Talking Performance at Tate Modern

www.stevenjfowler.com/talkingperformance 

A wonderful experience to be able to showcase a performance at Tate Modern, to be commissioned by them to explore the theme of public speaking, digression and derivation. Held in the East Room, on level 6 of Tate Modern, overlooking the Thames, it was a chance to present an original, extended piece of performance which explored speech, biography, truthfulness, sound and rhythm. 

Speaking rather relentlessly for half an hour, and swarming a supposed poetry reading with improvised speech, I attempted to explore the notion of biography, of audience and performer hierarchy, and the human relationships possible between them, the nature of poetry readings, their bracketing of attention and the limits of that, the nature of the introduction as a form, the experience of language in excess and speed, the notion of collectivity in performance and in intimate physical proximity, the 'poetic' and what people understand by poetic and therefore non-discursive language, and finally truthfulness, salesmanship, the rhythm of comedy, and, I suppose, at the very end, disappointment. 

The performance was followed by an extended discussion with curator Marianne Mulvey and Patrick Coyle, with whom I had the privilege of sharing the bill. Contextualising the choices I had made performatively so soon after performing was fascinating, when my piece had been about blurring the lines between genuine feeling and sentiment, verity and falsehood, I couldn't help but feel what was essentially a meta performance then became a meta discussion, where no one could really believe what I was saying. This perhaps solidified the purpose of what I was trying to do, constantly acknowledging context and the limits of communication. 

The piece was a product of a generous developmental process, and to have Joseph Kendra help me from the off, then to be joined by Marianne Mulvey as the performance neared, was really pivotal - to have the attention of professional curatorial expertise, it is akin to having a good editor for a manuscript. And to share the event with Patrick Coyle, a close friend and someone I've admired and collaborated with for a such a long time, made the experience all the more resonant. 

The Rest is Noise is over! my talk on British 21st century poetry

The rest is noise festival is over. I've been pretty lucky to be involved, considering my lack of erudition and learnedness next to those who have also been teaching and lecturing and so forth. Im not being overmodest either, events with Tom Service, Gillian Moore, Diane Silverthorne, Sophie Mayer, Tony Benn, Harvey Cohen, world renowned educators have been punctuated with discussions with artists like Steve Reich and John Adams etc... This last event I was involved in, this past thursday, was a study evening, and I was alongside Mark Titchner, the remarkable artist and Gillian Moore, who is the head of music at the Southbank. It was, like all the study evenings, really mesmerising listening to others speak, as the environment is unique, they are allowed to speak to what they truly find engaging and tend to be very passionate and original. I waffled about 21st British poetry and stealing huge swathes from others ideas, talked about capitalism and the internet. I took a shit recording of it below. A lovely way to end a great year of lecturing and teaching in a really amazing program, Ive cut my teeth on it. http://therestisnoise.southbankcentre.co.uk/#1