From: Ed Atkeson <edatkeson-AT-earthlink.net>
Date: Sat, 15 Sep 2007 22:30:31 -0400
To: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org
Subject: Re: [Puptcrit] "Art for Art's sake"


m: OK, but "willing to chance that the work may not be liked or  
understood" is NOT the same as "total disregard of what anybody else  
thinks about the content of the work". Right? Why make these kinds of  
leaps?

Michael:   I dunno.... it all depends on how important it is to an  
artist that what they are expressing is understood by the audience   
as the artist intended it. Generally, I think that its REAL  
important... but  sometimes you just want to dance on the edge, let  
things happen, and not have to be responsible for all that." Total  
disregard , etc., " is the absolute end of the spectrum, with regard  
to just how idiosyncratic do you want to go ?  " Willing to chance,  
etc. " means that one still is quietly hoping at some level that  
somebody might get it.
---------------------------------------------
I think "total disregard" is ok. But that's just me. Sometimes "total  
disregard" is the best thing for them.

There's a piece where I wear 150 lbs of stones and give a lecture on  
how to make the device, how to find and drill the stones, etc., all  
very deadpan -- it's funny. The last time I did it, at the end a lady  
called out, "but what does it mean?" I had thought about this  
situation coming up, and was able to say, "this what I call the  
"first question" and it's a good one."

Let them figure it out. To me the piece is packed with meaning, but I  
don't want to cheat them out of the experience, or cheat them out of  
their own interpretation (which may be better than mine), or even to  
think that they "get it" in some simple way. It's more complex than  
that. I think the piece is most powerful when they go home thinking,  
"what the hell?"

I love all the posts! Everyone has his/her take on this stuff. With  
puppetry there's something for everyone, it's so broad and varied,  
every show is different.
best,
Ed

In "Rhinoceros" there are parts where five or six characters are all  
talking at once, simultaneous conversations. After we got the hang of  
reading over top of one another, I told the readers that if they  
didn't think they were being understood to talk louder! It is havoc!  
and it's one of my favorite parts of the show. No one can understand  
anything. 
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