Hannah Buckley

Experimental?

Published Saturday, 21 March, 2009 | Comments

On Wednesday me and Issie (a third year NSCD, as well as my friend an flat mate) went to the launch of 'Live Art' magazine, a guide to live art in Yorkshire.

To be honest the launch its self wasn't so great. But we did learn some about a nice arts space really close to our house, where the launch was hosted, that we didn't know existed!

It was a good networking chance. Although I feel my efforts where some what diminished by the distraction caused by the buffet, or more specifically the profiteroles. But during this limited networking session I did get asked on interesting question. 'Would you describe your work as experimental?'

Now there's a question. And to be honest I found it hard to answer. For one the concept of me making 'work' seems laughable at this student stage of my development. And its all about the context. I guess in school a may be seen as a little more experimental (saying that seems pretentious and egotistical but hey, I did say 'may'). Where as when I consider if I am 'experimental' I compare my self to the extremes of work I've seen and would say no. I'm not.

Secondly I don't aim to be 'experimental', or 'conventional' for the matter. (Does anyone? I guess some do). I take an idea and try to communicate it. However that may be.

The question was quite interesting. It made me think about myself as an artist, and also what it means to be 'experimental'.

And I guess that's what part of the student process is. Defining who you are in artistic terms. Defining your likes and dislikes.

  • Sebastian Bechinger-English

    I have asked this question myself and come to the following conclusion (as much as I dislike conclusions):

    All good creative work is experiemental.

    On some level anyway.

    To experiment means to take an idea, and you play with it - pick it apart, put it back to together. You experiment with it.

    Can you tell me one occasion when you've engaged in the act of Choreographic composition and it's outcome was exactly as you expected it first time? When you haven't had to change your original idea slightly (or not so slightly), or stick with something slightly (or not so slightly) different from what you had imagined.

    Now the time-scale of this may vary; it may happen very quickly, or it may be an extended period of development. However, the process has a fundamentally similar basis in play (or experimentation).

    Not to experiment, is simply to fall back on formulas that you know; which while useful, don't make for work that is neccesarily creative.

    When embarking on a creative process, you know where the start of the journey is, but not neccesarily the end point (regardless of whatever expectations you start with); and if you do know the end point, you don't neccesarily know the journey to get there. In order to discover the end point, or the path, you embark on a process of... well... discovery - which you must experiment to find.

    Inventing new forms is good, but that doesn't mean that you can't use old ones either. One of my biggest lessons this year has been the idea that "There is no box." Or rather that there is, it's just that to be exclusively outside of the box is as limiting as being inside of it.

    Now here's where language get's sticky.

    The word "experimental" has been used to refer to anything "post-modern", "contemporary", "non-commercial" etc. etc. etc.

    This use of language, whilst often accurate, neglects the fact that a lot of "experimental" work is actually falling back on old formulas and is creatively very dry; and that a lot of "conventional" work actually has had a lot of experimentation gone into making it.

    Form and process gets mixed up; resulting in certain words refering only to certain forms.

    Is it possible, perhaps, to have a piece of experimental musical theatre; or a conventional 24 hour performance instalation?

    And we're left where we're started - with words in our mouth we want to say, but without the certainty of how we're going to say them.

    I hope this makes some sense to you.

    Good Luck

    Sebastian Bechinger-English (Mythologist/Bamboo Thief/Mime Artist/1st Year Choreography Student)

  • hannahbuckley

    Hi Sebastian,

    thank you very much for your comment! i totally agree, its not about dismissing either 'experimental' or 'conventional', its about using what is appropriate to your work, an of course like you say everything is 'experimental' in some way.

    just one question how do you steal bamboo?

  • "just one question how do you steal bamboo?"

    We know that one............... tie the Panda's paws together?

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