Cybernetic Futures Inst. 4
Technoetic Arts &
the Spiritual & Occult in Art, Film,
Screen-Dance + Networked Performance
THE VISION ARCHIVE
Vision Archive #1
Written by Dr Lila Moore
All Rights Reserved
2.10.2024
The Vision Archive is an ongoing documentation process of artworks, artist statements, manifestos, academic articles, and monographs by Dr. Lila Moore. The documents are assembled on ADA—The Archive of Digital Art and Dr. Lila Moore’s websites.
The poet Paul Valéry stated: “A work is never completed, but merely abandoned.” While this statement reflects the nature of the artistic process, it also highlights the unfortunate state of abandonment that artworks endure. Moreover, those of us who started working in the 1980s are aware not only of the lack of cameras and filming equipment, especially in remote geographic locations but also of the overall resistance to documenting, especially performance art.
Performative artworks were actions that, once performed, were meant to disappear, resembling a mirage, a vision and energy that happens in a unique moment in spacetime. Capturing a dynamic event was regarded as anti-performance; it killed the dynamism of the moment, turning the living action into a frozen still destined for a photographic death.
The following section from Lila Moore’s PhD thesis (2001, pp. 17-18) explicates the problem of documenting performance:
In Laurie Anderson's Forward to RoseLee Goldberg’s book: Performance Live Art since the 60s (1998), the problem of the transition from one medium to another is addressed. According to Anderson, performance art is a form that in principle “resists documentation” (Goldberg, 1998, p.6). Anderson’s approach to her work reveals the dilemma involved in the formal transition of live art to a recorded form in which the live event is preserved. It conveys her changing attitudes towards the medium of performance and live art:
I myself used to be very proud that I didn't document my work. I felt that, since much of it was about time and memory, that was the way it should be recorded – in the memories of the viewers – with all the inevitable distortions, associations and elaborations. Gradually I changed my mind about making records of events… I started to keep track of things… When live art is documented through film or audio recordings it immediately becomes another art form – a film or a record – another rectangle or disk. It's in the can (Goldberg, 1998, pp. 6-7).
Anderson addresses the importance of preserving live art, which is not recorded by the mass media. The preservation of live art becomes crucial, especially as “it is the anarchic and experimental arm of our culture” (Goldberg, 1998, p. 7). Although recording live art is a contradiction in terms, not keeping a record of it is somehow peculiar, as “we live in a time in which everything gets captured and processed and made to fit into boxes and categories” (Goldberg, 1998, p.7).
The contradiction between live and photographed performances sparked a transformative journey in my artistic career. I began using photography in a performative manner, a concept I later termed “performed photography” (Ibid., 162). This shift from my early attempts at painting to a medium more suited to capturing an ineffable dimension was a pivotal moment. The notion of invisible, film-like screens emerged as an aesthetic option and sensibility, marking a significant evolution in my artistic expression.
In the featured images from one of my early multimedia performances in the 1980s, the characters dissolve into the urban environment, reflecting their shattered psyches. Despite the unfortunate circumstances, the resilience of young women in the face of adversity was palpable. In some places in the Middle East, our ‘so-called performance art’ was considered an abomination. Our well-being and the integrity of our body and psyche were under attack. Hence, the surviving images reflect our psychic navigation in the poverty-stricken territory of the urban anima mundi.
References
Goldberg, L. R. (1998). Performance Live Art Since the 60s. Thames and Hudson.
Moore, L. (2001). Dance on Screen, PhD Thesis, Middlesex University. Cybernetic Scribe.
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Shuttere Psyches 1980s Multimedia Performance by Lila Moore
Published by ADA - Archive of Digital Art
Vision Archive #2
Written by Dr Lila Moore
All Rights Reserved
13.10.2024
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LIGHTS IN THE DARKNESS
by Lila Moore
Multimedia Performance created and performed by Lila Moore in 1982 as part of a Biennale for Young Artists at
Haifa Museum of Modern Art.
Description written in 1985 by Lila Moore
The performance, titled "Lights in the Darkness," depicted the obsessed state of a poet involved in the search for a lost vision. In his vision, he briefly encountered a mysterious woman whom he lost in the distance and darkness of the night. The protagonist portrayed the poet's obsession with this mysterious woman. The performance was accompanied by a female voice reciting passages from the poem, The Desire to Paint by Charles Baudelaire, which also depicted the poet's desire for a mysterious woman. The poetic text was divided into sections with a soundtrack made of a montage of medieval music and sound effects. The protagonist’s performance was synchronized with the poetic text, the music, and the slides projected in the background. These slides added further visual associations to the audio and live performance, providing the performance with changing scenery.
In the first section of the performance, the protagonist appeared wearing a red dress with long oval shapes of transparent plastic attached to it. Another oval shape made of plastic was used to crown her head, as it was pulled backward and reached her back. The woman sat on a stool, holding sheets of white paper in one hand and a glass of wine in the other. She acted as if she were reciting poetry, reading from the sheets of paper as she drank the wine ecstatically. Simultaneously, slides depicting the city of Florence at night and a lit church interior were projected in the background. The slides placed the protagonist in the scenery of a city with a great artistic tradition and a religious setting. The audio-visual elements and live performance signified that the poet's search for the mysterious woman was akin to an ecstatic artistic and religious experience.
In the second section, the protagonist's search for the lost vision took place near an imaginary, dreamy-looking castle next to a silvery lake at night. This location was represented by a projected slide of a dreamy castle and a lake, which served as the backdrop for the live act. The protagonist seemed to signal an unseen presence at one of the castle's windows. She signaled with flashes of light, projecting them onto a hand mirror by using a torch, holding the mirror in one hand and the torch in the other. She created an atmosphere of playful mystery as she moved stylistically, holding the torch and the mirror, accompanied by the sound of gentle bells. Through these gestures, she signaled to the mysterious presence, which remained unseen and unreachable. This section depicted the playful mystery surrounding the poet's search for the desired female presence.
In the third section, the search intensified as the protagonist moved away from the castle's view into a field of scattered rocks and bushes. She attempted to invoke the lost feminine and sensual identity she sought. Sitting on the ground, she danced wildly as a slide projected a field in the background. The music heightened the intensity of her stylised movements. This section conveyed the poet's yearning for the sensuality of his unseen vision, coupled with the frustration and isolation of his search.
In the fourth section, the protagonist expressed the changing emotions of the poet toward his female vision, feelings described as a mix of attraction, fear, and lust. The protagonist lay next to an imaginary lake, represented by a mirror on the floor. A spotlight reflected in the center of the mirror symbolized the moon. In the background, a projected slide depicted a medieval painting of hell by Coppo di Marcovaldo, showing the devil and his tormented slaves. Naked men and women were swallowed by the devil in the image. The protagonist, lying on her stomach, repeatedly raised her head and torso, supporting her upper body on bent arms. She opened her mouth wide before returning to a prone position, reminiscent of a lizard. Simultaneously, the poetic text described the poet's shifting, dramatic feelings toward the mysterious woman, comparing her to a full moon on a stormy night and to the Witch of Thessaly, who transformed into a terrifying and demonic black sun.
The fifth section concluded the poet's search with the realization that his desire for the mysterious woman marked his downfall as a man but solidified his glory as an artist. His desired subject served as both muse and the driving force behind his creative energy. A slide projected a view of the city of Florence at night. Grotesquely masked, the protagonist danced while balancing one leg on a table, where two lit candles, a glass of wine, and white sheets of paper were placed. She bent her back and arms toward her raised, bent leg, then rose with a curved back and arms, stretching backward. The grotesque mask and repetitive dance movements expressed the poet's persistent and fantastical inner search.
Lights in the Darkness by Lila Moore
Contemporary Summary
"Lights in the Darkness" is a multimedia performance created and performed by Lila Moore in the 1980s. The performance unfolds a poet’s obsessive search for a mysterious woman, a vision he briefly encountered and then lost in the darkness of night. It explores themes of desire, artistic inspiration, and the complexity of the poet’s emotional and psycho-spiritual journey.
The performance is structured into five sections, each depicting different stages of the poet’s search. Throughout, a female voice recites passages from Charles Baudelaire’s poem The Desire to Paint, which portrays the poet’s longing for an enigmatic woman. These recitations are accompanied by a medieval music soundtrack, heightening the dramatic atmosphere. Projected slides provide changing visual settings that synchronize with the poetic text, music, and the protagonist’s stylized movements, creating a multimedia experience.
In the first section, the protagonist appears in a red dress adorned with oval-shaped pieces of transparent plastic, with an additional oval-shaped piece crowning her head. Sitting on a stool, she holds white sheets of paper in one hand and a glass of wine in the other, simulating the act of reading poetry while drinking ecstatically. Slides in the background depict the city of Florence and the interior of a lit church, placing the protagonist in a space filled with both artistic tradition and religious significance. This section establishes the poet’s search as both an artistic and spiritual quest.
The second section transports the protagonist to a dreamy, imagined setting near a castle and a silvery lake, represented by a projected slide. Here, she attempts to signal an unseen presence at the castle’s window, using flashes of light from a torch projected onto a hand mirror. Accompanied by the sound of gentle bells, the protagonist’s stylized movements create an atmosphere of playful mystery. This scene emphasizes the elusive nature of the poet’s desired vision, which remains unseen and unreachable, deepening the sense of longing.
In the third section, the protagonist moves away from the castle into a field of scattered rocks and bushes, where she sits on the ground and performs a wild-looking dance. The slide projections continue, this time depicting a rugged natural landscape. The protagonist’s dance symbolizes the poet’s deep yearning for sensuality but also reflects his frustration and isolation in the ongoing search for his lost vision.
The fourth section portrays a shift in the poet’s emotional response to the woman. The protagonist lies next to an imaginary lake, represented by a mirror placed on the floor that reflects a spotlight symbolizing the moon. In the background, a slide illustrates a medieval image of hell, featuring the devil and his tormented slaves (from Satan by Coppo di Marcovaldo). As the protagonist raises her upper body like a lizard beside the lake, moving between ecstasy and despair, the poet’s feelings for the woman evolve, blending fear and lust. She is compared to a full moon and the Witch of Thessaly, growing into a terrifying and demonic black sun, representing the poet’s internal turmoil.
The performance concludes with the fifth section, in which the poet’s obsession with the mysterious woman leads to his downfall as a man but simultaneously solidifies his artistic legacy. The woman, now serving as his muse, becomes the driving force behind his creative expression. In this section, the protagonist, grotesquely masked, dances with one leg on the table, surrounded by lit candles, a glass of wine, and white sheets of paper. Her bizarre, repetitive movements symbolize the poet’s relentless pursuit of his inner vision—a journey that fuels his artistic creativity, even as it consumes him emotionally.
Overall, Lights in the Darkness is a compelling exploration of desire, artistic obsession, nonbinary identity, double consciousness, and the complex relationship between the search for inspiration and personal identity. Through the use of multimedia elements, Lila Moore creates a haunting, surreal atmosphere that mirrors the poet’s emotional and psychological state.
Lights in the Darkness as a portrayal of Double Consciousness
Excerpt from The Shaman of Cybernetic Future Moore, L. (2018). The shaman of cybernetic futures: art, ritual and transcendence in fields of the networked mind. Cybernetics & Human Knowing, 25(2-3), 119-141.
"Lights in the Darkness (Moore, 1982) was a multimedia piece which I performed at the Haifa Museum of Modern Art. Inspired by Charles Baudelaire’s poem “The Desire to Paint,” the somewhat androgynous protagonist assumed both the characters of the poet and his demonic double and muse, who since disappeared in the darkness of one unforgettable night, haunts his visions with the intensity of a midnight black sun. The presence of the poet’s double in space, the double which interchangeably signified the poet or the muse, was hinted by the performing protagonist’s reflection that fell on the projected imagery or was reflected in mirrors, which were utilized as part of the performance and the setting. These initial images of the double as a reflection or apparition hovering on or seemingly moving within physical and ethereal sites and interiors were my first explorations of moving within what I currently term as noetic fields of the mind".
(Moore, 2018, pp.121-122).
Lights in the Darkness
Published by ADA Archive of Digital Art
https://digitalartarchive.at/database/work/5299/
BATH RITES
Artist Statement by Lila Moore
In the mid to late 1980s, I began performing cleansing rituals, often utilizing a bathtub as a prop in multimedia performances and performed photography. The bathtub served multiple functions, also being conceived as a sarcophagus and a cosmic transportation device inspired by the rituals of Ancient Egypt. I initially took and developed the Bath Rites photos, which were performed in my then bathroom and bathtub in London. These were part of intuitive performative sessions, with no theory attached to them apart from a pure artistic interest in performing for the camera.
I recently resurrected these photos as a lifelong practitioner of performance and dance for the camera and screen.The images, old and new, past and present, are mixed into the formal structure and fluid aesthetics of an installation.
In line with post-Jungian thought, arts-based and practice-based research, the psyche and the complexity of the Self manifest through the often-unconscious language of the arts. Thus, I am putting together the scattered pieces and glimpses of the Self and psyche, looking backward, forward, and within.
author = {Moore, Lila}
publisher = {Archive of Digital Art},
title = {Bath Rites},
url = {https://digitalartarchive.at/database/work/5302/}