Field Report #1

I wasn’t able to get out and see any of the great artistic features around the city of Milwaukee in last few weeks, due to my job, however I did read a very interesting article online. It was entitled “Waiting For Godot In A Wasteland.” Paul Chan, the writer and director of “Baghdad: In No Particular Order,“ along with a few supporting art companies from New York staged the play ‘Waiting for Godot’ in the streets of New Orleans. This took place towards the end of 2007, more than two years after the horror of Hurricane Katrina. These streets had long been striped of any human existence and various plant and flora had begun to turn these area into virtually, swamp land. The play is about two tramps, Vladimir and Estragon, they are waiting for their friend Godot to come and tell them what to do next and give them some direction. However, they are told on several different occasions that Godot will not becoming today, but they still wait.

As soon as I read that Paul Chan was the main force behind this unusual production, I immediately wanted to hear more about it. What I personally find so interesting is that it was performed in the streets, broken down and terrible looking streets. I thought that was a great choice. It adds to the confusion, the loss and the lack of direction that the characters and the message of the story are trying to convey. The vast
and barren streets are representative of what the characters are going through in there minds. Abandonment, of there friend and the person who would guide them, Godot. Having it be the real thing, out in a real street, makes it that more intense to the viewer. To me it would almost be like watching reality than a play. Two men in the street, drunk, lost, in need of help, trying to be humorous to get through this terrible problem. It’s really heavy if you think about it like that, it begins to raise questions in the viewers mind. What are these people going to do exactly, should we help them?

The question enters our minds, and we begin to take make create our own ideas as to why they are out here. That is the very essence of we have been talking about in class this last month. You create a piece, knowing what you want out of it but you leave room for questions, ideas and attitudes that the viewer might bring out into the piece. I love that about Paul Chan, he brings the viewer into the piece. With “Baghdad: In No Particular Order,” he showed what life in Iraq was like, without any introduction. The film just started and jumped around from person to person. That made me wonder if there was any connection between these people and why he chose these particular people. It got me involved in the piece. I began to take me own meaning away of why these people were in
this film and what they meant to the film. He did that with “Waiting For Godot’ as well. He put it out in a setting that would bring the audience it to it by breaking away the barrier of the stage. There was no longer a place for the actors and a place for the audience in the conventional sense, they were all out in the street together, sharing the same experience but being forced to draw some conclusions on their own. In my opinion, that is the mark of a true artist. Create something that is real and interesting but yet mysterious at the same time and force the viewer to become involved. Being able to paint a beautiful picture or act in a play is one thing, but to create a piece that draws everyone in and offers no flat out meaning, is something that we need more of in the world today.

Film 202 Art Journal

Over the next semester, I have decided that I am going to follow cinema-scope.com. I have chosen this web site for one reason alone, diversity. There are a number of different articles about many different topics. I just read an article about the mastery of Jean-Claude Van Damme. I would never in a million years think of him as a master but this article was explaining why he is. But there were also articles about music in movies, plays and other art. I think its great that this website doesn't just focus on one aspect but all sorts of different aspects. That sounds very appealing to me.