GET DOWN AND PARTY. TOGETHER.
That was the mission statement of artist Adrian Piper's collaborative performances that were entitled Funk Lessons. While the piece itself is older in terms of contemporary art (the performances took place in 1982-1984), it addresses ideas and notions that are quite relevant to society and culture today.
In Funk Lessons, Piper stages and leads a series of performances in which she taught white people how to listen and dance to Funk music. As a woman who had grown up in in both white and black culture, Piper created the piece to unite both communities and both parts of her identity.
Piper writes in her Notes on Funk I-II, that the piece gave her a chance to "explore and affirm the cultural dimensions of my identity as black...at the same time...to affirm and utilize the conventions and idioms of communications...in white culture...These modes of fluency reinforce my sense of identification with my audience and ultimately empower all of us to move with greater ease and fluidity from one such mode to another."
Though I'm someone who doesn't completely fit into either black or white culture, I find this piece thought-provoking and inclusive. What Piper strives to do is to break down feelings of shame or awkwardness that are the result of not belonging to a particular culture or community. The piece enables the "other" to be able to navigate and jump into another culture in an accepting and culturally-enhancing way.
The above video quality is not pristine, but it should give you a sense of how the piece worked and how it was received. You can also check out the page on her website, which has a cleaner video (but can only be viewed on her site).
That was the mission statement of artist Adrian Piper's collaborative performances that were entitled Funk Lessons. While the piece itself is older in terms of contemporary art (the performances took place in 1982-1984), it addresses ideas and notions that are quite relevant to society and culture today.
In Funk Lessons, Piper stages and leads a series of performances in which she taught white people how to listen and dance to Funk music. As a woman who had grown up in in both white and black culture, Piper created the piece to unite both communities and both parts of her identity.
Piper writes in her Notes on Funk I-II, that the piece gave her a chance to "explore and affirm the cultural dimensions of my identity as black...at the same time...to affirm and utilize the conventions and idioms of communications...in white culture...These modes of fluency reinforce my sense of identification with my audience and ultimately empower all of us to move with greater ease and fluidity from one such mode to another."
Though I'm someone who doesn't completely fit into either black or white culture, I find this piece thought-provoking and inclusive. What Piper strives to do is to break down feelings of shame or awkwardness that are the result of not belonging to a particular culture or community. The piece enables the "other" to be able to navigate and jump into another culture in an accepting and culturally-enhancing way.
