Critical Correspondence

Performa 09: Art History with Benefits at X Initiative

by Ursula Eagly

Popular music is popular in contemporary performance. I’ve been noticing this at dance shows for a few years, and here it was again: three gentlemen from the Bruce High Quality Foundation University busting out George Michael’s “Father Figure.” God, I love that song. So did the performers and most everyone in the audience. We shared the pure pleasure of it, along with a wink/nudge.

Irony was supposed to be passe after fall 2001. At the time, I thought that meant a new age of sincerity. But of course irony is still around, and it’s particularly around when experimental artists use pop music.

The wink/nudge signals the audience that the performers are not taking themselves altogether seriously. The performers feel safe to do things that would otherwise seem ridiculous, like genuinely enjoying the sex appeal of mirrored aviator sunglasses. Just think how vulnerable you’d feel performing Sexy Aviator Sunglasses without a shred of irony! Irony makes a protected space for sincerity.

I was just in Berkeley, driving with a flaming hippie drug dealer belting out the new Mariah Carey album. His sincerity shook me. I was elated, moved. I became a Mariah Carey fan. Is it possible to access this performance state without medical marijuana? Do we need irony because we don’t have granddaddy purple?