A few years ago I watched the documentary The Couple in the Cage featuring performance artists Guillermo Gómez-Peña and Coco Fusco.
“For two years, they travelled through various Western metropolises, presenting themselves as undiscovered Amerindians from an island in the Gulf of Mexico that had somehow been overlooked for five centuries. They called their homeland Guatinau and themselves Guatinauis.” (quote from Beautiful Trouble webpage)
Their performance marked the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's discovery of the Americas bringing up themes of racism and colonialism still present in our cultures today. In this trailer you can see a clip of their work:
While the critiques these performers presented are startling, their pointedness is also what makes me have such high appreciation for their work. The fact that through their creative performance Gómez-Peña and Fusco were able to evoke a world wide discussion showed me the value of performing arts. Watching The Couple in the Cage inspired me to continue studying in the Performance and Communication Arts department here at St. Lawrence University.
Now facing the closing of my Bewilderments of the Eyes project and my upcoming graduation, I have returned to this point as I look to organizations such as Beautiful Trouble, 350.org and The Theater Offensive as potential paths for my performing arts future. These organizations all use arts and creative means to promote education, awareness and social change. As my professor, Dr. Randy Hill would say they are, "performing so it doesn't have to stay this way". Which is exactly what I hope to do.
Now facing the closing of my Bewilderments of the Eyes project and my upcoming graduation, I have returned to this point as I look to organizations such as Beautiful Trouble, 350.org and The Theater Offensive as potential paths for my performing arts future. These organizations all use arts and creative means to promote education, awareness and social change. As my professor, Dr. Randy Hill would say they are, "performing so it doesn't have to stay this way". Which is exactly what I hope to do.