[News] Update on UK "live seizure" performance

[Ruth]

Hi Phylis, by voyerism I take it you mean sensatiionalism.

[PhylisFeinerJohnson]

You got it!

[seizingbeauty]

Wow! This is one of the most eloquently written and fiercely debated threads that I have participated in. Rae, Epileric, Ruth you have all been eloquent and scathing. I have to say thanks Occb, I started onto this thread with nothing but fury, my opinion has not changed but you have helped temper my view of the situation. I still believe that there are better methods to bring awareness of our condition to the masses than preformance art!

[Chris515]

I agree seizingbeauty... my opinion is the same but I have calmed down. I'm not furious any more, I just seriously disagree with what Ms Marcalo is doing.

[occb]

All of you have made great points, and thank you for those. I hope that nobody was offended by my contrary position -- I only hoped to show that this performance doesn't have to be a worst-case-scenario.

In all honesty, while I see potential in it, there are aspects of this art piece that bother me a lot -- the possibility to portraying all epilepsy as no big deal, when it can be extremely debilitating; the possibility that common stereotypes may be upheld; and the concept of seizures as entertainment -- but I'm also a staunch believer in the freedom of artistic expression, and that art does have the capacity to educate, regardless what form it takes (although sometimes you have to wonder... there was a man in a town nearby who got an arts grant to hang up vials of his bodily fluids from trees. I don't know that I personally learned much more than not to touch the trees when I go to that town, but who knows what other people got from it)

Discussions like this helps to explore all aspects of an issue, even if it's simply to re-affirm what side you're on, because it clarifies what you think, and gives you the opportunity to put your position into calmer words that can be used more effectively in support or protest.

[TempusFugit]

occb - I now understand exactly what you mean. I was a little (ok, I was very) upset about Rita's upcoming 'artistic performance'. Whilst I now have had time to calm down and reflect, I can now kind of accept that any publicity can be a good thing.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder - I suppose this kind of art can be considered beautiful if you can look past the stereotype. Artists are continually pushing the boundaries on what is considered socially acceptable and public opinion will continue to be divided.

I will certainly be watching this performance (and public reaction) with interest. I can personally tell you that where I work (at a school) approximately 85% are opposed to the idea, but of the 15% - well, their reasons now actually make some kind of sense.

[Aubrey]

Go ahead and think I am close minded, but as for blowing off the dangers of T/Cs, frankly, anyone with them could conceivably go into status. Call me cynical, but I serious doubt her motives, and not all pushing boundaries actually is either A) done with the intent or B) will likely have the result of "expanding awareness." Sometimes it's just somebody trying to make a buck off of the underside of human nature and call it art so people won't have to feel guilty paying to see it. In this case, it's at the expense of people w/E. I strongly suspect Ms. Marcola knows this is exactly what she is doing.

[occb]

I don't think you're narrow-minded. I think you and other people here have very legitimate reasons for thinking about this the way you do.

[Ruth]

I have nothing to add. Everyone has summed up both sides beautifully.

[seizingbeauty]

Hey Guys,
Just an update, I had e-mailed the aritist and the councel. I received a "form letter" back saying they had forwarded my email to the Yorkshire Arts councel and that was it. I think the lack of response from all parties involved is in someways more frustrating than the initial situation. The lack of acknowledgment that there may be greater concerns here than just outrage over a preformance piece, is extremely frustrating.

[Ruth]

When they start sending "form letters" back, they are deleting everyone's e-mail and that is all you will get. They are going through with it.

[Chris515]

Yeah I got back the same form letter. I think that means our emails are not being forwarded to the press officer at the Arts Council, but to the recycle bin instead.

[occb]

That doesn't surprise me from the council. I'm disappointed by the artist, although, I suspect there's been a lot of demands for her time and attention in the last while.

[Nakamova]

Apparently (and to my relief, I must admit) the dance artist Rita Marcalo was unable to induce a seizure for her one-off "performance". Below is a link to one eyewitness description of the event:

http://www.disabilityartsonline.org/?location_id=1110

[occb]

I think that's the first time I've ever heard about someone being frustrated about not having a seizure.

[Nakamova]

I think the only other context for frustration would be when you want to have a seizure show up on on an EEG so the doctors will take you seriously.

But in the case of this performer, I think her motives were definitely mixed, and that she barely (if at all) considered the implications and consequences of her "show".

[Nakamova]

From another review:

[Rita Marcalo's controversial attempt to have an epileptic fit on stage at Bradford Playhouse ended in failure today. The Portuguese dancer, who has epilepsy, was attempting to induce a seizure during a 24-hour arts performance. By the 1pm finish she had not managed to do so - despite exposing herself to strobe lights and depriving herself of sleep and food.

Playhouse director Eleanor Barrett described the performance as "emotionally demanding" to watch. She said: "She's taking control in a way she's never been able to before. She added: "It's been quite intimate and I have been touched by how caring people have been. People have been here to support the artist's intentions."

Despite complaints, there were no protesters outside the Little Germany theatre when the event, Involuntary Dances, started yesterday. Among the 30 or so watching the show were reporters and a team of paramedics. Miss Marcalo stopped taking her medication a month ago and was drinking wine, coffee and eating chocolate -- stimulants she has avoided for years -- to try to induce an epileptic fit. She logged on to websites designed to induce seizures, and was exposed to strobe lighting at intervals throughout the night.

The performance was the first part of a project exploring the relationship between dance, epilepsy and drug research. The second part, featuring footage of Miss Marcalo trying to induce a seizure, will be at Bradford's Theatre in the Mill in January. Before the performance she said: "Opinion about this is very polarised. I respect people's opinions, but I hope they respect why I'm doing this. "My dance training is about controlling my body, but during an epileptic seizure I'm out of control. "With dancing you grow up in front of mirrors, but when I'm having a seizure I don't know what I look like. "Epilepsy is a hidden disability, there are prejudices. When I feel a seizure coming on I take myself away, usually to a toilet. For once I'm choosing to make a spectacle of myself. It's about the way I make sense of myself as a dancer."

When asked why anyone would want to watch her attempt to have a fit, she said: "It's human curiosity. My research involves looking at the notion of voyeurism."

Her research project, which extends to 2011, received nearly #14,000 of Arts Council funding. Of that #900 was spent on a private medical team.

Spokesman Cluny Macpherson said: "We saw this as challenging, innovative, in some sense the best of why the arts are important, in stimulating us to think about the world we live in and who we are. There's a long history of artists looking at their own condition. I don't see this as a stunt."]