artć + societate / arts + society #38, 2011 20 lei / 11 €, 14 USD - idea

Tim Etchells
Wait Here, neon sign, 2008
scena
key and impalpable presence. It spread outside the capital and
ended up involving huge sections of the population, only to eventually
disappear and fall into oblivion. Despite having functioned as an
important social valve at a time of widespread poverty and desperation,
the movement did not rely on infrastructures, leaders or print
literature. It existed in the transience of the spoken word and in the
willingness to reach out and help other individuals without expecting
anything in exchange, if not the betterment of the spirits of other
members of a large and mobile metropolitan community. Wilson’s
suave voice and delicate rhythm of delivery carried spectators
through her presentation in a state of mesmerized incredulity mixed
with an irresistible willingness to believe. Undoubtedly, there was
something incredibly charming and inspiring in the idea that a middle-age,
plumpish and sweetly smiling lady, while selling a bouquet
of flowers, could inspire fellow citizens to do a simple action that
might improve their daily life, while spreading the contagious desire
to help and advise others. The simple but powerful message seemed
to be that, at a moment of crisis, change should not necessarily be
looked for in vast and unilaterally imposed implementations, but can
more naturally germinate in minor, even imperceptible changes in
the attitude and behaviour of thousands. Wilson’s piece can undoubtedly
be analysed in terms of the increasingly popular format of the
lecture-performance. As such, it is a hybrid form of theatrical and
academic styles of writing and forms of delivery. The artist illustrates
her narrative projecting images on a screen and a small table functions
as a desk alluding to an academic setting. Moreover, the piece
follows one of the criteria highlighted by Marianne Wagner in her
appraisal of the particular format: “In the lecture performance halfknowledge,
invention and fiction in the treatment of truth play a fundamental
role“. 1 In fact, the piece is based on a meticulous activity
of research, but the result could hardly be described in terms of
knowledge production. In the last decades, artists educated in art
and drama schools have seen their curriculum expanded to include
a growing number of subjects, critical studies and philosophical references.
These same artists now seem to be producing a growing
number of works that raise questions about what institutions have
come to expect from their engagement with such knowledge.
Undoubtedly, artists seem more interested in fictional re-elaboration,
indiscriminate quotation and collage-like juxtaposition than
scholarly research and knowledge production.
Another fascinating and thought-provoking work presented as part
of Public Disinformation was Cally Spooner’s Piece for a Pending
Performance. Differently from most of her previous works, the artist
did not take part in the performance of the piece and, given the
experimental nature of the commission, she took the opportunity
to try out a new text conceived as a monologue for an actor: Tom
Stewart. The piece commences with the actor entering the scene,
holding a tiny suitcase. There is no stage or elevated platform for the
actor to step out onto. He puts down his case, opens it, and extracts
his only prop: a small black mat, which he lies down and stands on.
The square object demarcates the actor’s territory from the space of
the audience. Despite the fact that its colour prevents the attribution
of any specific connotation, the mat seems to symbolise something
between a speaker’s corner and the carpet that a magician or street
performer would use to demarcate the space of his public appearance,
hoping to attract an audience and its kind contribution.
The performer’s grey suit and his rhetoric, mixing ardour with a fast
and relentless delivery, would suit equally well a determined salesperson
or an enthusiastic young politician. As it is often the case with
Spooner’s work, the piece was developed around the personality
and stage presence of the actor, if not in a direct collaboration with
him. Nevertheless, the text offers itself as a reflexive analysis and
potential parody of the life and struggle of a young artist who is
fundamentally reinforcing and implicitly questioning at least three
major issues: her position within the art world; the provisionally fash-
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