5 More Shows…

Which equals one more week, 4 days of which I have to work.

3 days to conclude this chapter.

I really hope I get to dance in a new one before I go.

I have discovered ASIANPUNKBOY other wise known as Terence Koh.

I think it was because of a video of him and Lady Gaga?

He suits me.

The cards told me to stop and celebrate what I have before moving on. I thought that meant that I had to go out. But it seems, all I needed to do was sit around with Abe and eat junk and watch TV. Which is fine. Except now I have (another) bellyache.

Now I am ready for bed.

Exchange

I am passionate about strengthening the relationships between people of different cultures in order to promote understanding, tolerance and peace. Being born in Australia gives me a unique perspective on the interaction of world cultures, and I am aware that healthy dialogues between artists in the Asia-Pacific region are a vital component in allowing ‘ordinary’ Australians to view the world around them with compassion and understanding.

Questions… (Why have you done this?)

My previous post adressed the primary question posed to me by those who experience my work.  This question being:

“What does it mean?”

Having aswered that, the second question, almost invariably is:

“What is it, and why have you done it?”

(And no, I couldn’t possibly have lifted this response from an application to a certain funding body that is due tomorrow.)

Questions…

This last week, my work has been subjected to the delighted musings, scowling glares and vacant expressions that commonly accompany the art that I produce.

And so, for anyone who is interested in my responses to the common questions I have been asked, I have written down the answers.  Not in order to inform or educate, but in order that in future I may be more articulate about the things that I do.

This is the first in a series of posts ‘answering’ those questions.  They appear in the order that they are usually asked, as I stand outside my studio, in my overalls, dripping with a delightful mixture of white paint, sweat, glucose and water, or later in the Korean restaurant that I frequent far too often, or as I am put on the spot in a lecture room full of young, aspiring artists (not THAT much younger than I):

Stepping Over

Stepping Over

Originally uploaded by jeremah

So, I have been really bad at posting the last few weeks. Have been super busy with my installation performance work. Have only one show to go now, and two more days of ‘open studio’ (pretty much where I get up before 10, stumble around my studio, turning everything on, opening the door, and crawling back into my bed, where I am subjected to the looping soundtrack of my show).

Changdong isn’t exactly the cultural hub of Seoul, I manage maybe 10 visitors at most per day, and about the same again at night to see the show.

But it is worth it. Have had some great discussions with Koreans and Foreigners alike about my work, and art in general.

I will be posting more and debriefing as the week continues to settle down.

Working on getting the support material together for our big application to Arts Victoria for Gaudete (which is now a working title, we are still voting amongst ourselves as to what we will end up calling it).

That reminds me, I have finished the new version of our Red Moon rising Website. There were calls from the girls to make it more simple, understated and clean. Which suits me just fine. Can’t quite get the news section to work yet, but everything else is there.

www.redmoonrising.com.au

Oh, and the rest of the pics of Strange Earth are up on my Flickr.

What else?… Video coming soon… I go home in three weeks.

Oh, and Paul has taken some amazing pictures also (damn him and his HDR), hopefully he’ll whack them somewhere public soon.

This makes me feel all kinds of funny…

This artist is amazing, and was also a resident at Changdong. I really want to meet him, but missed his exhibition… I guess I have to kick in those networlding skills.

I have found myself staring at this picture for most of this evening. This, and the others like it.

I went to an exhibition on the weekend that had the work of a Korean artist (I cannot remember the name) who makes lifelike sculptures with a similar physiology to this.  It was heartbreaking.  Only the real thing can express it… I’ll try to find a picture.

One Month In…

So, I have missed out on a ‘One Month In’ post by one day, but it only just occurred to me to write one.  I won’t recap. If you’re interested, you can read for yourself.

But these are the things that are on my mind:

I have slowly been working through the essay I am writing on my own Butoh practice.  I just dug out the book I brought with me about Sun Mu (Zen Dance) practice (this reveiw of the author’s work sounds amazing).  I actually stole the book from the communal bookshelf in Oldfield Castle when I lived here two years ago and lugged it back to Oz.  I cracked it open a couple of times last year when we were first talking about how we would approach Sketches Of Blood.  It includes some interesting concepts that I want to incorporate into the way I feel about dance.  I am also very interested in picking up a few more Salpuri classes, because it is such a beautiful form…

First Pansori Lesson

I am very excited.

I had my first Pansori class today with Oh Min Ah, of the National Changgeuk Theater Of Korea.  I met her for the first time this morning at The National Theatre on the slopes of green Namsan Mountain.  She is probably one of the most adorable Korean women I have met. And I have met quite a few adorable Korean women.

We have quite an interesting language barrier.  I think her English skills match my Korean ones.  With maybe one or two points in my favour, so very basic communication is possible, but we did struggle a little.  Not in the actual teaching, but in the small issues, like how much I was to pay her, when we would meet, what exactly I was doing in Korea.  That sort of thing.  Long periods on the electronic dictionary did help.  And we got by.

The words ‘Highway Robbery’ came up when we were discussing her fee.  I think the gist of it is that Pansori teachers can be very expensive, but she does not want to charge me any where near the full price, and even the money I have to give her (thanks to the Australia-Korea Foundation) she thinks is too much.  But we have organised 16 lessons over the next three months (she will be out of town for a month doing a show in Ansan) so everything worked out in the end…

COMP Artist Lab #2

Tonight we shared our homework with the group.  We were asked to prepare as short piece of movement, inspired by our research so far.

Fonkam:          Beggers, lovers, workers in Cheonggyecheon

Si Jae:              Enjoying the natural beauty of Seoul

Jeremy:            Drunk man on subway

Kyoon Hee:     The story of her day told through fingers

Soon Ho:         The tension of a busy day, feeling stuck

We then improvised together, using these movements to transform our own experience.  There was a lovely, generous attitude, even with this first impro.  We were a bit closed into our own worlds, but with only three members with any performance experience, it was not bad.

We decided then to make a physical connection between us as performers and move into a bit of contact impro. The non-dancers very quickly backed out of the exercise, leaving us three: Beautiful Chocolate Man, Lithe Korean Choreographer and Generic Butoh Cracker.  It was self-indulgent, but good.  Good to realize that no matter where you come from, contact impro is a universal language.

Then, we had a bit of a rest, a ciggie for some, and jammed as a group, with Kyoon Hee contributing as a live drawing artist, and Si Jae as an installation artist.

It was exiting stuff. Not much of it will make it to the final performance, but it is good to get an idea of the ensemble, and the potential of the artists involved.

We debriefed by launching into a discussion about the intersection of truth and art.

We all have different ways of expressing the same idea, the same truth.  Ra Sun pointed out that when she sees dance, she feels a connection to truth and ‘pure’ expression that she doesn’t feel with the written word.  She said that she believes that the written word is too easy to hide behind, too easy to lie with.

This is not really true.  Movement can exist without truthful connection.  Sometimes it is the inconsistency between the movement, and its inherent truth that makes the performance watchable.  But sometimes it is just the sign of an insincere dancer.  The same can be said of any art.

The authentic use of a connection to truth and conviction is necessary for the success of any piece of art.

Going to Korea

I got funding! Well, that was a couple of weeks ago, but I got more concrete confirmation yesterday.

AND…

I have been successful in being granted a a place in the three-month residency at The National Museum of Contemporary Art studio in Changdong, Seoul! This was totally unexpected, as I didn’t hear back from them for ages, and then I browse their website to see my name on the News page. And then a very short email with my name on a list of successful applications (only two for the Seoul-based residency). I’ll be living at the studio, making work, and exhibiting it. This is in addition to my residency at The National Theatre Of Korea, learning Pansori from Oh Min Ah.

I am so excited, I feel like everything just exploded.

Korea, here I come.