My English class visited the VMFA recently to see the play "King Lear" by William Shakespeare. Before going, we had heard and analyzed an audiobook version of it in class and then watched a movie version, but nothing could prepare us for the live version.
In my opinion a play is very similar to a piece of performance art; the main distinction being that for the playwright it is generally about telling a story and for the artist it is generally about conveying a point or an emotion. In the case of King Lear, Shakespeare tells a story of family relations and the madness that comes about from old age, one fraught with backstabbing brothers, Demented fathers, and ultimately a heartbroken audience. My art is trending towards performance, in my new works I push towards interactivity and procedural rather than static art, and seeing a show like this reinforces my feeling that a performance can tell a story much better than a pre-recorded event. I feel that the stress that is inherent in performing can be felt by the audience as well as the performer; as the audience watches on sharing in the terror of possible failure that the performer experiences, they share in the joy of success as well.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Jimmy HowertonContact me: |