Hello Frank Moore
I am a 3rd year art student at Leeds Metropolitan university (UK). I am currently writing an extended essay on the relationship between art and magic. I am interested in what you do as it blurs the line’s between the both. I have written that art is all about transformation and the altering of perception. I wanted to ask you a few questions if that is ok?
Firstly; in regards to your performances; I was wondering what you think of your audience. Who do you attacked? an art audience or a more spiritual audience. Is there even a difference.
I have written about shamanism perhaps being masked with the word art to fit into what is more acceptable to a contemporary audience. Then again can you see a distinction between art and shamanism?
I would really love to hear you thoughts on these matters.
Many kind thoughts
hi, kirsty! What great questions! first I attached the write-ups by both some of my students and myself of my performances I did last year. This will give a conceptual context of what I mean by transformation and altered realities within the performances. and in
http://www.eroplay.com/Cave/shaman.html , there’s a lot to give depth to what I will ramble on about in this email. For example, I have up there these definitions:
SHAMANISM is the direct experience of reality.
CHERO is the physical life energy. I created the word “chero” by combining “chi” and “eros”.
MAGIC is the science/art of non-linear change. In cherotic magic, it is the practical focus of the person to reshape reality into more humane forms by using the magical dynamics of relationships.
REVOLUTIONARIES are the mutations of evolution … most “fail” … but even in failure, change and new possibilities are created.
ART is that process of creating change and new possibilities.
these seem to relate to what you are asking. shamanism came from the time before things [life] was fragmentated into ART, POLITICS, PSYCHOLOGY, SPIRITUALTY, SCIENCE, etc. so what I am working with is going back to the original unity.
but you are quite right. What you call what you do effects how people relate to the work. If you label the work as POLITICAL, it puts the work into a very rigid frame. People know how to deal with it, how to dismiss it, how to deball it. But if you label it as ART, the frame is much more flexible, the possibilities are more dangerous, less easy to control or to absorb into the Combine.
I don’t see it as attacking the audience [I don’t really see them as “the audience “]. I am leading a journey outside of boxes of comfort zones [which seems to be the latest buzz phrase for uptight!] if that attacks, shocks, offends, whatever, I’m willing to deal with it. But that is not my intention [except when somebody asks for it!.
You are quite right. there are words which attract people to the work. They keep changing as the culture changes. There was a time when nobody had heard of performance art. But they were in to PERSONAL GROWTH and RELATIONSHIPS. So I presented the work in that context. When PERFORMANCE ART hit, it was performance art. When SHAMANISM was the fad, goddamn if it wasn’t shamanism! I’m flexible! But really the work has stayed rooted to the core. It always has rubbed the frames the wrong way, pushing beyond taboos.
you are also right to ask about how the people who think of themselves as artists and /or spiritual in some formal sense fare in the altered transformation realities within the performances. Typically historically these two groups have a much harder time than the normal Joe /Jane who just came in to play with no idea of what that means. Artists and “spiritual” people tend to have pictures coming in of who they want to be seen as, of what SHOULD happen, etc. And they can’t give up those pictures even temporarily for the performance! But old Joe and Jane can…. Which of course freaks the glamorous types out even more.
have you read my ART OF A SHAMAN at http://www.eroplay.com/Cave/ArtShaman/artsham.html ? In it I go into these issues more deeply.
please tell me what you think… And ask more questions!
In Freedom,
Frank Moore
