TWENTY SOMETHING by Ishi Dinim
There is something profound about experiencing firsthand, three live
performances in a 24-hour period. I felt juiced by participating in
living, breathing art.
One friend danced her graduation work: Rhythmic gestures with intense
exertion masked in effortless, deliberate, focused movements across
a floor. Another friend, acting without reserve in a large theatre
production, gave himself entirely to the life of a fictional character,
allowing the line between fantasy and reality to blur empathetically
for the audience.
My other friends used a cappella, beat box, rap and poetry to share
musically their potent perspectives around culture, humanity and
politics. They all gave of themselves in honest, clear, exhilarating
and energetic works, art that lives only in the experience and memory
of it. I hope to see them share their fresh talents again sometime
soon.
I witnessed their unique and temporary displays; no media could
relay a proper representation, these words included. I love art
in every form. This idea of being there for the thing in real life
does not take anything away from art as an object.
As a mainly visual artist I make objects without an expiry date.
A lingering sense of what the moment was like is possible. Images
have a powerful function, a capacity to stir our imaginations and
make us feel as if we had been there.
They act as a surrogate reality. For instance, the pictures coming
out of the Mid-East are making moments, of which I have no experience
here in Vancouver, very real for me. I need to see the marches in
the streets, civilian victims, the caskets and prison abuse.
Empty speeches about democracy, justice, and those who hate our
way of life leave me fuzzy and angry.
Where are the images to accompany the claim that Iraq is free?
The burden of tortured prisoners wouldn’t have registered
on our radar screen if not for the power of photos. The sick feeling
of seeing a helpless man decapitated cannot be fully communicated
in a news report. I wish that these horrible acts never happened
but it is only proof that many and far more deleterious acts pass
in a real way with no record, save for the memories of people in
attendance.
I am privileged to live in a place where I can watch intense performances
that are free from real violence. The amount of pain that people
live with each day is alien for most people in our society. I hope
we never know in real terms how it feels to suffer the atrocities
commonplace to so many of our brothers and sisters worldwide. How
can we change the situation? Walking for peace, creating art to
share ideas, lobbying government and losing the hate. I will if
you do.
They said:
Peace is not a relationship of nations. It is a condition of
mind brought about by a serenity of soul. Peace is not merely the
absence of war. It is also a state of mind. Lasting peace can come
only to peaceful people.
- Jawaharlal Nehru
The defining function of the artist is to cherish consciousness.
- Max Eastman
The arts are an even better barometer of what is happening
in our world than the stock market or the debates in congress.
- Hendrik Willem Van Loon
Love is a force more formidable than any other. It is invisible,
it cannot be seen or measured, yet it is powerful enough to transform
you in a moment, and offer you more joy than any material possession
could.
-Barbara De Angelis
The past isn’t dead; it isn’t even past.
-William Faulkner
Computer:
www.ratm.com/new2/peltier_ftaa.html
http://michaelmoore.com/words/index.php
http://misnomer.dru.ca
www.thememoryhole.org/
Ishi graduated from Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design
in 2001, with a BFA major in photography. He enjoys experiencing
art, especially writing and film. Currently he lives in Vancouver
cooking up some good lovin’, collecting cacti and trying to
discover the meaning of life. contactishi@yahoo.ca
waiting to hear echoes back…
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