Today I have been working hard, preparing for tomorrow. Tomorrow I will begin running a couple of workshops exploring the Vorticism movement from the early 20th century and seeing if it has performance applications. This project is a big blank open space with few specifically defined outcomes. It is pure research and exploration, and this makes it rather scary.
In my typical fashion, I combat that fear with cramming and over preparation. To give you an idea, I started the day painting a swirling spiral on two pieces of butchers paper. I have printed out multiple copies of a summary of stimuli I sent to my participants and signage. I have also spent the last four hours googling. Some of my searches include:
Cantos by Ezra Pound
Images of vortices
How are whirlpools made
How are cyclones made
How are fire vortices made
Meisner technique
The Meisner technique might seem an odd one. One of my volunteer participants was telling me he has some acting colleagues who are currently doing Meisner sensory work who might want to participate. I was looking it up to find out if it compatible with what we are investigating. It kind of is. It seems Meisner is about the actor experiencing the real emotion, not calling on previously experienced emotion. That truth, or 'primary pigment' as Pound would say, is definitely in line with what Vorticism is about.
One of the fascinating challenges will be how to respect and evidence the old in the creation of the new. I know it sounds contradictory, but Vorticism is not about destruction and wiping away everything in it's path. It is about using the frictions of the past to continue to create generative energy which is used to create the future. The energy is not fully spent though...I think...:s
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