Visiting Artist Studio Visit - Deke Weaver

My meeting with Deke Weaver went great. I met with him before I saw his lecture, and he came across as such a mild-manner, even-keeled person, it was good for me to not have any presumptions about him. I showed his the documentation of the Inter-spaces (Fish) piece. Quickly he was able to decipher the piece and think out some directions of consideration for it.

Of course the sounds are an important part of the piece, but he felt that all the sounds were too analogous- a common point made in crits- he suggested I try a different sound, look for ways to generate some tension. That will help enhance the harmonious parts, give them more reference, and well as allow the piece to move and grow, maintaining a slower, more interesting read.

Other ways to keep the basic struture/elements of the piece, yet to deepen/enrich it where:
- try to figure out the points of focus and movement through the physical space
- using a particular species of fish intentionally to add to the message
- finding other layers/resonance
- make sure that the piece is operating as more than just a combination of the formal elements

Deke brought up the way Philip Glass's work on "Koyaanisqatsi" (in part) elevates what could be described as some as very mundane uninteresting footage.


Although the work is built on exploring different ways of embodying the world, translating the senses into different senses (in this case particularly sight to sound), he suggested to repeat this formal consideration and perhaps translate other senses as well.

Most of all, he felt that I wasn't sure what do i wanted it to be about? Once I find what the piece is saying to me, I'll be able to edit and revise it so it speaks those things more eloquently.

Deke suggested I read "The Body Artist", by Don Dellilo, saying that it's a sort of ghost story, which taps into sourcing the mundane.

Moving the work forward, Deke recommended I check out the documentary on Jean-Claude and Cristo's "Running Fence" and listen to the artists describe the origins of the work, and how the piece expanded to the monumental thing it became. Not that my piece needs to be monumental, but as a way to consider the expanding growth of artwork.


On my ideas about hosting a larger interactive "instrument" (like the Volkswagen piano stairs), he suggested making sure that the "marketing" about the event/place/situation was just as considered, just as part of the piece as to add to the "thingness" the mythos of the piece. The more saturated the piece is in itself, the more confident, the easier it will to get people to drop their boundaries.

Visiting Artist Lecture - Deke Weaver

Deke Weaver's stage performance was amazing. With minimal props, and no vocal amplification, he commanded the audience so completely. His bizarre stories of animals standing in as metaphor or allusions to stories that root in human nature, or even more specifically Deke's life, felt so understandable, so true. There was a surprising level of accessibility.

There's something so primal about the storyteller. Deke's writing was biting contemporary social/personal commentary, and with his minimal set, he became the modern day Shaman. More than a bard, or jester, his writing is extremely refined, with very little improv in his performance. He writes with a sideways glance at his subject matter- his stories take place around the frame, not within the frame.

Deke uses animals often in his work; his father is wildlife management worker. Having grown up around animals, in proximity to someone who works with animals, they become humanized characters. He's been working on larger series - "The Unreliable Beastiery" based on 26 animals, 1 for each letter of the alphabet.

When asked what was his inspiration for stage work, Deke responded that it was the only place where he could access "really stupid ridiculous ways of catharsis." To him, performance is a place where artists are supposed to be able to do anything. Performance allows him to pursue his interests in texture, in movement, and in playfulness.

The work of his influences- Spalding Grey and Reverend Billy, led him to stage performance, realizing that stage work communicates with a visceral quality that can't be achieved with any other medium.