Laurie Anderson Lectures at the Detroit Art Institute
February 20th, 2011
A few days ago I went to see a lecture at the Detroit Institute of Art given by one of my favorite artists, Laurie Anderson. This was ironic for a couple of reasons. In preparing my new show I was asking myself the imaginary question; if I could consult with anyone about this process, who would it be? I found myself thinking that I would like to ask Laurie Anderson a couple of questions. Then I find out that she was giving a lecture in town within the week! I had lost touch with her work but the lecture sounded intriguing. She was artist in residence at NASA. I didn’t know what to expect but I knew I was going to be in that audience.
The place was packed. Who are these people, I thought; thinkers, artists, writers, believers? Then there she was, smaller than I had expected, in her signature man’s suit, red high top sneakers and spiked chopped hair. She recently married Lou Reed. Oh, how I would love to be fly in the room when those two talk about the state of things.
The photos she chose to project behind her looked like photos taken by an average tourist when she spoke of traveling around to various NASA properties. She was speaking on many levels at the same time, which I appreciated and could follow. She would be a great dinner guest at the imaginary ‘if you could invite six people to dinner, no limitations, who would they be’ game. She said many brilliant things as she darted from subject to subject. We were getting a real glimpse of why she is such a well-respected artist. Then she moved on to photos of a garden she worked on in Japan and I think some of us were getting lost. What did her residency with NASA have to do with her work reinterpreting a large outdoor area in Japan? To me, her anecdotes were worth the ambiguity.
One thing struck me; she said that she highly recommends that one should do a lot of proposals. The reason for this is that if you wait for someone to ask you to do something, it probably won’t be what you really want to do and may not be what you are good. It struck me that doing proposals is the first step in the artist’s path; if you can’t get someone to see the possibilities, then you are dead in the water. She said to do lots and lots of them. Proposals as a creative act; Ah, I get it now.
The lecture wrapped up way too quickly (an hour and 15 minutes total) and she wanted to leave time at the end for questions. First someone stood up at the mic and thanked her for visiting Detroit, which really tugged at my emotions. (In my mind: Thanks for coming to Detroit, we need you, we are a city in crisis and we are all here to hear what you have to say.) I could feel the hunger in the room, hunger for ideas, a new perspective, and perhaps an ah-ha moment or two. One person stood up at the mic and asked her what she did for NASA. Absolutely nothing, she said. I felt the crowd squirm. Nothing? You had access to all that information and you came away with nothing? There were people in the room who would have killed for that kind of opportunity. But, what expectations was I bringing to this? I guess in the back of my mind I was hoping she would show us pictures of space, of secret things NASA was working on, things we have never seen. She did tell a few cool stories, which were highly entertaining. She seems to have a great sense of humor.
I guess I see the role of the artist as someone who can help interpret these challenging times. But I know those were my expectations. She even said that she doesn’t feel that the role of the artist is to make the world a better place. That was interesting. I can see that. But I have gone back and fourth on that one because I tend to like art to be cathartic at times. Perhaps it is not the role of the artist or the art to make the world a better place, but perhaps it is the role of the person who has the podium and the pointer, so to speak, to make some kind of positive contribution.
Also, she divulged that when she did ‘Oh, Superman,’ which brought her to prominence and into the company of some great artistic thinkers like Peter Gabriel and Brian Eno (two other people I really respect,) that she was just trying to make movies and could never finish anything. So, she decided to play the unfinished movies and perform in front of them. This supports a theory I have had for while; that great things often come when someone is trying to do one thing and falls short. They fall somewhere between here and their goal and recognizing that you are in new territory is the key.
She did say an interesting thing about how she set up her first tour; she sent out about 500 letters to art institutions here and in Europe saying she was going to doing a fall tour and would they be interested in hosting her. Three of the 500 said yes. Worth the work and the odds, I’d say. Prior to that she had no real plans and didn’t even know what a tour was. This gave me insight into the idea that doing a proposal before you have every little detail in place is powerful first step for any artist or thinker. As an artist you are attempting to share your vision, so you want to put out the feelers to see who, if anyone, can catch your vision (or not.) You can always tweak the idea as you go, which you would end up doing anyway. This was helpful.
I wanted to get up to the mic and ask what she thought about future of performance art, and did she see any trends. But I chickened out. Also, I wanted so badly to meet her and have a picture taken with her, which is true fan stuff, but I chickened out on that one too.
I still am and will always be a great fan. I appreciate the ideas she expressed and I, too, am grateful she came to Detroit. But my own expectations were the real kicker.
Maybe one day I will get up the courage to meet her and thank her in person for the inspiration, even if some of it is in my own head.
|
