Introduction:
Philip Auslander is probably one of the finest exponents of avant garde theatre who may be found living today. He has worked in several theatres over the world and in this interview with Performance Paradigm he delves into contemporary styles of theatre in the context of a constantly developing world of art and communication.
Auslander addresses the issues of performance in a constantly changing world. He talks about the importance of Matthew Barney’s Cremaster Cycle which he describes as ‘one of the most important performance artists working today’. Auslander talks about the importance of endurance art in the context of performance space and other drama issues and how Barney creates performance based activities in his pieces which are actually very much rooted in task based performances. Live art seems to be very much part and parcel of Auslander’s preoccupation drama wise.
Auslander also talks about the possible influence of multimedia technologies on traditional drama forms. According to the interview, he seems to think that there is much less of an influence on actors than on dancers in the theatre context. He asserts that a dancer ‘no longer has to be possessed of a physically present human body but can be a real body dancing elsewhere’. This intriguing concept demonstrates that although dance has not changed much, technology can take it onto another level.
Auslander then goes on to take on how the media and in particular, television has affected performance art and how drama is actually portrayed on TV. He cites the particular example of the Rodney King trial where a videotape was shown in slow motion to emphasise the actual brutality of the beatings. He then describes a mediatised body as an anaesthetised body which is another hugely interesting concept as this actually means that the body transcends its cultural inscriptions.
The interview continues with an appraisal of Sergei Shutov’s play ‘Abacus’ which was performed at the Venice Bienalle in 2001. Here Auslander goes into great detail on the installation which consisted of around forty figures draped in black and who talked out loud in several languages actually representing a large multitude of faiths and beliefs. He then explains that the figures were not actually human but mechanized robots so the message of the performance so to speak was that the prayer was robotic and with a human soul whilst the humans were going around doing their daily chores. Auslander believes that this is an extremely powerful message in view of the current conflicts in the world. He puts forward the highly controversial theory that mechanised surrogates can chant prayer whilst their human counterparts concentrate on other worldly things.
Auslander then continues assessing various international conflicts in a drama context most notably the Gulf War where the first is described as a war without bodies while the second featured the torture images from the Abu Ghraib prison. He delves into the human drama which was portrayed in the media and how this singularly affected American perception of the war and its gruesome physical effects as well as brutalization of soldiers who carried out unimaginable acts which they wouldn’t have dream they could do.
References:
References
Schechner, Richard, 1982. The End of Humanism: Writings on Performance. NewYork: Performing Arts Journal Publications
Philip Auslander and Edward Scheer, After Liveness. An E-Interview' in Performance Paradigm Journal of Performance and Contemporary Culture #1 March 2005 (online at http://www.performanceparadigm.net/)
Auslander, Philip (1992). Presence and Resistance: Postmodernism and Cultural politics in Contemporary American Performance. Ann Arbour: University of Michigan Press. pp. P. 64–65, 78–79.
