Two of the practitioners we studied this week were Shia LaBeouf (yes, the guy from Even Stevens) and Whoopi Goldberg (yes, she played a nun that one time). The thing that intrigued me the most with these two artists was:
1) How different their work was when compared to one another
2) Their backgrounds and how they got into making performance/performance art
Goldberg, in the early stages of her career, created the stand-up character Fontaine. The key focus of her work as Fontaine was to “teach the audience a major aspect of black arts” (Breward, 2013, 96). Goldberg, akin to Tim Miller who I had previously researched, presents issues and stereotypes placed upon an ‘Othered’ community. Fontaine is an embodiment of cultural stereotypes placed upon black women – it is notable that she has a PhD, which contradicts the opinion that an ‘African-American pimp” (Breward, 2013, 96) cannot be educated and have a cultural opinion.
LaBeouf, as opposed to Goldberg, is more about creating his image as a performance artist rather than making a socio-political statement/reiteration. Taking inspiration from Marina Abramovic’s Rhythm 0, he placed a bag above his head and sat at a desk waiting for people to bring apparatus in with them. Unlike the roaring critical feedback Goldberg achieved with her Fontaine character, LaBeouf was labelled a ‘fraud’ and accused of creating a performance that “stinks of bad art” (Jones, 2014).
It is interesting, therefore, how perceptions of the media are influenced by their background. Goldberg went from Broadway performances to a shining Hollywood career. In opposition to this, LaBeouf went from the fresh-faced and lovable character he played in Even Stevens to a performance artist. The conclusion I took from the way in which the media have treated LaBeouf’s attempts to create performance art is that involvement in Hollywood creates a background and symbol for an individual, one which can therefore not be broken once formed. This ‘symbol’ can be related to other individuals within the media – Beyoncé is labelled as a pro-feminism individual, whether as Piers Morgan is viewed as the antithesis of this. If either of these individuals were to go against their archetype, it is seen as problematic. LaBeouf, in trying to create a seemingly artistic work based upon Abramovic’, is ridiculed for his attempt.
Ridicule and speculative behaviour are not uncommon amongst celebrities and this is something that influenced me to research Illuminati speculation in pop culture. Within the conspiracy, celebrities who have created an archetype of being a ‘superstar’ are trivialised by the media as being part of the Illuminati group.
Analysing the two practitioners, as well as my own interest in the portrayal of pop-culture phenomenon’s, has influenced the direction in which I feel I will take my work. Rather than present the conspiracy theory as something to be feared, I feel it would be of better comedic-value to poke fun at the ridiculous nature of some of the claims.
WANT: To beginning writing my opening section. Based upon the works of the two practitioners, as well as my previous blog post, I know I want to use projection/screen in some way to poke fun at representations of Illuminati conspiracy in pop culture. To do this, I will create a suitable mood board for the images and then work on writing a comedic piece to juxtapose seemingly dark images.
LEARNT: 1) Hollywood places a stigma on celebrities breaching their given archetype
2) The use of archetypes in performance could be an effective way of creating comedy
3) Wider issues can be discussed through the lens of a comedic performance – a la Goldberg using Fontaine to discuss stereotyping of POC.
EXPERIENCE: I was surprised to find such merit in the work of LaBeouf, as I had previously labelled him in the same vein that the media had. However, closer inspection of the work highlighted a somewhat educated manner to his performance, using the basis of experienced practitioners to create a topical performance. Certainly a pleasant surprise. My experience with this work has inspired me to further research my topic, as well as hone in the tone I want for my solo piece.
Works Cited
Breward, L. (2013) Whoopi Goldberg on Stage and Screen. North Carolina: MacFarland & Co.
Jones, J. (2014) Shia LaBeouf’s #IAmSorry: art is often violent, but nothing can excuse rape. The Guardian. Accessible at ttps://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/dec/01/alleged-rape-of-shia-labeouf-is-inexcusable-but-so-is-bad-art [Accessed 9th March 2014]