Performing Revolutionary

Nicole Garneau

Description

The result of five years of practice-based creative research focused on Nicole Garneau’s UPRISING project, Performing Revolutionary presents a number of methods for the creation of politically charged interactive public events in the style of a how-to guide. UPRISING, a series of public demonstrations in eight locations in the United States and five in Europe, involved thousands of voluntary participants who came together to create radical change through performance art. Bringing together accounts by participants, writers, theorists, artists and activists, as well as photographs and critical essays, Performing Revolutionary offers a fresh perspective on the challenges of moving from critique to action.

Introduction

Nicole Garneau

 

UPRISING: Encounters with Revolutionary Unity and Beauty (An Appreciation)

Anne Cushwa

 

UPRISING 

#1

 

Interjection:

Love Letter to Beets

 

UPRISING

#2 - 8

 

Interjection: Remember That Cops are Human Beings

Remember That Cops are Human Beings

 

UPRISING 

#9 - 10

 

Feminist Art Activism and UPRISING

Anne Cushwa

 

UPRISING

#11 - 17

 

Interjection: 

All the Questions

 

UPRISING 

#18 - 31

 

Reflection on UPRISING #31 / Be Active in Service of Struggle

Anne Cushwa

 

UPRISING 

#32 - 38

 

Reflection on UPRISING #38 / Personalize the Revolution

Nicole Coffineau

 

UPRISING 

#39 - 48

 

Be the Touch You Want to Feel: Prefiguring Intimacy in a Time of Deformed Social Relations

Daniel Tucker

 

UPRISING 

#49 - 60

 

Appendix: Where I'm From

Nicole Garneau

Sujets

• Arts visuels
• Arts visuels
• ART
• Allan Kaprow
• General
• Dance
• Activism
• Politics of the United States
• General officer
• Live Art (art form)
• POLITICAL SCIENCE
• Performing Arts
• LGBTQ+ Studies
• Gay Studies

Informations

• Publié par: Intellect Books
• Date de parution: 22 mars 2018
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781783208913
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

First published in the UK in 2018 by
Intellect, The Mill, Parnall Road, Fishponds, Bristol, BS16 3JG, UK
First published in the USA in 2018 by
Intellect, University of Chicago Press,
1427 E. 60th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
Copyright ©2018 Intellect Ltd
Copy-editor: MPS Technologies
Cover image: UPRISING #8. Photo by Tara Malik
Design: Aleksandra Szumlas
Production manager: Amy Rollason
Typesetting: Contentra Technologies
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written consent.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-1-78320-794-7
ePUB ISBN: 978-1-78320-891-3
ePDF ISBN: 978-1-78320-795-4
Printed and bound by Hobbs
This is a peer-reviewed publication.

For my parents, Bonnie and Mo. Endless gratitude!
– Nicole Garneau
Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction
UPRISING: Encounters with Revolutionary Unity and Beauty (An Appreciation) Anne Cushwa
Revolutionary Practice / UPRISING #
Balance Weeks of War with Acts of Love. Turn That into a Working Methodology / #1
Interjection: Love Letter to Beets
Invite Radical Truth Telling / #2
Call for Volunteers. Build a Temporary Ensemble / #3
Claim the Title Activist / #4
Engage the People / #5
Say the Word Revolution / #6
Liberate Our Sexual Encounters / #7
Reflections on UPRISING #7 Sheelah Murthy, Samantha Miller, Coman Poon, Jane Fresne
Occupy Public Spaces Without Permission / #8
Interjection: Remember That Cops Are Human Beings
Support Radicals of Color / #9
Honor Revolutionaries and Revolutionary History / #10
Feminist Art Activism and UPRISING Anne Cushwa
Envision the World in Which We Want to Live / #11
Sing Movement Songs / #12
Make Space for Children / #13
Let Love Help Make the Art / #14
Stop Caring about Whether or Not It Is Corny / #15
Teach! / #16
Ask Questions. Listen Compassionately / #17
Interjection: All the Questions
Respect the Earth and the Beets That Grow in Her / #18
Produce Beautiful Images / #19
Create Our Own Meaningful Ceremonies (And Then Get Called Out for Cultural Appropriation) / #20
Do Not Add More Events to the Calendar / #21
Violate Norms of Time and Space. Participate Virtually / #22
Give Thanks / #23
Bring the Shadow to Light / #24
Sing on Revolution Square / #25
Sweeten the Deal with Cookies / #26
Speak Bravely in Spite of Obstacles / #27
Give Back to the Grass Roots / #28
Share Queer History in Queer Spaces / #29
Put It on a Flag and Send It Out on the Wind / #30
Be Active in Service of Struggle / #31
Reflection on UPRISING #31 Anne Cushwa
Remember the Guidance of Elders / #32
Enact the Kinds of Relationships We Want with Other People / #33
Revolutionize Gender / #34
Keep It Silent and Unobtrusive / #35
Facilitate Rituals of Release / #36
Make the Road by Walking / #37
Personalize the Revolution / #38
Reflection on UPRISING #38 Nicole Coffineau
Sew It by Hand / #39
Re-Enact Revolutionary History / #40
Understand That We Will Never Fit in One Box / #41
Construct Metaphors of Community Repair / #42
Recharge Hearts While Protesting Torture / #43
Use Your Body to Remember Murdered Bodies / #44
Name Your Gifts to the World / #45
When a Youth-Led, Liberatory, Anti-Capitalist Revolutionary Movement Starts, Join Immediately / #46
Leave a Trace / #47
Tap into Parties as Sites of Resistance / #48
Be the Touch You Want to Feel: Prefiguring Intimacy in a Time of Deformed Social Relations Daniel Tucker
Serve Hot Tea to Cold Strangers / #49
Recall Moments When You Believed the World Might Actually Change for the Better / #50
Offer Feathers and Poems to the Wind / #51
Speak Aloud the Places Where Our Clothes Were Made / #52
Tend the Graves of Feminist Revolutionaries / #53
Be a Party Trick / #54
Find a Shaded Spot and Listen to Stories of Economic Crisis / #55
Attempt Impossible Tasks / #56
Share Life’s Glories: Bread and Roses / #57
Dematerialize Performance / #58
Choose Honesty and Sincerity as Aesthetic and Revolutionary Strategies. Avoid Art Jargon. Speak Plainly / #59
Release Material Burdens. Clean Up after Ourselves / #60
Appendix: Where I’m From
Notes on Contributors
Bibliography
Index
Figure 1: A vision of liberation on an embroidered handkerchief in UPRISING #9. Photo by Tara Malik.
Acknowledgements
First and foremost, this book would not exist without UPRISING participants: the volunteer performers, writers, theorists, artists, activists, and random strangers who crossed our paths. This book is my way of discovering what UPRISING meant for me and the community of folks who made it happen. It is my hope that all of the people who participated in UPRISING can receive this book as an expression of genuine gratitude for the ways their bodies and souls fed the work.
The economy of the UPRISING tour and years of book-making were partially supported by my loving parents Bonnie and Emile Garneau, who allow me to store things in their basement, sleep in their guest room, and eat from their fridge in Central Illinois between performances, residencies, and gigs. I received an Artistic Assistance grant from Alternate ROOTS and a Critical Fierceness grant from Chances Dances to support the printing of color images in this book.
As of this writing, I have been someone’s houseguest for most of the last four years. This book was written in Catapult Studios in New Orleans where I lived in the home of MK Wegmann; on a month-long residency at Crosshatch Center for Art & Ecology in northern Michigan; in the Rogers Park condo of Anne Cushwa; looking out at my parents’ backyard pond in Normal, Illinois; while serving as Fairy Worker in Residence with Bob Martin and Carrie Brunk on Clear Creek in Rockcastle County, Kentucky; in Sarah Stigler and Amber Miller’s bunker in Humboldt Park; in Lisa Mount’s artist bunkhouse in Sautee Nacoochee, Georgia; in the Tarburtons’ cabin in Estill County, Kentucky; and on the Collins’ Farm in Printer, Kentucky. The UPRISING project is fueled by economies of generosity.
For several years of UPRISING, I was in a relationship with the artist Ruth Robbins, an excellent photographer who captured many of the UPRISINGs beautifully, and for free. Like many artists, my lovers are drawn into my work. When I think of how the ideas for the UPRISING project came together, before it was even called UPRISING, I remember driving in a rental car with Ruth from Atlanta to New Orleans, on that long, hot strip of Highway 65 that traverses Alabama on the way to Louisiana. As the UPRISING project continued, Ruth’s participation was significant. Having a lover of such artistic brilliance, intellectual depth, conceptual sophistication, and spiritual wisdom inspired me to make UPRISING as ambitious and high quality as I could.
This book also features wonderful images by Carlton Turner, Melisa Cardona, Nick Slie, Uncle Bear, Bailey Ferguson, and Tara Malik.
A positive pressure on the planning/dreaming for UPRISING was the genuine curiosity and gentle support of C.J. Mitchell, then Executive Director of Links Hall, a space for contemporary performance in Chicago. (C.J. is now Director of the Live Art Development Agency in the United Kingdom.) In the fall of 2007, I came to C.J. with an idea about a five-year project of mostly outdoor performances, and Links Hall offered to be the fiscal agent and administrative support for the project. Links Hall contributed significantly to me believing that an UPRISING book was possible. Links Hall staff members Roell Schmidt, Erica Mott, and Marie Casimir have helped me over the years by distributing EVIDENCE postcards, brainstorming marketing and fundraising, and cheering me on through the years of UPRISING and the making of this book.
In the spring of 2013, I received the first critical feedback and encouragement on a draft of this book from Bonnie Fortune. Since then, drafts of the book, proposals, chapters, and essays have been generously reviewed by Jeff Abell, Ann Russo, Craig Harshaw, Daniel Tucker, Terri Griffith, Nick Slie, Bob Martin, Carrie Brunk, Leah Mayers, and the DePaul University Center for Writing-Based Learning. Special gratitude to my guides, ancestors, and angels, as well as Saint Expedite!
A crowdsourced fundraiser through USA Projects (now Hatchfund) for the UPRISING book raised over $9,000 from 144 donations. Supporters included Aaron Richmond-Havel, Abigail Satinsky, Adam Young, Alex Fullerton, Alice Lowenstein, Alisha Tonsic, Amanda Stefanski, Amber Miller, Amy and Vince DeGeorge, Anita Evans, Anne Adams, Anne Statton, Ariel Luckey, Arnie Malina, Ashley Sparks, Ben Weinberg and Lisa Morrow, Benjamin Rosenthal, Beth and Ken Ferris, Bill Van Berschot, lark Ábout, Brooks Hall, Cam Mangham, Carla Perlo, Carlotta Figliulo, Carlton Turner, Carol O’Brien, Carolyn Boucher, Carrie Lydon, Christine Thom, Christopher Mitchell, Claire Pentecost, Clark Baim, Clay Thomas, Craig Harshaw, D’LocoKid, Dan Paz, David Granskog, Deborah Bryer, Denise Karczewski, Devra Breslow, Elizabeth Doud, Elizabeth Wuerffel, Emile and Bonnie Garneau, Erik Roldan, Erin Barnard, Francis Tobin, FT, Gail Soave, Hannah Davey, Heidi S. Howard, Iveliz Orellano, Jamie Royce, Janine Hoft, Jeannette Perkal, Jeff Abell, Jennifer Fite, Jessica Halem, Jill Bruellman, Jennifer Mefford, Joanna Quealy, Joanna Russo, Joanne Vena, John Ruby, Jordan Peimer, Joseph Hulbert, Joseph Varisco, Judi Jennings, Kate Drabinski, Uncle Bear, Kathie deNobriga, Kent Garneau, Kim Nicholson-Messmer, Kristen Cox, Kristina Wong, Lani Montreal, Lara Oppenheimer, Latham Zearfoss, Laurie Jo Reynolds, Leslie Wallin, Linda Wagner, Lisa Barcy, Lisa D’Amour, Lisa Mount, Lisa Samra, Lise Kloeppel, Lois Huminiak, Lois Remeikis, Louisa Sargent, Maria and Jørn Eichhorn, Maria Gray, Mari