SHARING IS CARING

RESEARCH

Performance Art

Because our experimental film is very much based on performance art, I took a look into what exactly performance art is and what it represents. I researched artists like Yves Klein and his art piece "leaping into the world", John Cage and his limitless possibilities to sound. He inspired artists like Allan Kaprow who came up with HAPPENING which is basically flash mobs and live performances. Kaprow then inspired artists all over the world and then George Maciunas came up with FLUXUS, which is art anywhere anyhow. Yoko Ono and Sonic Youth have practiced these type of performance art. 

I found out that it usually is a social critique about something that they stand for and care about, and I related that feeling to this experimental film because cultural appropriation and racism are issues that concern me as an artist.

We decided that the performance piece is gonna be about how media and the globalized world portray different cultures around the world, connecting to the concept of cultural appropriation and what our generation fetishizes. 

Cultural Appropriation

After researching what cultural appropriation really is and what it means, I found that it is something that in the globalized world is unavoidable. Cultural apropriation is the adoption of fashion, language, etc. by a different culture. 

This I dont have a problem with, but there is something else called cultural misapropriation, which is the misrepresentation of a minority by a dominant culture. The appropriation of subcultures usually occurs when a minority struggles and art comes out of this struggle, either as fashion or music. Then it becomes mainstream because the minorities hype this art and then the dominant culture depolitize and commodify this concept and call it "cool" and many times they use symbols of oppression or just cultural symbols - they can be cultural elements, such as music, dance, spiritual ceremonies, modes of dress, speech, and social behaviour - these are symbols that are usually respected, understood and used in a cultural concept but when taken to the mainstream media they become a fashion or just trivialized. 

In short, cultural misapropriation is disrespectful. 

Cultural exchange or sharing is possible, and has been done and has created great things like Star Wars, I mean just think about it - cowboys and samurais in space. This is something that can exist peacefully when a culture takes something from another culture and is respected and understood, when both cultures can be on the same level. People have a problem with it when a dominant culture takes from a minority and calls it its own or just butchers it to fit their view on it, completely disregarding what it represents. Sometimes this can be confused with racism because cultural misapropriation is often the basis for what a minority fights against - as it is disrespected by the dominant cultures in cases like just calling it fashion. 

So in order for me to be able to portray this struggle and experience I decided to research what our generation finds desirable and what aesthetic is the most pleasing to our eyes.

Aesthetic

I noticed that our generation likes aesthetics from older generations, and I thought about how cinematographers portray them. I thought about the 80s - neon signs, geometric animations, the soft look - films like the Breakfast Club, The Heathers, Blue Velvet, etc. So I decided to research Wes Anderson and David Lynch. 

Wes Anderson films can be recognized by its beautiful colour schemes, the amazing composition in every shot and very rigid camera movements. Very fast paced comedies with a melancholic touch. Films that are character driven, obsessively symmetrical and with lots of snap zooms

David Lynch works more with a noir aesthetic, always portrays a paradoxical world - the ideal hollywood vs the oppresive commercial dystopia - his own relationship with the industry. Characters with dualistic nature: living/dead, human/machine, inside/outide. Its always about the juxtaposition of the homely and the strange. 

I will atempt to take inspiration from these artists and create a piece that shows all my research