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Reading: Risk and Trust in Improvisation Our reading from this week is from: Heble, Ajay and Rebecca Caines, eds. The Improvisation Reader: Spontaneous Acts . London: Routledge, 2015. This full volume is a collection of essays and images. Ajay Heble started the Guelph Jazz Festival for improvised music. He, along with other contributors, started an institute for studying improvisation in the early 2000s at the University of Guelph. It is called the International Institute for Critical Studies in Improvisation (IICSI). We will learn more about the institute next week. For now, you should know that the book, and your reading this week is basically the same people who are connected to the institute. The introduction to the book includes this: Improvisation is a performance practice that animates and activates diverse energies of inspiration, critique, and invention. In recent years it has coalesced into an exciting and innovative new field of interdisciplinary scholarly inquiry, becoming a cornerstone of both practical and theoretical approaches to performance. The papers are presented in these themes: Listening Risk/Trust Flow Dissonance Responsibility

Liveness Surprise Hope These aren’t specific to music . Improvisation comes from many art forms throughout the book. I’m providing this list because it might help generate some ideas about how and why you might improvise something critically , rather than just “making-something-up.” The first 2 topics are listening and Risk/Trust. We’ll return to listening later. First is Trust. Ellen Waterman was a partner with Heble in starting IICSI. Waterman is one of the most influential scholars in Canada today, working as a performer (flute) and scholar in creative improvisation, and holding the Helmut Kallmann Chair for Music in Canada position at Carleton University (one of the most prestigious positions in music for Canada). Her short reading presents improvisation as “risky.” That is a good thing. Taking risks is how we learn. And, there isn’t a safer environment than our class. Even more—Waterman turns the idea of “risk” around as a kind of “trust” in each other for improvisation. Acknowledging risk and trust now is a great way to start! Come to class with a total of at least 3 sentences from: 1) Questions you have about the article or what the author means. Specific passages will help. 2) What part(s) do you find interesting? 3) How can your improvisations be informed by risk and trust? Read Ellen Waterman’s “Improvised Trust: Opening Statements” by clicking here .

The Avant-Garde Gesture and Abstract Art Some current critical studies about the avant-garde cite the artistic gesture as central to its critical practice. This makes sense to me. Gestures can be artistic (how we move in dance, how we play a certain sound, how we make an impression on paper or canvas, how we speak or write words). Gestures can also have social or political impact: the meaning of a gesture is conveyed and interpreted among viewers/listeners/readers. Improvisation is based on gestures: this is the act of creation, provided in the moment, and not edited or changed after it is “recorded” (on paper, video, mp3, or writing). Recordings are static —they are finished and have the semblance of a product. But, recordings of improvisation capture the dynamics of a particular time, place, and gesture. Some of the earliest improvisations in avant-garde art are in a movement called Abstract Art. Wassily Kandinsky (1866–1944) was a Russian abstract artist. Abstract was “concrete” to him. In his theory, the works don’t refer to the “real world,” but they are just as “real” in their own artistic world. It is similar to instrumental music, which is abstract. Music cannot point to anything “real” but is just as visceral. Kandinsky had in-depth pieces called compositions, which were pre-planned with specific shapes. His series of “Improvisations” from the ca. 1910s capture dynamics of motion, and gestures placed on canvas. Take a look: https://www.wassilykandinsky.net/improvisations.php If you’re improvising something visual, can something similar be done with paper and pencil, or digitally? Abstract Expressionism

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We studied Jackson Pollock’s White Light on the cover of Ornette Coleman’s Free Jazz . It is called the “drip style” or “action painting.” As an open work, it dispenses with form much like freely improvised music. Take a look at the link and expand the dropdown to read about Pollock: https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/artist/jackson-pollock From that reading, I highlight: In 1947, his “drip style,” marked by the use of sticks, trowels, or knives to drip and splatter paint, as well as pouring paint directly from the can, emerged. Reminiscent of the Surrealist notions of the subconscious and automatic painting, Pollock’s drips, also called “action paintings,” revolutionized the potential for contemporary art and furthered the development of Abstract Expressionism. I would also ask: how else could we improvise like this in class or at home? Can this be done digitally? What would it sound like if we were use it as a basis for improvisation? Abstract Expressionism The Guggenheim has a great article on Abstract Expressionism. Click the link below, click the dropdown, and read: https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/movement/abstract-expressionism Comments to some key ideas: You’ve learned about other avant-garde movements. Do you see the connection to expressionism, and surrealism? - There are also suggestions about freedom of form. Improvisation can have form (if you plan it), but having an open form can open boundaries for new ideas—a new kind of painting as Pollock and others were creating.

- Clement Greenberg: this person had an influential essay called “Avant-garde and Kitsch” and was one of the influential readings to define “avant-garde” from an American point of view, rather than from Europe. The theory is quite simple. We’ve seen the avant-garde as a critique on aesthetics (Romanticism), social structures, consumerism (bourgeois values), and politics. Greenberg thought the avant-garde was a reaction against kitsch: artworks of poor taste, usually without a sense of authenticity as kitsch are considered “copies” of real art. Some had the decadence of Romanticism fused with new techniques, like geometrical shapes in Cubism. It was a negative term to connote works that played on popular culture of the early 1900s. Some seemed to have a “shocking” theme like the avant-garde, but seemed watered-down and lacked depth. Many appeared in magazines, as posters, or sellable objects for mass consumption. You might have seen the painting of dogs playing poker… Here is another example of kitsch, something that isn’t considered critical in the avant-garde sense: Frederik Dielman, The Widow (1897) (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Widow_(Boston_Public_Library).jpg, PD.)

I’m not being negative. I’m only pointing out the Greenberg was at the forefront of defining the critical practice in contemporary visual art like Abstract Expressionism. The new avant-garde movements were attacking the (bourgeois) values supporting kitsch. Go back to the Guggenheim page and look at some of the artworks again: https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/movement/abstract-expressionism As stated in the reading, some artists were working in “gestural modes” – gestures which capture action and the process of creation (and for Pollock, improvised drip paintings). Postmodernism The Avant-garde is Dead—Long live the Avant-garde! This slogan is sometimes cited as a paradox of art in transition of the 1960s and 1970s. The death of the avant-garde has many theories, mostly boiling down to Peter Bürger’s ideas that “shock” was no longer shocking, and the negative (destructive) methods of the avant-garde failed to integrate art into the praxis of life (or those methods were at least exhausted). Artists like Andy Warhol were using icons of popular culture to speak directly with audiences. In this postmodern way, it was a positive method of integrating art with life but unlike kitsch: postmodern was new, where kitsch was based on advancements already undertaken in art. Warhol used serial procedures for silkscreen paintings of icons like Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe in the 1960s. Click here to see Marilyn Diptich (1962) Or another example of Dolly Parton, shown at the top of the 2021 exhibit at the Art Gallery of Ontario: https://ago.ca/exhibitions/andy-warhol

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Postmodern art began by adopting methods and images that communicate clearly with audiences . We are in the postmodern era now. With these kinds of themes, anything “postmodern” can be arguably seen as a critical practice by commenting on our culture of exchange. Another example comes from Joe Brainard. He created a number of "shocking" images with a well-known comic strip character called Nancyin the 1960s and 1970s: that is, the images were an appropriation of an image from popular culture. Some of Brainard's pictures showed Nancy lifting her dress to reveal a penis, or her face superimposed on the Mona Lisa . Or this one: https://www.pw.org/files/images/Nancy_4.jpg There is a sense of negativity (avant-garde) but also popular culture: social themes that were leading to the new postmodern era. These aren’t improvised . But, we can start thinking about improvisation today separated from the avant-garde (e.g., of the noise in free jazz or indeterminate concert music). Improvisation today is often a positive method of making sound, images, or writing to engage critical listeners, viewers, and readers. Here is an example. “Really Listening” and Visual Art Listening is central to improvisation. In a group improvisation, musicians are highly trained at listening to each other to respond quickly. It takes practice. It is also considered critical because it is central to democratic interaction: i.e., a healthy democracy requires listening. Without listening, and without listening attentively, social interactions break down, and politics become divided. Listening in music (improvisation) is long equated with listening as a social practice . Here is one example: Pauline Oliveros was a famous musician--improviser, composer, and theorist--who started the practice of “deep listening.” Today, you can get a deep listening certificate, become a practitioner, and many improvisers believe it is the cornerstone to improvising. Click here for a page about deep listening and a great video of one of the workshops.

In visual art, Jeff Schlanger has been producing works under the moniker of “musicWitness.” He is a current New York based artist who paints with free improvised music. Sometimes, his images end up looking like musicians; sometimes they don’t. Many of them seem like bursts of energy, although I know his paintings can take a few hours to complete. You can see a picture of him in action at his website, http://www.musicwitness.com/JeffSchlanger.html . Click here for one of his works, Really Listening (2013) . This was published in the Improvisation Studies Reader (ed. Ajay Heble and Rebecca Caines, Routledge 2015). We see gestures of action. I also like this example because it is black and white: you don’t need paint, or even colour to improvise visual art (that isn’t a requirement). Also, it starts asking questions: what does drumming look like? How does one capture the dynamics of improvised sound in improvised art? This is also postmodern, not just because it is “today,” but because it has a theme that intends to communicate sound with a sketch of musicians. Example: Dance I am inspired by Scott Thompson, a trombonist who began as a musician without any training, and adopted experimenting and improvisation as the central practice to learn and play music. He became the artistic director of the Guelph Jazz Festival, a professional musician, hired for performances of prestigious composed and improvised works, and internationally recognized. He collaborates with Susanna Hood, a vocalist and dancer based in Montreal. Hood and Thompson improvise music and dance together. I provide this as an example for anyone interested in dance, but also for everyone to think about improvising: Hood will have a number of practiced and choreographed movements, and will have researched (studied) how to use them in improvisation.

Click here to watch an excerpt of their Muted Note performance from 2015 in Scotland. More Ideas for Music Brock University libraries publish works and exhibits in Omeka—a digital exhibition for artistic scholarship. In 2020, the Interiors exhibit included a contribution from Devon Fornelli, who is a percussionist in the music department. This resource can give some ideas for improvising percussive music. It is quite “open”: no pulse, and the sounds are interacting with the environment. The write-up by Matthew Royal (also in the music department) has a good description. If you like the ideas and don’t have instruments, you could use similar ideas (noises, sounds, varied textures) but with found objects ( I like bowls, books, sticks, whatever is around your home ). https://exhibits.library.brocku.ca/s/interiors/page/devon-fornelli-improv-outside-may-9-2020 Plans, Takes, and Mis-takes I borrow this title, “Plans, Takes, and Mis-takes” from an article about Thelonious Monk. The idea is that mistakes are welcomed, and intended as a result of improvising. Mistakes are also reframed as mis-takes—recording improvisations many times to see the result (and possibly selecting a favourite take). Plans: improvisation can be planned. Having a plan at least gives a place to start. Sometimes, a plan can be how the whole improvisation will work. Plans are usually like setting boundaries : giving a focus on a certain kind of sound, drawing technique, dance movement, or pre-set ideas for poetry.

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In class: When we improvise, we will make a plan : where to start, what to experiment with, and where to end. A planned improvisation will sound, look, or read more coherent than a free-for- all. Make Multiple Takes: we might improvise the same "plan" more than once. Each time, it will likely be different. When musicians are recording, they usually have multiple takes, then select their favourite. Our Mis-takes : in a recording session, there are multiple mis-takes—ones the band doesn't like and will never be heard. It was a process . They select the best ones at the end and burn it to a CD (if you're old-school like me). Practice at home and record yourself. Don’t be afraid of your mis-takes. Keep them. Listen to them. Do them again. Discard anything you don’t like later.

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