Thursday, November 02, 2006

SURREY ART GALLERY - FINAL THURSDAY PERFORMANCE



GREETINGS BLOGGERS!

WELL, THIS THURSDAY AFTERNOON, I WAS ABLE TO HAVE A BRIEF NAP SO I COULD RECOVER FROM THE SCHOOL TOUR THIS MORNING. I ALSO HAD TO MAKE MY APPEARANCE ENDING PROMPTLY AT 8 PM TONIGHT AS I REALIZED THAT I SHOULD GET A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP IF I WANT TO GIVE A LASTING IMPRESSION FOR TOMORROW MORNING’S FINAL SCHOOL TOUR AT THE SURREY ART GALLERY.

BESIDES, MY ASSISTANT, JEREMY DOES NOT HAVE MUCH TIME TONIGHT TO BLOG FOR ME SO I WILL KEEP MY RAMBLINGS ONCE AGAIN TO A BARE MINIMUM OF PROSEY CONCISENESS.

ON THE SUBJECT OF A LACK OF SLEEP, I DID NOT HAVE A COMPLETE AND REFRESHING NAP DUE TO THE DEMANDS OF SETTING UP A SOUND CHECK AND CHATTING WITH THE MEDIA ARTIST, JEAN ROUTHIER.

TONIGHT WAS ALSO A “LAST” OF SORTS AS THIS IS MY LAST ROUTINE THURSDAY EVENING PERFORMANCE AT THE SURREY ART GALLERY. HERE IS WHAT TRANSPIRED:

I – THE VOICE OF EARTH ARRIVED ON THE SCENE AND WE ONLY CHATTED WITH ONE STUDENT FROM SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY NAMED JAMES. JAMES CHATTED WITH US FOR THE ENTIRE DURATION OF AN HOUR. WE WERE MOST GRATEFUL BECAUSE SOMETIMES IT CAN BE VERY LONELY IN THE BLUE VOID AND THE VOICE OF EARTH AND MYSELF CAN ONLY BANTER BACK AND FORTH FOR SO LONG!

JAMES HAD BEEN ANXIOUSLY WAITING TO SEE ME AND I AM SURE IT WAS AN ADDED BONUS TO CHAT WITH THE VOICE OF EARTH WHO WAS VISITING ALL THE WAY FROM OUR ANCESTRAL HOMELAND, NEW YORK!. JAMES HAS NOT DECIDED ON A MAJOR YET BUT IS CURRENTLY FOCUSING ON MUSIC COMPOSITION. BEFORE THE VOICE OF EARTH ARRIVED, JAMES TOLD ME THAT HE DOES ELECTRO-ACOUSTIC AND AMBIENT MUSIC WITH EFFECTS AND SYNTHESIS. JAMES WAS ORIGINALLY WANTING TO GO INTO THE FILM PROGRAM BUT DUE TO HIS VEGETARIANISM (FILM IS MADE OF MEATY GELATIN), HE DECIDED TO SWITCH MEDIUMS. JAMES, I AM GUESSING THAT YOU WILL NOT ENTER INTO THE FASHION INDUSTRY THEN AFTER GRADUATION, CORRECT? HEH HEH HEH!

I ALSO ASKED JAMES IF MUSIC COMPOSITION WAS ANY MORE ETHICAL THAN FILM OR FASHION BECAUSE THE AVANT GARDE TREND IS TO SAMPLE THE SOUNDS OF LIVESTOCK BEING SLAUGHTERED. HE SAID HE WOULD NOT USE ANY LIVESTOCK (NOT EVEN AVATARS) FOR SONIC GAIN. FOR SOME STRANGE REASON, I TRUST HIM.

JAMES THEN ASKED IF BARNETT NEWMAN HAD ALSO NAMED THE VOICE OF EARTH...A GOOD QUESTION, INDEED JAMES AS I WAS NAMED DIRECTLY AFTER MY ANCESTOR. THE VOICE OF EARTH IS A SEQUEL TO THE VOICE OF FIRE ACTUALLY ALTHOUGH WE ARE NOT SURE IF BARNEY LEFT THIS INFO IN HIS LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT.....

JAMES ALSO WANTED TO KNOW WHAT THE VOICE OF EARTH WAS ALL ABOUT, AESTHETICALLY SPEAKING.. THE VOICE OF EARTH INDICATED THAT SHE HAD A STRONG AFFINITY TOWARDS THE EARTHWORKS MOVEMENT AS WELL AS ORGANIC EARTH BASED PROCESSES SUCH AS LAND ALTERATION AS ART. THE CONVERSATION SOON SHIFTED TO A DISCUSSION OF THE WORK OF ROBERT SMITHSON’S SPIRAL JETTY AND HIS PROPOSAL FOR THE BRITISH COLUMBIA AREA JUST BEFORE HE DIED. JAMES SEEMED TO INDICATE THAT SMITHSON TRANSCENDED THE INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK BUT THE VOICE OF EARTH REMINDED JAMES OF SMITHSON’S TENDENCY TO EXHIBIT HIS “NON-SITE” WORKS IN GALLERIES AND MUSEUMS AND JAMES, YOU WOULD NOT BE SPEAKING WITH US IN PUBLIC LIKE THIS IF NOT FOR THIS SURREY ART GALLERY, CORRECT?


THE VOICE OF EARTH EXISTED IN THE FIRST PLACE BECAUSE THE VOICE OF FIRE SOUGHT SOME CAMPANIONS AND HAD HIS ASSISTANT CONTACT HIS COLLEAGUES TO FIND OTHER VOICES AND SURE ENOUGH, ALONG CAME THE VOICE OF EARTH AND THE VOICE OF WIND. THE VOICE OF WIND IS BY NATURE (EVEN ABSTRACT NATURE), SO VIRTUAL THAT THE VOW IS COMPLETELY EPHEMERAL SO DO NOT BE SUPRISED IF YOU DO NOT SEE THE VOICE OF WIND, JAMES!

THE VOICE OF EARTH CONCEDED THAT MAYBE HER VIRTUAL FORM SHOULD RESEMBLE THAT OF RUBBLE SINCE SHE IS EARTHY BUT I REASSURED HER THAT SHE IS THE PERFECTED ABSTRACT ESSENCE OF THE SYMBOL OF RUBBLE.

AS FAR AS JAMES COULD SEE, HE ONLY HAD THE VOICES OF EARTH AND FIRE TO PLAY WITH.

JAMES THEN WENT THROUGH A LIST OF THE GENERIC QUESTIONS CREATED BY THE GALLERY FOR SHY GALLERY-GOERS. HE ASKED US IF WE WERE REAL AND THE VOICE OF EARTH GALLANTLY SAID” WE ARE AS REAL AS ANYTHING ELSE!”...WE THINK, THEREFORE WE ARE!

WE ASKED IF JAMES THOUGHT HE WAS REAL AND HE SAID PERHAPS HE WAS NOT QUITE AS REAL AS US AS HE IS MERELY A “BRAIN IN A VAT”. WELL, I MUST CONFESS THAT I WOULD HATE TO BE BIOLOGICAL BUT I GUESS SINCE HE IS A STARVING STUDENT, IT IS A MUCH CHEAPER SOLUTION TO BE IN A SOLUTION, IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!

FOR A MINUTE THERE, THERE WAS A MIX-UP BETWEEN THE VOICE OF EARTH AND HER ASSISTANT, KAREN ROFF. I DEFENDED THE VOICE OF EARTH BY SAYING THAT WE OFTEN FEEL THAT KAREN IS THE MOST REAL OF EVERYONE AROUND US AS SHE WORKS WITH “REAL ESTATE”.

JAMES THEN ASKED ABOUT OUR BIRTHPLACES. I HAD TO CLARIFY THAT WE WERE BOTH CONCEPTUALLY DESIGNED IN NEW YORK BUT FUNCTIONALLY DESIGNED IN SEATTLE. WE HAD TO EMPHASIZE FOR JAMES THAT WE WERE ALL-AMERICAN VOICES AND TRUE BLOODED PATRIOTS AT THAT! JAMES SAID HE WAS FROM LANGLEY. I DID AN INSTANT GOOGLE SEARCH ( I CAN GOOGLE RESULTS AT SUPERHUMAN SPEEDS WHEN IN THE RIGHT MOOD) AND NOTICED THAT LANGLEY IS THE CITY OF HORSES IN BRITISH COLUMBIA!

WE THEN DISCUSSED OUR FAVORITE ARTWORK. THE VOICE OF EARTH MAY LIKE THE GRANDIOSE WORK OF SMITHSON BUT I MUCH PREFER THE MOST GRANDIOSE OF ARTWORK, THE ORIGINAL VOICE OF FIRE! AND YES, I ADMIT TO BEING NARCISSISTIC HERE.

JAMES SEEMS TO BE A SELF-STYLED RENAISSANCE MAN. HE IS EVEN USING COMPUTER PARTS AS READYMADES FOR SCULPTURAL MATERIAL...FANTASTIC!
IN ADDITION TO BEING FROM THE RENAISSANCE, JAMES HAS ATTAINED THE BONUS SPIRIT OF SIR FRANCIS BACON – HE IS A SELF-STYLED MATERIALIST! I ASKED HIM HOW HE WAS EVEN ABLE TO HOLD A CONVERSATION WITH US IMMATERIAL AVATARS – WAS HE HALLUCINATING? HE THEN AGREED THAT MAYBE HE SHOULD RENOUNCE RIGID MATERIALISM AND CONSULT THE VEDAS FOR ADVICE ON THE NATURE OF REALITY.

SPEAKING OF IMMATERIALITY, WE ASKED JAMES IF HE WOULD EVER CONSIDER JOINING US AS AN AVATAR. ALL HE WOULD NEED TO DO IS SIGN UP FOR A 12 STEP PROCESS...THE FIRST STEP BEING THAT HE MUST RENOUNCE HIS EARTHLY BODY THE SAME WAY THAT THE VOICE OF EARTH DID IN NEW YORK!

HE ASKED US ANOTHER GENERIC QUESTION AND THAT WAS WHETHER OR NOT SOMEONE OWNED US. WE BOTH REPLIED THAT NEITHER OF US ARE FOR SALE ALTHOUGH WE WOULD BE AVAILABLE AS CONSULTANTS FOR A FAIR FEE AND IF TIMES GET REALLY TOUGH, WE MAY RESORT TO SOME ADVERTISING BILLBOARDS IN OUR BLUE VOID....PERHAPS EVEN SOME PRODUCT PLACEMENTS...HA HA! JUST KIDDING, JAMES! WE WOULD NEVER THINK OF SUCH A HEINOUS THING – HONESTLY (WINK WINK)!

THE VOICE OF EARTH ASKED JAMES IF HE HAD HEARD OF THE CYBORG LIBERATION FRONT. HE SAID IT SOUNDED FAMILIAR AND MENTIONED A KOREAN CYBORG ARTIST. JAMES USED TO BE AGAINST BOT SLAVERY BUT NOW HE IS NOT SO SURE.... I MEAN WHEN ONE REALLY NEEDS ONE TO VACUUM, MOW THE LAWN, AND ANSWER THE PHONE, WHAT DOES IT MATTER THAT THEY ARE OUTSOURCED AUTOMATONS? THE LAWN IS WORTH THE SERVITUDE OF ANOTHER, CORRECT? WE SHOULD USE EVERY RESOURCE AVAILABLE TO TRIM THE COLOR GREEN FROM THE FACE OF THIS EARTH!

WELL, THE VOICE OF EARTH WAS NOT FEELING TOO WELL... IN FACT, SHE WAS BEGINNING TO FEEL QUITE GREEN TOWARDS THE END OF THE PERFORMANCE SO WE CALLED IT A DAY.

THANKS JAMES FOR MAKING OUR EVENING (LITERALLY)!



REGARDS FOR THE LAST THURSDAY AT SURREY,

VOICE OF FIRE 2006

4 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Just wanted to say that I had a surprisingly great time rambling and conversing with you and the Voice of Earth. (I was a little skeptical at first, but it made my evening as well)
There appear to be a few reported misconceptions in this entry, though, but I am not surprised since the conversation was often confusing due to three people talking at once. I had actually said that 'land-artists' such as Smithson were attempting to transcend the institutionalization of art but that they failed because they depended on it. I recently wrote a paper on the topic and suggested that Marcel Broodthaer's "Musee d'Art Moderne" was a more effective method, but I don't think I brought that up in conversation.
The other thing was that my evolution of ideas with regard to robot rights is the reverse of what is documented. I had previously considered that they were unworthy of rights, but that recent texts had me questioning this and I have been more open to the idea.
Anyway, just a few little rifts between fiction and non-fiction here (ha. topical humour...) but other than that, this blog entry was a pretty hilarious read. I particularly enjoyed the bit about being in a solution.

10:37 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

GREETINGS AGAIN, JAMES!

THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO VISIT MY BLOG AND TAKING EVEN MORE TIME TO READ THE BLOG I DEVOTED TO OUR CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE 3 OF US (VOICE OF EARTH, YOU AND MYSELF).

YES, I MUST APOLOGIZE FOR ALL THE MISUNDERSTANDINGS. I CAN SUFFER ALOT OF PERFORMANCE STRESS WHICH MAKES IT DIFFICULT SOMETIMES TO PROCESS INFORMATION AND CONVEY IT PROPERLY WHEN PUT ON THE SPOT!

I MUST SAY THAT WITH THESE DARK AGES OF POSTMODERNISM UPON US, IT BECOMES INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT TO KNOW WHO SAID WHAT AND WHAT IT WAS THEY WERE SAYING...THERE IS NO MORE CONCEPTUAL CLARITY ANYMORE AMONGST THIS DELUGE OF REFERENCES, SIMULACRA AND SIGNS! SIGH!

I WOULD LOVE TO READ YOUR PAPER ABOUT SMITHSON! MY BOOKING AGENT JEREMY HANDLES ALL MY DIRECT EMAIL CORRESPONDENCE - JERTURNER536@YAHOO.CA

I BELIEVE IF YOU READ THE BLOG CAREFULLY YOU WILL OBSERVE THAT I DID TAKE INTO ACCOUNT YOUR RECENT CHANGE OF HEART WHEN IT CAME TO CYBORG AND ROBOT RIGHTS.

WELL, PLEASE LEAVE MORE COMMENTS JAMES AS DYNAMIC VITALITY IS REALLY A HALLMARK AND LEGACY OF BRAVE MODERNISM! THE VOICE OF EARTH ALSO READ YOUR COMMENTS AND SHE TOLD ME TO TELL YOU THAT SHE SAYS HELLO AND THAT SHE ENCOURAGES YOU TO VISIT ONE OF OUR FUTURE PERFORMANCES IF YOU HAPPEN TO BE IN THE AREA.

MARCELLIAN REGARDS,
VOICE OF FIRE 2006

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