Re: Okay, let's get philosophical: Performance Theory time

[paulpop@ssnet.com (Paul Poplawski, Phd)]

Thank you Andre for your support and for your thought provoking statements
on performance.  I perform with a bassist and occasional drummer in my
local area utilizing similar Frippian/Tornian etc. musics.  These of course
as you have stated rely on the manipulation and treatment of sound through
human interaction with devices.  I do not assume that an audience is there
to be entertained visually and in fact I try to make sure that the
proprietor and audience know ahead of time of my intention.  In that way, I
am not kidding anyone nor myself to "entertain" in the traditional visual
sense of that word.  In fact, we advertise ourselves with the slightly
self-deprecating yet ambient stance that we are "music to be ignored."  It
would be my thought that somehow, the kind of "show" Fripp/Torn might
engage in, rather than a somehow static visual field of their manipulating
equipment, would be to somehow engage the audience in the manipulation by
some means ... it would certainly be entertaining to me to have a visual of
the rig with a visual of exactly what is going on.  Now that might be fun
for us gearheads but who knows.

The artist in this context of performance, it seems to me, if they have the
intention of "reaching" their audience (I make no such claim and figure the
audience if they would prefer not to ignore us will find a way in) creates
that expectation simply by showing up at a large venue.  The trick then
seems to me do they create not just the music, but the context within which
it can truly be "heard."

Paul