WAR Group C Associational Network Image

The Performative Architecture of Facade

WAR Group C RESPONSE [GULE] for AMS Group C

Original Definition:

AMS Group C - DEFINITION Gule For Tampere Group C
KEYWORD: Gule
Language: Chichewa. A Malawian Language
3) Unlike the separation in European performing arts disciplines, Gule in Malawian context sees the elements of music, dance and drama as inseparable. For example, during a dance, drama with identifiable characters and a clear narration becomes part of it.

Original Challenge

TAM Group C Ua Kristina Jocelyn CHALLENGE [Gule] for WAR Group C

1. We would first like to challenge the point that European performing arts traditions separate the different performance forms of music, dance and drama as clearly as it may seem on first consideration. We would like to give classical ballet as an example which combines the three forms, with orchestral music, dance, and mime combined into a single performance.

2. Our second consideration is not so much a challenge, but we would like to raise the point that many Asian performance traditions are similar to Gule in Malawi, in that they also combine many peformance forms - an example would be the traditional Khon of Thailand. Furthermore, traditional Asian performance forms often have a spiritual aspect, adding yet another layer to the performance.

3. Another example from Africa, of a performance form that combines many elements - the Bangoura.

New Response: We agree with your initial challenge in that European practices have a long tradition of a syncretic approach to performance dating back from Greek tragedy. The line can be followed through to Wagner's concept of Gesamtkunstwerk which has in turn influenced many 20th century practitioners.
However, we are wary of seeing the fusion of art forms involved in gule, ballet, Khon, and Bangoura, and other performance practices as necessarily adding artistic value. To pursue this synthesized approach for its own ends without context and content could well result in a weaker final product in which each individual art form suffers. Performances where a synthesis of individual art forms are brought together under the guise of transcultural interaction, as in a 'cultural collage' where performance practices are sometimes combined without concern for context or content, can do more harm than good. If a practitioner wishes to utilize a fusion of various cultural forms they must do so with the respect and understanding of all the traditions they wish to assimilate. A full synthesis of performance is not always the best; each art form contains its own virtues too.

WAR Group C CHALLENGE [FLOW} for AMS Group C

TAM Group C Ua Kristina Jocelyn DEFINITION [Flow] for WAR Group C FLOW (v.):

1. to move along in a stream: The river flowed slowly to the sea.
2. to circulate: blood flowing through one's veins.
3. to stream or well forth: Warmth flows from the sun.
4. to issue or proceed from a source: Orders flowed from the office.
5. to menstruate.
6. to come or go as in a stream: A constant stream of humanity flowed by.
7. to proceed continuously and smoothly: Melody flowed from the violin.
8. to hang loosely at full length: Her hair flowed over her shoulders.
9. to abound in something: The tavern flowed with wine.
10. to rise and advance, as the tide (opposed to ebb).

Flow (Psychology):
the mental state of operation in which the person is fully immersed in what he or she is doing by a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity (Mihály Csíkszentmihályi 1990).

Challenge: Of the above definitions we’d like to focus on the psychological concept offered by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi as it offers a different path from the definition of 'flow' that we sent to Amsterdam. Looking at the etymology of Csíkszentmihályi 's theory in more depth: "Flow is so named because during Csíkszentmihályi's 1975 interviews several people described their 'flow' experiences using the metaphor of a water current carrying them along.[2] The psychological concept of flow as becoming absorbed in an activity is thus unrelated to the older phrase "to go with the flow" which means "to conform"." This seems to suggest that one experiences a false passivity during a state of 'flow', evidenced by the use of the analogy to water, which relates to definitions 1 and 6 from above. We would contend that this may perhaps raise concerns about the experience of 'flow' and the ability to measure one's responses and feelings in this state. Two of Csíkszentmihályi's components of flow are "A loss of the feeling of self-consciousness, the merging of action and awareness" and "Distorted sense of time, one's subjective experience of time is altered". Therefore, this would seem to indicate that an accurate portrayal of what the true state of 'flow' is can be hard to measure, or in fact impossible to understand outside of a highly subjective account.

Interestingly, Csíkszentmihályi also proposes a notion of 'group flow' in which members work together to achieve 'flow'. The methods for achieving this goal appear to involve several highly performative aspects, including working on one's feet, etc which is a stark contrast to the perceived image of the psychiatrist's couch. This is interesting to consider in how it relates to the very different definitions of 'flow'.