Process: Motivated aimlessness

Since I was working in Ottawa, I was able to attend le Centre national des Arts for the unveiling of Le Théâtre français’ 2010-2011 season by artistic director Wajdi Mouawad. Winnipeg artist Diana Thorneycroft’s work was selected to accompany a new roster of programming centered around the idea of kitsch as a "normalization" process — Le kitsch nous mange. The next day I attended Rencontres du midi, a discussion between Mouawad and the Théâtre français’ previous artistic director Denis Marleau (2000-2007). Felt privileged to be able to listen in, as I only knew Marleau’s work by reputation, particularly Théâtre Ubu and Les aveugles (2002). As of yet, I still had not seen his work in representation.

It was a very generous exchange and at one point, keeping to the idea which underlines the 2009-2010 season (Nous sommes en manque), Wajdi asked Marleau « qu'est-ce qui lui manque? »

Loosely paraphrased:

Marleau a répondu qu’il y a un manque d’intercesseurs. Il y a un sentiment dans le monde occidental que nous sommes isolés, laissés à soi-même. Il y a un manque de rencontre, de dialogue sur la création. Nous sommes dans un monde axé sur la performance, hypermédiatisé et qui valorise la communication, mais qui révèle en même temps un manque de véritable dialogue.

Il lamente la primauté des gestes productifs (en ce qui concerne la rentabilité) aux dépens de la liberté du geste créatif. Il déplore le manque de la valorisation de la recherche en ce moment.

Marleau cherche à vivre une expérience à travers les répétitions, il n’est déjà plus là lors de la représentation. L’œuvre théâtrale ne lui appartient plus. Il valorise le travail de fabrication avec les acteurs.

I took notes during the discussion; his thoughts aligned with my interest in the creative process. That state of not necessarily knowing where you are going, that initial exploratory stage. In a capitalist society, this could indeed be seen as "unproductive time" as you cannot easily make a profit with aimlessness.

It came to me in a flash why I was not satisfied with the Tongue Rug mock-up that I had created in a previous post, as it was too illustrative, more like a theatrical object in a scenic decor. It will serve a specific purpose in the overall project, but if I want to track time, I need more abstract symbols like the Path Map. Lev Manovich’s words in The Anti-Sublime Ideal in Data Art (2002) came to mind.

“For me, the real challenge of data art is not about how to map some abstract and impersonal data into something meaningful and beautiful – economists, graphic designers, and scientists are already doing this quite well. The more interesting and at the end maybe more important challenge is how to represent the personal subjective experience of a person living in a data society. If daily interaction with volumes of data and numerous messages is part of our new “data-subjectivity,” how can we represent the experience in new ways?” (13)

I realized that two previous documentation attempts were more suited to animating the sladdakavring: Tongue Rug I (Google Map) and Tongue Rug I (Blog Posts Table). Though I could easily automate this tracking process, doing the animations by hand is more in tune with the project. I want a slower, more ritualized process as repetitive tasks offers time to reflect. Si je suis en train de documenter mon emploi du temps, il est nécessaire que le rituel lui-même prenne du temps pour aboutir à quelque chose.

Tongue Rug I (Google Map) While this map would track waypoints (tongues) in time, it would also represent the tension between two states (control/lost) — what Manovich termed « arbitrary versus motivated choices in mapping ». (10) My motivated choices include the selection of placenames and my efforts to reach their physical locations; the arbitrary quotient is the haphazard reunification of these names through the process of adoption (Lapalme/Legault/Angerbauer), their random sampling in the landscape and my mishaps in trying to reach their physical locations. And of course, this map is upside down.

Tongue Rug II (Blog Posts Table) While this table would track the posts (tongues) in time, it would also represent the tension between between two states (control/unknown). The rhythm and subject matter of my blog postings reveal my motivated choices, but I have no control over the arbitrary nature of commenting. Potential public interaction becomes the unknown factor.

Is this blogging exercise indicative of Manovich's "data society" or just my feeble attempts to reach some beautiful ideal, to make meaningful representations of my emploi du temps? Or is my aim with Tongue Rug closer to what Marleau talked about in regards to his creative process? An excuse to live an experience. The disquieting but necessary process of not knowing — to tentatively feel my way around through the process of exploration and let the project shape itself. Un processus de découverte au fil de l’eau, en parcourant fleuves, rivières, lacs et ruisseaux.