EXPERIMENTS WITH PERSONAEA 1-2-3 Of Fuller Artwork
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EXPERIMENTS WITH PERSONAE A 1-2-3 Of Fuller Artwork |
Increasingly, we see a distinction between male and female biology, and masculine and feminine gender. Biology is different from gender, simply stated. This distinction is growing more commonplace in contemporary culture (thankfully) yet it bears further highlight if for no other way than to open the discussion of how, as artists, we can foster a culture that can embrace both dispositions (or 'types') as healthy expressions of human sentience, and human creativity. My thesis here: to be open as an artist to both our masculine and feminine aspects is to create the conditions for fullness in our artistry. And fullness, I believe, is in important component that can make our artwork more resonant and dynamic in the world.
The Theory In Summary
Background as well as empirical support for the distinction between sex and gender comes in large part through the work of researchers Janet T. Spence and Robert L. Helmreich. Their book, Masculinity and Femininity: Their Dimensions, Correlates, and Antecedents, documents and analyzes numerous case studies that survey people across age groups and demographic standing. They summed up their findings in this way:The psychological dimensions of masculinity and femininity should not only be conceptually distinguished from masculine and feminine sex roles, but that masculine and feminine attibutes, while they differentiate the sexes to some degree, are not bipolar opposites but in each sex are separate and essentially orthogonal dimensions.
Thus, masculine and feminine are not only distinct from biological sex roles and sexual identity, but are in fact native capacities in each person, man or woman. A man has masculine sides of his disposition as well as feminine sides to his disposition, and the exact same goes for a woman. She has both a feminine disposition as well as a masculine disposition.
To confine the discussion to art, I suggest that it is barely a leap to say that every artist, no matter man or woman, has the capacity for the attributes commonly associated with masculinity and femininity. What are these attributes? Masculinity, or agency, can be summarized as that which reflects a sense of self and is manifested in self-assertion, self-protection, and self-expansion. Masculinity, as an ideal, tends to be described as competitive, active, and independent. Femininity, or communion, suggests selflessness, a concern for others and a desire to be at one with other organisms. Ideal femininity tends to be described as emotional, sensitive, and concerned with others. (Spence and Helmreich, p 16) David Deida, for example in his work Naked Buddhism, adds that masculinity equates with direction, the void, and the silent Witness, while femininity equates with invitation, life-energy, and the tactile Feeler. Wilber, in discussion on his website IntegralNaked.org, suggests that masculine, as consciousness, aligns with 3rd person perspectives, while the feminine, as light, with 1st person perspectives. Or as he poetically puts it, only the feminine can touch the trees, while only the masculine can see the forest. Masculinity is emptiness, while femininity is form.
A Strategy Towards Growth
Artists have the capacity for both attributes. This has ramifications for both formal art education as well as an artist's personal practice, and the choices the artist can make. In both cases, exercises can be developed to, on one hand, highlight an artist's native attribute and disposition to a given situation or environment, and on the other help to cultivate the complementary, non-native disposition, as a means for growth, enrichment, and development.
As a crude example, a male musician who performs solo with a guitar might, by his nature, prefer to perform with his eyes closed and his back to the audience -- i.e., a more masculine, disengaged performance. Now the music might be great, and the audience satisfied. But to possibly expand upon the power and resonance of his music and stage presentation, the musician might be taken by educated facilitators through a series of exercises that explore his willingness, fear, and courage to present his music in a more engaged, outward, radiant, and open manner -- or simply put, feminine.
It is a matter of type diagnosis. If the diagnosis of an artist's typological disposition to the delivery of a particular song is step one of this process, and exercises to engage the complementary typology form a step two, then the third step, which can proceed only after steps one and two are fully explored, is a conscious relaxation by the artist into a mode of presentation that, quite literally, is a natural and flowing mix of the two. This is not a hyper conscious relaxation. Steps one and especially two are where conscious attention to the art practice is heightened, and used as a means for conscious exploration. Just as the axiom for music is 'practice, practice, practice, but on stage, just play', the same is true for step three. The artist, informed by experience in both the masculine and feminine modes of performance, just plays.
Step One: Diagnose typological disposition (ex., feminine)
Step Two: Engage the complimentary disposition through exercise (ex., masculine exercises)
Step Three: Drop the theory, consciously relax into the moment and what feels right. (some mix of masculine and feminine)
If the first two steps were explored fully, then some sort of natural and healthy mix of the two types can emerge along the artist's terms and in ways authentic to the artist. In other words, this is not a three-step exercise to shove some sort of theory down the artist's throat, and make him or her conform to some predetermined typological set of rules. That would be both needless friction as well as counterproductive to any legitmate emergence of creativity through the artist. This exercise does not have a predetermined end, beyond the aim to open up the artist to dispositions that are inherant in every person. What energy pops forth in step three can be of literally countless variety, and in fact it may be in large part similar to the energy exhibited in step one, where the artist performed largely uninformed by intimacy with his or her native gender attributes.
Conclusion
All of that is up to the kinds of dedicated experimentation and facilitation in a more or less creative laboratory setting that the integral approach suggests as the primary means to put the model to the test. In other words, it is in seminars, workshops, classes, and in-person community settings that work of this nature can be truly explored. Experts, as with most human endeavors, can aid by offering their past experience so that the wheel need not be invented every time. Work of this nature, especially for artists, tends to best occur in environments where trust, empathy, and intuitive connections are in place between facilitator and artist/student. This can be touchy stuff, to say the least. It requires patience on both sides, so that the areas of vulnerability, openness, and suspension of disbelief can emerge for true cultivation in ways that truly help, not hinder, the artist as he or she walks the difficult path of pioneering and sharing authentically creative art.
©2003-5 Matthew Dallman, Electric Goose Productions. All material (written, musical, photographic, filmic, animated, or otherwise) on www.MatthewDallman.com is exclusive property of Matthew Dallman (except where noted) and is offered to the world community for use in personal, private, and non-institutional applications. Permission to use any material on MatthewDallman.com for any other reason whatsoever is received only through expressed written consent by Matthew Dallman and Electric Goose Productions. All rights are hereby reserved.