What is Artistic Activism?
photo: Kina Williams |
So, this is serious business, right? Well, yes - and then some. I hope to inspire laughter, thought and feeling with every performance and lecture. I don't think there's any other way for us to remember that we are capable beyond our wildest dreams unless we allow ourselves to engage fully. We have to have fun while we're making the world a better place. And so, I'm a poet and a storyteller and an entertainer in addition to being a scholar. I have a particular love for poetry because it reminds us that every story is constructed, manipulated, assembled for particular effect. But other forms of interaction are good too - I'm also a facilitator and an educator. I'm not interested in teaching you how to think like me, however -- how to be like me. I long for you to be more like you, think and act more like you. I want you to put forth your vibrant contribution in the world. Fan your own feathers; there's no other bird exactly like you in the yard!
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There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. ... No artist is pleased. [There is] no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others. |
Yes, each individual contribution is important - and the cultural patterns are important too. The stories I tell and the interactive lectures I facilitate are an attempt to reveal the subtle workings of social systems. It's a paradox, see? By paying attention to small everyday experiences, we can start seeing the bigger picture. We have to be able to relate to one another as individuals before our culturally patterned circumstances become real to us. When we see ourselves, and each other in the complexity of our experiences, we start to see how we fit together - who has privilege, who is oppressed or marginalized, who seems worthy of love. And just as importantly, we remember that the world is changeable.
We need more stories. The stories told the loudest in our culture -- about power and beauty and eroticism and goodness and wealth - they are not adequate. They are not adequate to inspire a sense of love and respect for the whole human family. They are not adequate to convey the range of experiences happening in our human family. If we are to unravel current systems of oppression, exploitation and privilege, we must learn to hear and see more stories. That's how we create new stories. That's how the world changes.
It's not that the old stories just go away. But those new stories are like water seeping into the granite of the status quo. Through humor and beauty and pain and fear and hope, people can connect and systems that seem built of stone start to crumble - slowly at times, quickly too. Rather than forcing change, we inspire change. That is the power of artistic activism. Some believe that information alone can empower - and sometimes it's true. But there's something better than education: discovery. Through my stories, I hope you discover something about the beauty and complexity of the human experience. And maybe you'll even discover how to inspire yourself when things seem bleak and difficult. That's why I add my stories to the effort. I look forward to yours too - in whichever form they arrive. We must begin to believe that positive change is possible. Never forget that we are creating the world, even as it creates us..."
Some of the reviews of Kimberly's shows help explain her particular type of artistic activism. Please read on:
"Combining theater, story telling, and audience participation, 'Stripped and Teased' bursts the boundaries of ordinary thinking about the subjects of sexuality, gender, and the institutions of work and the family. Weaving her own rich experiences into stories and vignettes, Dark's characters provoke honest reflection on the part we each play in constructing, as we each enact, relations of inequality in everyday life. Had the message stopped there, I would have concluded that, while insightful and clever entertainment, the evening offered little more than one more bleak commentary on the ills of social relations of contemporary society. As a University professor, I and many of my colleagues all too often take this road, abandoning students to the dead ends of hopelessness and powerlessness. But this performance leads us, I dare say seduces us, down a very different path. These characters do much more than simply speak to our intellects as they tell and instruct. Rather, as they become vulnerable, revealing and transforming themselves in our midst, they show, and invite us to participate with them in, personal transformation and societal change… The magic of this show lies in Dark's ability to send her pithy insights, enveloped as they are in gentle humor, straight to our hearts, the place where hope resides."
"...thank you for your wonderful performance work at Southern Illinois University. It was indeed 'personal, powerful, political.' I found myself so completely engaged in your work. I was deeply impressed by both your skills as a writer and as a performer. As a writer, you manage to craft intimate and intricate poetic narratives that never settle for the easy answers. You pull listeners in, lead them through fascinating turns and complications, so that they may come to understand the world more fully. I simply love how you work with time, building suspense, earning the right to your claims, seducing listeners to join with you. As a performer, you know what it takes to make a piece work on stage. You bring a compelling presence that is coupled with the familiarity of close friends. Such a stance makes the audience want to be there, to listen to what you have to say, to claim space with you. They feel they will be rewarded by living in your company and, indeed, they are. You take them on such a rich journey, one that has so many rewards. I can't thank you enough for what you gave to our community and for spending several days with us. I know we are all the richer for the time you gave us.
"Kimberly Dark, vivacious, witty and insightful, presents narratives that stimulate and educate. As a performance artist myself, I value performers who skillfully integrate scholarship with art thus making the work accessible without watering down the academics embedded in it. What a thrill to share a stage with Kimberly. She rocks!"
"Kimberly’s performance was not only lively, entertaining and engaging, but informative as well. There is clear evidence that she has carefully constructed a social context for her narratives. The characters not only have a personal story – a lived experience – but the stories are routinely connected to a larger social reality... There is a broader reason I felt so excited about Kimberly’s work: in a time when individualism is so strongly valued in our culture, it’s increasingly difficult to get students to connect to, and understand the importance of a sociological perspective as a lens through which they may see their own experiences. Further, it appears that students now expect to be "entertained" as part of their learning experience. Not only does Kimberly’s work offer a new method of introducing the sociological perspective, it is entertainment in the highest form."
"Kimberly Dark's ethno-autobiographical performance work presents an innovative and highly original approach to a host of potentially contentious social issues, which are rarely addressed outside the college classroom. Seamlessly blending comedy and high seriousness, Dark immediately puts her audience ease and thereby engages them in a profound and honest conversation regarding gender and sexuality."
"I'd never seen Ms. Dark perform before I saw 'Stripped and Teased: Scandalous Stories with Subversive Subplots'. I must say I'm sorry I waited so long. The performance was humorous while at the same time offering a sincere examination of some of the painful aspects of women’s lives. One of my students attended the performance and said, 'She’s cool! This is everything we talk about in class, but different.' Stripped and Teased: Scandalous Stories with Subversive Subplots' is perfect for social science students. This performance offers new ways of examining the social construction of gender."