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Sept 28 - Oct 27, 2007

Explorationsin Labour,Leisure, &SportPerformance, video, photos

John G. Boehme

nanaimogallery.ca

The Nanaimo Art Gallery is a state of the art institution situated in the heart of the city. It prides itself in providing the people of this region with the highest quality exhibitions, programs and services that a top grade public art gallery can give to citizens of all ages. The gallery is seen as a dynamic cultural centre within the community, and is a destination point for visitors to Nanaimo.

--------------------------------------------The Gallery would like to gratefully acknowledge the ongoing support of:

--------------------------------------------NANAIMO ART GALLERY

Campus Location:900 Fifth Street,Nanaimo, BC V9R 5S5Tel: (250) 740 6350

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beyond a speculative exploration of Nanaimo’s civicand cultural integrity, since I anticipated that the explicitand possibly latent anxieties of the interviews would beexpressed through this vehicle.

Q: You use your body in your performance works inoften extreme or rigorous ways. Full Brazilian waxesin Chile for example, surfing in Newfoundland,golfing in a Gdansk shipyard and even selling cheapgoods from a hole to the ground in Minsk. In thepiece entitled FORE MIEN which you plan to performat the NAG, you proceed to drive two golf balls aminute for four hours at an aluminum-sheathed wallin the gallery space. Why are you interested inpushing your body to extremes in yourperformances?

A: Live artwork presents a direct relationship withmaterial, with action and process, with humaninteraction. As I understand it, physical involvement isthe most thorough and embodied way in which tocreate meaning. Through durational works both theartist and the audience becomes privy to knowledgeavailable only through this kind of commitment.

Q: I understand that you are also interested in sport asa metaphor for different elements in ourcontemporary capitalist society. Can you talk abouthow you view sports fitting into society, what theyrepresent and how you have decided to deal withthis subject in the piece?

A: Historically, there are evident connections between art

and sports such as illustrations on ancient Greekceramics depicting figures engaged in sports. Not unlike contemporary sentiment, the adoration of thehero makes sport the sanctioned site for the eroticismand idealization of the body. Contemporary professionalsport has paralleled the emergence of capitalism.Its language is the language of war, struggle,oppression and conquest. Terms like sudden-deathovertime, offence, defense and strikers are evidence ofsuch violence in sports lingo. Professional athletes usethe cultural space awarded to them to articulatepositions on class, race and economic struggles.

In the piece FORE MIEN, I create fictitious golf game inthe gallery space using the time line of a four-hourmatch. I chose this sport because it is one that isimbued with certain rules, codes and etiquette. Eventhe course (links) is an artificially constructedenvironment in which only paying members areallowed. Cultural memes, such as a dress code add tothe exclusive and constructed rituals that surround thesport. The size of the aluminum sheet I hit the ballsagainst and the length of the performance piece reflectthe heroic and ritualistic nature of the sport.The absurdity that is evident in tradition and newsports is an area of my investigation too. Game theory,for example, posits cunning strategy rather than merephysical prowess as a way to win. Performance(performance evaluation on the job, statisticalassessment in professional sports) in general is a toolto quantify and evaluate and is parallel with sports andmanagement. A distinct and affirmative outcome isdesired and needed for a successful outcome.

Q: Some of the works in the gallery are videos of pastperformances. How are your pieces transformedwhen they are presented this way?

A: I produce art works that engage a durational aspect ofexperience. This is of course the archetypal modality of‘performance art’, an experience that unfolds througha set period of time. Nothing can replace that learning,that specific duration of being. But although there is noalternative to the durational aspect of performance perse, I remain interested in the question of representationof performance, the very clear and obvious problem ofmaking the ephemeral available to a larger audience ata different time. In a sense the placement of the workbecomes totally new but in a different way. The video“reconstructs” the event for the viewer and makes itpossible for discussion and publication. It alsoexpands the set piece into other media like audio andsculpture.

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Over the past decade John G.Boehme has developed an extensive exhibition record both nationally and internationally. Having participated in events and exhibitions in the United States and Canadafrom coast to coast, Chile, China, France, the UK, and Mexico, Spain, Poland, Argentina, Finland, Northern Ireland, Italy, Germany, and Belarus, with pending exhibitions at the Grace Gallery, Brooklyn, New York, Amsterdam, France, Serbia and Montenegro.

In 2004 Boehme was short-listed for the prestigious $50,000 Sobey Arts Award and is a recipient of numerous International, Federal and Provincial arts grants. John G. Boehme is a Sessional/Adjunct Instructor at the University of Victoria, Camosun and Brentwood Colleges.

This interview with artist John Boehme and curator Gregory Ball was conducted at Boehme’s home in Victoria, B.C. on September 10, 2007.

Q: Can you talk a little about some of your qualifications and skills in regards to showing at theNAG? Being an artist is a very competitive job.What makes your work stand out amongst otherproposals?

A: Of course I enjoy this question - it is essentially a jobinterview demand.

I have exhibited internationally over the last decade,presenting work in Europe, North and South America,and in Asia at the invitation of festivals and institutionalcurators. I have been teaching art to post-secondarystudents for over five years now, and I curateperformance-related gallery exhibitions. I am deeplyinvested in contemporary art - and that is reflected inmy practice. My work is direct, nuanced, andcommitted.

Q: Over the past decade you have incorporated a widerange of artistic mediums that have included digitalimages, video, photography, sculpture, installations,and performance works. In this exhibition at theNanaimo Art Gallery we get a cross-section of thediverse nature and range of your multi-disciplinaryactivities, which incorporate your interests andexplorations into the subjects of Labor, Leisure, andSport. What is the impetus for investigating thesethree aspects of contemporary society usingperformance? Can you talk about their relationshipto one another?

A: Labour, Leisure and Sport are a set of inter-relatedphenomena: we labour to procure leisure, yet leisureactivities are often labourious - the challenge toperform is common to both activities. Although it’sgenerally obvious that labour requires applied effort,consider as well the fixed determination that we applyto ‘recreation’, for example, “craft marathons”.I see Labour, Leisure and Sport as facets of the sameunconsidered compulsion to fulfill societalexpectations. Canine Freestyle channels thisobservation.

With regard to multi-disciplinary works, I prefer thealternative terms “inter-disciplinary” or “trans-disciplinary”. These terms refer to integration betweenmedia, as opposed to, say, a sequential use ofdifferent forms – for instance, I employ performance,video, audio and objects simultaneously in a number ofmy pieces. I am not constrained to any particularmode; rather, I utilize integrated approaches to realizethe work.

Q: You are particularly interested in the changing rolesof labour and have done several performance worksthat critique issues that relate to money, powerstructures, and attrition rates in the economy. Herein Nanaimo you set up mock job interviews (GET ITGOT IT GOOD!) where the public was invited to role-play as employer and you as potential employee.What is your intended purpose in participating withthe public in this way?

A: “Get it Got it Good!” was developed using printedadvertisements inviting Nanaimo residents to interviewJohn G. Boehme. These participants were to beresponsible for determining the nature of the job tointerview me for, and the questions. I was notinterested in pre-scripting the interviews. It’s importantto note that there is no ‘acting’ involved – I am notparticularly interested in the notion of role-playing.My desire was to render a moment of heightenedsentiment with a ‘public’ participant, an authenticmoment emphasizing my vulnerability and theapplicant’s assumed authority - not a fiction or arepresentation. In fact, my interest in the veracity ofthat moment meant that I was fully prepared toundertake the piece as a solitary work if no member ofthe public chose to conduct an interview. I wasinterested in that possibility as much as any othersince it would then serve to provide myself - and theeventual gallery audience - with literally hours of abjectanticipation.

This emphasis on vulnerability was intended toresonate with a civic concern regardingunemployment in downtown Nanaimo. The intentionto involve actual residents takes “Get it Got it Good!”

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(Surf and Stay) - Witless Bay, Dec 13th

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