Keen to know if if the animation, Estranged (2007) worked to connect people with Antarctic landscape, I asked some artists I know to provide some feedback.
Uninterested in evaluative judgements – to be praised or damned – or to know what they found enjoyable in the animation, my questions were specifically aimed to test the success of my intent. The questions I asked were adapted from Liz Lerman‘s Method of Critical Response.
Lerman developed her Method of Response for choreography. It involves two preconditions to which the artists and observer/responders agree: that we want artists to make excellent work, and that we declare our opinions neutrally. Three steps are involved: Affirmation, Artist As Questioner, Responders as Questioners.
Affirmation is based on the belief that “people want to hear that what they have just completed has meaning to another human being.”
Artist As Questioner states her purpose (or attempts to) and invites responses about specific aspects of the work, or the whole work within that context. She can invite suggestions about how her purpose can be furthered. In this way, the respondents are given the opportunity to say exactly what they think in a way the creator is prepared to hear.
Responders as Questioners:
The responders form their opinions into a neutral question. So instead of saying, “It’s too long,” a person might ask, “What were you trying to accomplish in the circle section?” or “Tell me what’s the most important idea you want us to get and where is that happening in this piece?”
Lerman concludes her paper:
That is what I know of this process now, in the fall of 1993. I hope that people will try it, refine it, and let me know how it works for them. In my travels this past year, I have discovered that many artists are working on their own processes for dialog about work. For some, it is an ongoing part of the creative work with company members, for others an organized part of the dance community’s efforts to support each other. I am hopeful about all this activity, and hopeful that at some time in the future all these efforts can build to some dialog among those who write about art, those who fund art and those who make art.
Liz Lerman Method of Critical Response, Lerman 1993
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My questions:
1. What meaning can you find in the animation? (Your immediate thought.)
For example, what can you can see or hear in it that connects with your own personal experience?
2. What does it tell you about Antarctic landscape? (Again, your immediate thought.)
3. Given that my aim is connecting people with Antarctica landscape, can you describe one thing that you can see in this animation that achieves this. Be very specific and detailed if you can.
4. Do you have any questions you would like to ask about my work?
5. Do you agree to having your responses on my website? Dialogues I am having with other artists and Antarctic expeditioners help the progress of my work.
Ideally you will respond immediately after viewing the animation and not ponder too much. However, if other thoughts arise later, I will be delighted to hear them!
I will be asking participants, and others, the same questions about the animation I am currently developing, which is evolving from the work we have been doing in the COFA workshops.
Responses to questions have been Emailed, and appear in Comments below: