Lewis Gesner

Depuis plusieurs années, je développe un ensemble de principes que j’appelle «instrumentisme» et «conscience inférieure». Ces principes comprennent l’utilisation de matériaux et de démarches rudimentaires qui permettent de générer des œuvres expéditives, pures dans leur simplicité mais à forte résonance. Ceci résulte pour moi en une série idéale et continue que j’intitule «Symphonies of Instrumentism», dont cette performance sera la vingt-cinquième – intitulée «SI 25» en trois mouvements

- Lewis Gesner

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Témoignage de Lewis Gesner

Dear Skol,

I just wanted to drop you a line of thanks, as well as a few comments on the Viva Montreal Art Action. I admit I came to it not knowing exactly what to expect. I had sent some material off to Theodore in Berlin some time ago, not even aware of the festival, and found myself invited to it. As it happened, I was attending another festival before it, but was able to attend the last four days. Already underway when I arrived, I felt myself very quickly absorbed into something with a very real collective feel to it. The work I saw ranged broadly from humorous, short to extended, intense pieces that were almost too much to take in. And above it all, with the very active kitchen and common spaces, was the sensation of a common purpose- many had performed previously together in Sotodo events elsewhere, so there was a feeling of participation, if not direct collaboration, which gave the work a warm and safe feeling, even if it was anything but warm and safe in content or form. Events, though programmed in advance, were subject to adjustment and change. Rather than creating confusion, this generated a spontaneous, semi-improvisational framework- in which pieces could find their own ideal time, location, and fit with other presentations. I was myself asked if I could change the location of my performance from the swimming pool area to a different space while another performance, which required more set up time, used the pool space. I accepted this adjustment, and was glad I did, as the alternative space worked perfectly. Regardless, I would have adjusted to change- as this was a distinctive quality of this event, and I was happy to change my plans to accomodate fellow performers. Others here would have done the same.

Thanks again, Anne, Patric, Alexis and Bene and Theodor for organizing this event. Walking the distance between one performance location and another, I was struck by the fact that I was running into other performers- who would nod, or stop to talk or say hello- this instant community of performers from around the world was quite astounding. I was in Montreal again a few weeks ago, and expected to bump into these people I’d met and gotten to know, but of course, that is the sad part of international events- this instant community is so temporary. But of course, we meet again around the world, we hope.

I wanted to point to a couple of performances that struck me. Yoyo Yogasmana from Indonesia presented a particularly strong performance in which spectators/ other performers suspended him and pulled at him from ropes attached to all parts of his body- the level of trust in this piece created a familiarity and care that made audience/ artist separation a meaningless thing- I saw him perform again at a gallery in Boston USA a little later- he presented another piece in a smaller more intimate space, but the trust was still there- and the interesting contrasting of traditional forms with his own unique performance aesthetic, through which he creates his own relationships- between contemporary Indonesia- and the idealic past as presented in other forms, such as travel literature, and so forth- an organically political piece as I saw it. Julie Andree T. performed- I also saw her again shortly after this performance as well. Her images also reach out to others, using a vocabulary of sensitivity and deeply resonant, though visually beautiful, series of actions- there was a universal quality to these sometimes eccentric gestures- fragility, perhaps a hint of sorrow- this was of course my own reaction- yet I doubt her performance was viewed unmoving by anyone. It seems a little unfair for me to single out two performers from this festival to talk about, but they were quite exemplar of the whole, though each artist was unique, and brought singular attributes of there own. I feel this festival, with its casual, collective tone, and intensive scheduling should be a model for other festivals- of course, also for a second festival in Montreal as well- it seems to me to be what performance festivals should be about- energy, art, conversation and dialogue- people- coming together in a constructive, creative way- a model for much more than art. This was suggested in what I thought was a very important “symposium” that took place and was for me quite surprisingly well attended- even if mostly an audience of artists, for me, this was important- it indicated a general interest on the part of some ( I don’t think that contradictory) in the issues discussed, collectivity being primary- can a collective exist, what does it mean, etc.. recently meeting various artists from the CZ Republic, through Mobius’ own international festival (of which I am a member) as well as recent experiences I had in Poland- it may now be the only question worthy of talking about-for me- it seem to me to be of most importance for artists to suspend the also important individual striving- for their ideal(s) or objects- and think about the importance of the strength in numbers- of artists- who are so independent- we are in a world or groups and organizations- Viva Montreal represented an invitation card of sorts-to enjoy a few days of possibilities-I have been thinking about something recently- I have called it “surrogate performing” and it has a stringy theory I wrote behind it and so forth- but the idea is that a person at a remote location can perform as you- with your name- maybe a piece you write and send- but better yet, getting to know YOU and understand your work- and at the crucial moment of performance, like through some ritual tranfiguration, becoming the other. I suggested this to an artist, that I might “be” her, feeling rather timid- she wrote back and said everyone could be her- I thought, well, this is her, of course, but then, I’m starting to think I should expect this- it is kind of an ideal, I think, highly evolved for an artist to think this- but, we are all evolving- maybe we all become one organism. That might be nice. I hope Viva Montreal happens again- it would be good to see such an organism, a little farther along the evolutionary art chain, ooze down the familiar streets of Montreal, toward the next gallery or appropriated alternative swimming pool or tennis court.

- Lewis Gesner