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I WAS (NOT) PRESENT interserting text by Franko B, good artist, good friend, loving artist, loving friend!

I WAS (NOT) PRESENT

An Essay by Franko B inspired by the Marina Abramovic performance, The Artist is Present (2010).

I Was (Not) Present
The artist (as a construct/persona) was present, but the person was not.
Can the artist be present?
And what does performance have to do with it?
Is it performance, or merely spectacle?
Can one teach presence?
Or: how to make a performance?
Preface
It was a Sunday morning in London on an August day in 2013, and I kept thinking about Marina Abramovic’ performance The artist is present. On and off, this event has being following me. Maybe, in my mind there are obvious reasons why.
This work has met a strong media interest (reviews, documentaries, etc.), and after three years it still apparently inspires artists like Jay Z and Lady Gaga. What follows hereunder is my understanding and personal critique of the concept/idea of being present. It is my personal thought regarding the performance, The artist is present, which Marina Abramovic’ originally performed at MOMA (Museum Of Modern Art) in New York in 2010.

… continue to read in Franko B official blog http://franko-b-news.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/i-was-not-present.html?spref=fb&m=1

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Caden Manson is a director, media artist, and teacher. He is co-founder of the media ensemble bigartgroup.com and network, blog, and publisher, contemporaryperformance.com. He has co-created, directed, video- and set designed 18 Big Art Group productions. Manson has shown video installations in Austria, Germany, NYC, and Portland; performed PAIN KILLER in Berlin, Singapore and Vietnam; Taught in Berlin, Rome, Paris, Montreal, NYC, and Bern; the ensemble has been co-produced by the Vienna Festival, Festival d’Automne a Paris, Hebbel Am Ufer, Rome’s La Vie de Festival, PS122, and Wexner Center for The Arts. Caden is a 2001 Foundation For Contemporary Art Fellow, is a 2002 Pew Fellow and a 2011 MacDowell Fellow. Writing has been published in PAJ, Theater Magazine, and Theater der Zeit. Caden is currently an associate professor and graduate directing option coordinator of The John Wells Directing Program at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama.

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