Performing The World

In her poem ‘Life on Hold’ poet Wislawa Szymborska writes:

I know nothing of the role I play.
I only know it's mine. I can't exchange it.
 
I have to guess on the spot
just what this play's all about.
Life While-You-Wait

Wislawa Szymborska follows on from Shakespeare’s known metaphor of the world being a stage and all of us – the actors. But, what happens when this world, which we already know in its ‘theatrical’ essence, is brought onto the stage? What is this role exactly that we play? Are we as positive as her that it is indeed ours, and shouldn’t be replaced? These questions and others will be examined in this current issue, dealing with the nature of the performer, as the representor of no other persona but his own.
 
From the broad spectrum of artists and makers who have tried to answer these questions we can see that these questions are not limited to one artistic discipline but are rather present in the processes of artists across the board.
This third issue presents a contemporary and multi-dimensional view of the ‘performer’ phenomenon, and seeks, as is the case in every issue, to provide a platform for a deep and enriching discourse; Hadas Ophrat looks at the differences between performance art and the re/presentation of a character, via his own personal journey within the performance art field. Ira Avneri examines the paradox of ‘performing the self’. Ari Teperberg shares some of his thoughts after Professor Richard Schechner’s visit to Israel.

Yair and Hila Vardi examine the question of the ‘auteur’ in Jerome Bel’s work, especially his solos series, all of which are based on the performer and their personal narrative. Sharon Zuckerman looks at the changes that occurred in contemporary art-making processes, as well as the blurring of reality and fantasy following her work with Flemish director Jan Decorte. Boaz Arad presents a series of images form his work. The Flies on The Wall, Ran Brown and Inbal Yaacobi are eavesdropping on a conversation between Nava Frenkel, Alit Kreize and Rotem Tashach. Their conversation centres on dramaturgical conceptions, processes that involve performers who do not represent fictional characters, as a common practice they all share. Hillel Kogan discusses the obvious clichés often attributed to performers and points at a few critical questions. In the

In the "Praktika" editorial you can find information on schools, festivals, residencies, competitions and collaborative opportunities. This is also an opportunity to encourage you, the readers, to share relevant information.

From Hebrew: Sivan Gabrielovich - Gal

Cover image: Boaz Arad, Untitled.
From his series The Performer, featured in the Visual Correspondence editorial.