clemens weiss ‘the complaint of art’ theater-performance and exhibition, visitors + 2 actors
the basic outline of the performance:
the first part of the play is mainly a interrogation scene, set just one year ahead of the current year, the center piece of the performance is based on a medieval poem: the complaint of art’, -and then the play will take the turn into a more futuristic setting in the third part.
this theater performance starts out as an art-installation, like any regular exhibition, and the main material for the sculptures will be glass. the objects of this performance set are constructed from countless glass-pieces, bound together by a special process, which acts also as a shock absorber and makes these glass objects less likely to break. there are 13 of those steles intended.. (originally long upright stone slabs used as ancient grave markers) [the number of 13 steles is taken from the 13 virtues of the ‘complaint of art’ poem..]
there will be three steles with sculpted heads; these 3 heads will be placed in the back row, but partially in front of the triptych.. the other 10 steles will have small screen-objects on them; these steles will then form the flanks of this cell.. these steles will be movable, -for the first segment of the performance they form a prison cell-like space, with the steles indicating bars and walls.. there is also the layout of a chess game marked on the floor, -this could be done primarily through lighting.. the floor may be also covered with larger glass sheets, and these markings could appear suddenly after an initial period, either projected or otherwise revealed
the actors then will use these markings, when they perform some movements, and they will use some of the sculptures. the backside of the stage will be a white triptych, which functions also as a projection screen.. these video projections could be in part the pre-recorded performance, but played back-wards, -so that there will be a moment, when the projection and the real performance ‘meets’. -the effect should be a perpetual 'loop' situation. the main portion of the video projection in the first act should be of a close-up of a human mouth, with teeth bleeking and ‘snapping’, -the same image should appear on the smaller surfaces of most of the steles forming the holding cell. in the second + third act the main video projection is the screen filling close-up of a full moon, but this only on the main screen in the back of the stage..
some projections should be also directed onto the actors themselves; the back of their costume is white, while the front parts should be printed like a newspaper.. the back side stays white, so they can be used for projections onto them, for instance: the scene with the projected moon could be projected onto one of the actors, standing with the back to the audience, but unfolds some device attached to the suit, to create a round screen.
for the 2 + 3 parts of the play this costume should be reversed, white on the front.. in addition, the male actor in the fist act should wear three different pairs of shoes wearing one pair normal, the other pairs, with holes in their soles, stacked up his legs.. the musik should be electronic, and more on the ‘beautiful’ side, sprinkled with sequences from long-range exotic radio stations, and this music should end with the melody it started. high above the scenes there will be a cluster of stars, made also from triangular glass-pieces, some other objects could be arrows. [effective with punctual lighting leading from one scene to another],
this cell, achieved mainly through the 13 steles or pedestals, arranged in rows are in- dicating also later the ‘virtues’ and then the other non-present characters. [and of course they resemble chess figures.] then there should be some additional artworks, sculptures etc, [much smaller], which the actors can use during the course of the play.
apparently the sitting actor [woman] at an earlier point has made the choice of saving a piece of art instead of a person, that seem to have everybody infuriated and that is the reason why this person is in this cell.. it has also the cellmate enraged, so there is some probing and provoking about this woman's choice from this second performer.. in the first part of the play, the standing actor [man] is the more agitated, -he is the one who does all of the talking, and dissecting, accusing, etc of the unusual case of the woman. the agitated inmate [he will occasionally give some hints of his crime, -a real one]. he takes on the part of the accuser, judge and provides in the process also some long and winding thoughts.
there are two actors, -a man and a woman, later in the third portion of the play they change their appearance through some glass masks. for all the three parts of the play only one of the actors speaks.. the language of the first part of the play should be a very precise and latent aggressive. then comes the 'complaint of art' with its ‘strange’ elegiac tone. and the last portion should aim at very carefully crafted wordings.
embedded into the performance’s center part is the medieval text called ‘the complaint of art’… [it originates around 1250, and is a important historical document, but unknown to most art historians, and therefore as well to others in the arts] this text provides the center monologue, but since there is one paragraph missing from that text, it will have at this point some contemporary moment instead, -which then will tie this 750 years old poem with the other parts of the play. [at the time of origination of this poem, artist where not considered the creator of works of art, -the credit went always to the one who paid for a creation of art..] this practice changed later with the renaissance, -some 200 years later.. [ in the first section, art is favored more than it is currently prudent, -usually it is expected that any human life get the priority in crucial situations, in the second section art is noteven recognized, but gets an early defense, -and in the third section, there is the outside view.]
then the 'complaint of art' sets the tone for the center portion of the performance, providing up to this point the only clue of the art in question, but also without going into the details of what kind of art one has, or wants to envision.. the whole play should be laid out and staged like a triptych itself, and on the formal side, with very static and limited movement by the actors.. the play has to live also through the visuals, that of the installation itself, and then the choreography of the projections..
oh man' or ‘the complaint of art’
scene I.
- a woman in a cell-like room,{she sits on the floor, with her arms wrapped around her knees and a blank or absent-minded expression on her face} after she lifts up her head somewhat, with her face straight forwards the audience, she starts to talk in a monotonous voice. "once some day, some time ago, a person finds herself faced with the rather simple choice and chance of saving either a person or a piece of art, but not both. she chooses the latter... ..there was some dispute and commotion afterward about that choice, -and finds herself here... at this point the floor of the {center} stage area changes instantly, [or at least fast] into the markings of the chessboard some time later a second man is brought in. {there should be some commotion outside the cell before, outside of the view of the audience, as if he is the pushed into the cell after some resistance, -he then appears screaming, kicking and coursing. he then takes some time to settle in, -he continues to wander around, discovering the bars {steles}, still a little kicking, gesticulating and muttering to himself, -and then notices the woman. he first stares for quite a while at her, then shows signs of recognition. then starts to talk towards her.
...hey, ..why is there anyone else in here?……… ...oh, wait, -i know now,… -what a case you are. it even made its way to us in here. and, ..well,. we’re all already quite something in here..
he pauses for a moment, as if to rethink his position… he moves one marking forward towards the sitting woman. [the woman shows no reaction towards him, so the man continues]
...me, -never mind, my case is just a regular case. . oh, i have got my hands on a few people and their belongings in my time,. almost just the average breakdown by now,-but you, you.., you really got them going. [he gesticulates and points outwards and pauses for a moment] he then moves to another marking of the game on the floor forward, but he could do it at this point in a different fashion, like in a childs play-game.
...don't tell me, let me guess, -what was it....was it just a lapse in judgment?.. some kind of blackout, drugs, -what the hell was it.... he pauses for a another moment, to see if the woman responds, and mimics listening, then continues and he moves some markings back on the floor
..do i get any argument about that.. no.., well then, just tell me.. ..you've got to understand, yours is a case, even in here with us . he has to take a deeper breath, and moves forward again
….first of all things, that must have been some piece, -but then, so what, -who does care about these things anyway anymore.. he makes some disparaging gestures..
..there's still so much of that around of that stuff around.. know, the same could be said about us, and i know now you will bring up the past, -i can hear you already.. ..well,.. so there has some damages been done to that piece of art or that piece of art. so what. he slows down with that last sentence, as if he got lost somewhere, and his mind seem to wander off for a moment.. then he gets focused again..
..one should think that everybody has gotten used to that by now.. he pauses for a moment, and refocuses his sight on the woman, and moves another marking forward.
with all this what i heard so far,.you don't look that part to me, so come down.. he gesticulates to signal denial; -the woman still looks without much interest somewhere..
..and what is it what you're waiting for anyway, are you to good to be just one of us... he notices the disinterest and get's infuriated enough for a moment to smash some prepared glass object to the ground] but he composes and collects himself again.
is it this? how do you like that..-i don't see you protesting very much on this…is it still not a worthy for you... he waits a few seconds for a reaction, then he sports for a moment triumphant face…
..see, i'am right about that…. he then somehow changes his tone and tries a new approach..
...we should in here be the last one to jump on someone like you, but you are in here now with the rest of us, so.. he changes his tone again and becomes more considerate and understanding.
..at least if you had put in some crazy defense, you know might have worked,..-it worked for most of us in here.. he halts his thought for a moment, as if listen intensively inside himself..
we all in here are by now very interested in that kind of legal excuse, you know, that it is so important to know how to excuse oneself in any case.. and therefore the all of us, and altogether, and most important, it only works if everybody does it..-it may be not entirely to late for you.. the last portion he says in a very luring voice, then he starts at this point to arrange some things as if preparing for a formal hearing or court session. [acting as a lawyer would, handling some imaginary papers etc] at this point there should be also some changes with the light for the scene. all the while the first actor remains without much reaction, just minimal movements, but maybe with projections on her. with a more firm or stern voice now, the male actor continues.
isn’t there anything you can give me to work with? anything..voices..orders.. aliens ..some god or so. who told you so.. ..you know, that almost always does the trick he changes the tone and softens his voice again, coming forward more markings toward the woman
you don't have to be shy about that, we all have used this..-if you know what i mean.. at this point he goes to some of the pedestals or steles, which have head, skull, -and other forms on them, and he then elaborates on some of them...
here we have a inventor of a very fine religion, still in use, he, among some others like him, still gives us the best excuses yet, yes, -there we have a really neat ideologist, one of a whole line of those, who in concert with those.. {he sweepingly points to the former}
..really knows, how to get us moving in every direction then the right one….oh, but that then is the right one for us he pauses again for a moment as if listening to someone or an inner argument and may shake his head slightly as if to let loose of something....
but..hey..come on.. do you really have to hold ‘that’ against us.. everybody, oh, -i forgot,.. except you, everybody, i mean everybody has themselves resigned to expect that we do mentally proceed as slow as possible,.. well, also with the most damage as possible, but as seen, it provides us with everything we need.. ..so why can’t you. he lets the last words sink in..
do you have any better idea of what to get out of a some of the likes of us... he looks questioning to the woman..
..and where all of the sudden comes the idea of what the priorities should be, -certainly not from one of them… or us around in here... he gesticulates a sweep around the room.. at this point the woman now stands up and mimics different sorts of dramatic ‘death-struggles’, with projections appearing on her body, relating to these mimics..
look. over there … are some other notable figures, yes, ….they all played their part with us, but none of them left really any doubt's about priorities, -and all of them revolved around the likes of us. he may point again to the steles he pointed out as the religious leader and the dictator
..never mind their real motivation and agendas, sure we know about that, the point is at least we have been the center of attention. i hear it you call it the triumph of sheer mediocrity.., the numbers right us anyway he looks around somehow triumphantly..
..and you come around and messes with that.. here the lights dim for a moment, and at this point the woman stands up and takes a glass object from one of the pedestals and puts it on her head.
scene II. the woman steps then to a stand {with the 'complaint of art 'in some form on it and starts to speak.
mylady vehemence led me by her rein unto a forest where i encountered many wildgrowing flowers; nearby, beneath a greenleafed tree, also a cool spring murmured, driving a millwork there by its very current force.
this spring so crystal-clear sprang from a well-kept green, itself being skirted and adorned by a richly growing meadow, never have i heard about a place that might be praised more aptly, the bloom of may had sprinkled lavishly with roses and flowers the green grass.
an awning all over it was spread, throwing delightful shade. white blossoms could be seen, smiling from jade-green shrubs, -something not to be seen in winter, when the gust blows icy-cold-, and many noble birds there stayed chirping the sweetest songs.
now hear ye of what befell me at this cool, clear spring, the gentle brook of which may well be grinding corn this day. the splendid awning covered its surtout and underneath a throne was raised that could be seen from far beyond the meadow.
upon it sat, a noble dame of dignified mien and rich apparel; she's said to have more wits about her than any woman on this earth. and she possessed, believe ye me all of the beauty of this world, and yet she shone with purest virtue.
nothing but goodness may the lord grant her. it's said that he himself has sent her from his heavenly throne, that in his honor joy may rule throughout the world, her name embossed was written on her crown; mylady Justice she was called, as i could read myself.
mylady Truth permits me not to lie, therefore may be sure of it; her crown and equally her brilliant gown, so richly adorned they were, that, since the world has been, in no kingdom far and wide any soul ever has possessed attire of such splendor.
and with her were full many dames, all sporting stately crowns, and all, as i perceived full well, were wrought with utmost care. their names i'll tell you, too, for they were artfully engraved in each such crown.
there was mylady Mercy, free of deceitfulness she is, and well-attired lady Loyalty, with shining Constancy right by her side; i noted, too, mylady Modesty wearing a beauteous gown-, all four of them were preciously adorned, wore jewelry of quite outstanding worth.
there also reclined mylady Kindness, who knoweth no wrath, her crown ablaze with precious stones. with her Honor i found and Generosity, adorned with wondrous many things. i blinked my eyes at these three noble ladies-, they blossomed like so many roses that in bleak moorland smile enticingly.
and there withal were sitting free of sin with the good queen mylady Truth with her high council, and blameless courtly Love. and she who bears the name of noble virtue was seated there in matchless splendor - except for Art whose gown was tattered and torn completely.
i know not whether her lot has improved meanwhile; but then it was of velvet green as grass and sadly torn all over from great age -, that was her dress in those days long ago.
so worn it was withal that its hemline was quite transparent as thought was made of glass. and thin she was like a stick with all her suffering and pain -, with her sharp strokes had Penury hit Art and wounded her severely.
most wretchedly she then approached the goodly queen with well considered words: most aptly chosen queen, justice i'm looking for, your virtuous honor will attempt to change my lot which is unbearable.
grant me to tell the tale of my great woe and terrible mishap -, false Generosity to wit ruined my life most certainly. meanwhile i smell like dung, exude a stench acrid as bile, at court she hosts me most ungraciously and talks about me acrimoniously, the woman generosity, who by neglect punishes many a beauteous artistry, whilst yet the artless,one and all, she doth enrich without delay.
she treats true artists with distain, who however can no talent show, she presses hard with favors. she herefor only doth receive mere ephemeral gifts of little worth, while i in rags must go and bear great sorrow and distress.
thus this false generosity leads me into great trouble and hightens my complaints, wherever i do turn. i'm seeking justice now with you, mylady, who doth bear the name most aptly - that you wipe out this pain for honors sake of all those ladies fair.
then Justice spoke; such be the case -, answer, false Generosity, as Art who i won't chide seems cumbersome to you, i'll make you pay without delay for all the ill that you have harmed her with.
now generosity arose with much distress and spoke these words; blameless i am entirely of all that you accuse me of, mylady,i'll swear this on god's alter. nothing that's good i do deny to Art.
quite on the contrary; whatever little she produces i still do take in willingly and pay as much i can bear. truly,mylady,that she never did, blameless Art to this replied.
it has been long since she seemed pleased with my luxurious splendor, these days she lets princes, knights and bondsmen scorn me much -, and if i charge her now, will i get justice, too?
you will indeed,-in noble unison all Virtues then replied. step forward, lady Truth, and you as well, mylady Constance, and show withal that generosity must bear the blame for having closed on me the gate which shut me out from luck. here the woman becomes extremely enraged and beside herself at this point there should be then also something drastic action from her.
damn, there are so many [32] paragraphs in this damn complaint,-and just the one needed for the case most has to be lost somewhere.. she then recollects herself and continues with her former more somber tone while the woman recites the complaint of art, the man mimics some love scenes by himself or so [while on the screen the ‘missing parts’ take place?]
whoever praises matters of no import, she does reward most liberally; her chests are filled with junk, in which she takes delight. and like an empress she resides, though hanged with tripe -, but that's the very death of Art, for Generosity owns not a thing that's made of noble matter.
quoth Justice then; if Generosity got used to all the junk that's brought into her palace and for which she pays and then selects and shows with pride -, let me ask you, my Modesty, how you account in this same matter.
if you could pass well chosen sentence, you'd liberate me of great worry now. i mean to say, replied the lady then, whoever pays and honors his retainers without demanding something in return, he should then suffer the neglect of noble Love and all the other dames, so that he never shall be happy when seeking pleasure in their company.
that was the sentence passed by lady Modesty. and all the others quite agreed without delay and willingly; the punishment and damage shall be great for lady Generosity, all cried in disarray and urged mylady Justice.
as she wants not to carry out in a just manner her high office, her servants forced to live in shame and quite devoid of pleasure -, endless misfortune will follow Art into untimely death.
mylady Bashfulness will then have to desert her altogether, so that she isn't conscious of her shame and feels quite free from vice. mylady Honor has to rob her of all fame and of all praise which once was brought to bear on her -, she will have to endure this curse for evermore.
hold now, the lady Justice called my courtly and wise companions, whoever does not love true art and yet bears the name of Generosity, should live in great misfortune, if only for her gross stupidity.
and all of you should keep the memory of what today and in your presence i pass as sentence in this case; whoever values not true art, he be loathe unto you, he shall not know or love or joy, and all folks shall be hostile unto him -,by way of Clemens, whom is present here, i do impart this sentence to the world.
thus i returned on this my way in order to relate my story at the request of her who in that place asked me to inform the wealthy lords about the arduous fate of high-minded Arts. that is to say -, who maltreats Art will have no joy in his entire life…. here the woman looks triumphantly around….. at this point of the play the lights dim slowly to darkness..
the play takes off into the direction of an extreme outside position of things, in having 2 ‘aliens’ introduced.. that will be through a ‘space-ship’ kind of arrangement of the steles, they should be positioned into a tight caree of steles, the higher steles in the back, and the shorter ones to the front.. the 2 actors will then standing within this group, -so only their heads will be visible to the spectators.. their heads will be placed behind a mask-like glass objects on 2 of the steles, so that it appears as if they were wearing mask.. these ‘aliens’ in their appearance should be defined mainly through the masks, and then through punktual lighting, -maybe blue? [blue man group reference] the star cluster above the scene will be permanantly iluminated from this point on. one idea for the scenery at this point, there should be either the moon or some other celestial body projected very large onto the scene, and a [glass] ‘flying object‘ in front. this could be done in ‘miniature’,-a glass sphere of around 50 cm in diameter, with a miniature flying-object around this sphere, and the actors projecting these aliens as ‘shadow play’.[or ‘puppets play] [there have to be some experiments beforehand, of what is the most feasible and convincing way to go] lightning is here also very important again. these 2 aliens have been lured into the orbit of earth because of the two ‘voyager’ deep space probes, but also through all the radio waves emitting from earth long before.. [launched 1977 into space, these probes are by now well into the interstellar space beyond our solar system..] the conversation of these ‘aliens’ should be relatively factual, in a slightly derogatory tone.. [either one could be the speaker..]
scene III.
so,…here we are, -it should be somewhere around here, since it is on our way anyway, lets slow down and stop here for a moment.. he looks round and reacts, as if he compares the position of their ‘spaceship’ with a map or some readings on a control panel before him.. then he points somewhere below him..
so, that’s it, down there, that must be their planet, actually it looks nice from up here.. so let’s see what is with these, these…. he, or ‘it’ may gesticulate and point somehow down, and not sure what to name to use
..oh see, they got some more things off the ground somehow, that must be what they call a aeroplane…. he looks back and fore, as if to compares something..
well we know that already since we picked up that little piece of spacejunk, that they send of to invite everyone to have a look… he pauses for a moment, before continuing..
all right, now, -that we did know already, that they somehow gotten off some things and themselves the ground, at least some of them seem to can do it.. didn’t we pick up something else from them here some time ago ?… other, then that thing there, that they we picked up some while ago [one of the ‘aliens’ could produce here the ‘universal message’ send by nasa some years ago’ or point to somewhere inside their spacecraft] [here some comparing gestures, looking back and for to the little messenger spacecraft or so]
right, right, all the radio signals coming from here since quite some time.. he pauses again for some moment, then changes slightly in his tone..
..they still seem to be doing their thing, whatever that is, and it still looks pretty much the same overall, at least they are consistent with all that nonsense they release.. here he could mimic as if listen to some of the actual radiostations from earth..
amazing, all that what they do to themselves and all that over-stuffing themselves with everything they can get their hands on around that earth-ball of theirs, especially in that region... he points again somewhere downwards..
well, that proposition will take care of itself soon enough and then at once …. for now it seems that they are just getting more fatter first,and more and more of them…and there are more and more of them overall and everywhere, and very few of them look still like these engravings here.. looking back and fore to the engravings on the capsule, and down to earth, -some sign of non-understanding should take place here so, what else do we know so far.. well, everything from this thing here, there are these platitudes on that record, who do they think to find out here and listen to this.. what about this: ‘friends of space, how are you, -did you eat already.. come and visit us, if you have time’..
i’m very tempted to take a clue from some of what they call their science fiction stories and take them up on that offer, scare the hell out of them.. the other alien scratches his head... the speaking alien continues..
listen again: ‘hello to everybody, we are happy here, are you happy there’.. ..it continues in all these idioms and variations, frankly, they’re getting on my nervs already.. [the records on the voyagers space-probes contain greetings in 55 different languages, the first mentioned is in amoy, a chinese regional dialect, the other is in rajasthani..] the speaker continues..
and then we have everything that came in all those years from their radio and television frequencies in.. now, speaking of somene who is full of himself. after a short pause..
did we ever came across someone before who was like them ?.. well, they really don’t recommend themselves much with most of that.. [there could be some original soundbites from radio played here..] then they focus again intensely down [to ‘earth’]
they still do mainly that thing of theirs that they call religion, actually it seems that they have been really acting up on that again, and in such funny ways… is’nt that something, well with these ideas of it all they don’t get very far..
well, if we did not have other things to do, we could set up some seats up here and sell tickets for that spectacle.. they shake their heads again here, then one turns to the other.
do you want to stick around for a while and see if anyone of those has come up with some more interesting idea’s about ‘the whole’..? the speaker pauses for a moment and turns to his companion, and, as if he needs to refocus, pauses, -then continues.
hard to say, with all that clutter, but there is also that what they describe and handle as art down there, and some of it is also mentioned here.. he points again to the voyager probe..
what do you think is that all about?.. he reacts as if someone had asked him this question, and pauses for a moment..
it seems to run through their history, at least as some kind of thread.. i don’t really know more than yourself, just what has gotten to us from these radio transmission and then what is mentioned in that thing there..
but judging from that, - i’m not sure what to make of it.. they look at the date on the spacecraft..
it hasn’t been that long since this thing got send off and underway, so, -should we get down there…and.. they may mimic as if they are listening intensively down to the globe for a while..then they look at each other
naah…why bother, -it is’nt worth our time yet, …give’em some more centuries or so, or miss ‘em altogether. lets see what the predictions on them are.. they get busy for a few moments pushing imaginary buttons or control panels.. then wait for a few extra moments for the result..
well, just what i thought, most of it amounts to nothing much.. they leave this thought hanging.. then the speaker turns to his companion.
so, do you wanna go down there.. so, should we come down on them.. he waits a moment for a response.. here the lights slowly dim, and the two actors may say in unisono naah,….why bother..