, and what makes them happy/feel fulfilled," I speak in relation to something that will not hurt another creature (human or otherwise.) Many people have the desire to shoot others, to take advantage of, to torture, to make fun of, to leave behind, etc. I won't even begin to reference such things. I simply don't understand the need for norms that continue to harm individuals by not allowing them to fulfill simple desires such as dancing all over.

p.s.
this is where the real meat is though. why do we think certain things, such as dancing in certain places, is weird, yet walking down a street while completely ignoring thousands of others in the course of any given week is normal? Why is going onto a stage, wearing one glove, and grabbing one's crotch seen as cool, but if I do the same thing on my street corner I get cockeyed looks? what makes a norm, who makes a norm, and why do some norms work to keep people from expressing themselves when they feel the need? lots of questions
...next time, I'll probably'll focus on the origin of norms/why norms are created in the first place.

Girl Talk/DaveyDance

Couple of friends pointed me in the direction of these projects (some that have been going on for a while.) Thanks to Lindsay Caddle-LaPointe and Kiki Williams respectively, for giving me a heads up about some pretty rad cats.

First is the Girl Walk//All Day project, which recently accrued more than enough funding on Kickstarter. Basically, the project follows a young girl as she traverses NYC, meets and battles various people around the city. The entire film will be soundtracked by the entire length of the most recent Girl Talk release "All Day." At the beginning of the trailer to the soon-to-be-made 71 minute film, Ann Marson (the lead character in the film,) eloquently states, "My dream would be...being able to dance wherever the hell I want, and making other people feel like it's okay to do that." Hmmm, I think I can get behind that train of thought.

Shooting for Girl Walk//All Day starts in March, and is currently slotted to be shown in NYC alone (unless they're able to garner even more funding.) Jacob Krupnick is the head of this film. Definitely a cool project.

Second little thing is the longstanding Davey Dance Blog, which is home to a whopping 100 videos of this guy Davey dancing all over the world: Stonehenge, Hollywood, Teotihuacan, etc. "A project started while traveling Europe during Spring 2007. Armed only with an ipod and a Canon PowerShot, Davey picks a location and a pop song. Then Davey records an improvised dance."dNot only is he a rockin' dancer, but he also has a great taste in music. You should definitely check out his blog, vimeo, and website featuring his "professional work."

Yarn Bomb/Storm

Now, when I think guerrilla anything, or something being "bombed," this is not what I think of right away. Many of the people who do this stuff talk about it as if Yarn Bombing is a nice version of the more subversive types of guerrilla art out there (ex. also known as the nicer sounding Storming in places such as London, versus the dangerous Bombing.)

Check out more pics and links to other forms of yarn bombing, below:


Albequerque knows what's up: a blog from the Fibe Squad.

International fiber artists, Magda Sayeg.

Born in Poland, Olek now resides in NYC and makes some crazy stuff.

I like these cats general sense of humor, KnittaPlease.

Work from Olek

Work from 'burque

Never seen anything quite so progressive and fluffy, all at the same time.

referencing Shen Wei post

The post immediately previous contained information about some "guerrilla" activity from the well known Shen Wei Dance Arts company. I had some thoughts that came after posting that relate pretty directly, so I thought I'd toss 'em up on the ol' blog.

It's always nice to see big time choreographers "bring it to the people." Not only does it offer a chance for individuals to experience certain types of art that often require an expensive ticket, but it also makes steps to address the lines between the artist and the viewer: the 'fourth wall,' performers outside of their usual shell as "performer on stage" raised above the audience, the definition of a performance space, etc. Many concepts that are often intentionally/unintentionally addressed in most guerrilla art (not only performance guerrilla art, but also that of stencil, graffiti, and the like.) This type of guerrilla art showcased by Shen Wei however, is interesting as it not only comes from an established creator of art - sort of a philosophical(/literal?) oxymoron to the very idea of Guerrilla - but also plays a part as promotion for a non-guerrilla showcase of art. Part of me wonders about this performance being deemed by Shen Wei himself as "guerrilla."

Especially considering the fact that guerilla is often as a type of subversion of the greater society/culture, rather than a perpetuation of it - which could be seen here (promotion for a very non-guerrilla proscenium stage performance, and created by an organization (Shen Wei Dance Arts) that finds great amounts of support from the greater institution of society/culture.)

P.S. 

this is a huge topic...one that I think it pretty vital to my own thoughts about Guerrilla-ness, but something that can't fully be covered in this single post. I'll definitely come back to this. and for the record, this blog in no way means to downplay how much I support any type of guerrilla or guerrilla-esque act. My questioning and analyzation is merely for the sake of attempting to understand this monster of a subject.

Shen Wei: "RE-(III) THRU OUT NYC"

Shen Wei Dance Arts, a prominent contemporary choreographer in the field of dance (involved in the Olympic opening ceremonies a few years back) held some "guerrilla" performances in NYC back in October of 2010. While working on his most recent major work, he held some unannounced performances around the city (sort of a promotional tool I'm assuming. Not sure how supplemental these performances are meant to be, or separate from his final stage work.)

Check out a lengthy video, to see this in action.