Artists, Alternative Personas and Living In Character...

[Dan Goodwin]

I wrote in another discussion:

I think it's one of the privileges of the artist to create alternative personas and characters through their work.

What experiences of this do you have in your work? What fictional characters have you created that have been alternative versions of yourself? Do you take on a different personality when you create, or when you perform, to be able to tap into a deeper creativity?

Is exploring a different artistic personality a way of avoiding your true self, or simply a way of connecting with other parts of yourself that are unexplored?

Leave your comments and experiences below:

[Nick]

In musical terms it is the difference between live and studio. Live, we must pretty much ad lib as we go where as, over the net, we get to analyze and edit things until they are smooth. Dancing is a much freer discipline than language. So many fewer rules and conventions. Conversing or speaking involves both the vocal side and the body language....Hmmm...sounds like a song and dance affair!!:-)

[Laurie Rutan]

Nick, I can hear the music and watch the notes dance.

[Dan Goodwin]

Nick, interesting analogy, I think that's true. The fact that there aren't all the other physical/visual elements and nuances of body language and so on makes it far easier to communicate through writing.

Having said that though, I've been at both ends of many a misinterpreted email or txt message, where humour or irony has been lost without a smile, or a certain tone of voice. Words that are written down and delivered unembellished with any phrasing or accent can easily be misinterpreted.

[Nick]

It is more complicated in person, verbally, to send a message as there is a great deal more data, ie. words, intonation, body language etc. to pass on but to receive the message is possibly simpler since we can loose a percentage of what is coming in and still understand most of the subtleties.
Personal communications is an extremely art form in itself. I admire good teachers. The very good ones are masters of communications.

[Dan Goodwin]

Absolutely, when I think of good teachers I think of my salsa teacher who I'm sure could give salsa lessons to a group of people who spoke a completely different (verbal) language and still have excellent results.

[Barbara Ann Storrier]

Interesting insights. The Internet has certainly changed the way we communicate, and made relating intimately much more accessible.

As far as dancing, it's relatively easy for some, not so for others, who may feel self conscious about being watched (until the third drink takes effect :) Also, I feel part of the sense of freedom depends on whether one is striving to do it "right" or just doing it for pleasure. Big difference between professional dancing and just going out to a club and moving to the music ... and to me, live music is a lot more conducive to feeling like dancing, as you are also interacting with the people who are making the music.

And writing ... just pouring words and ideas out onto a piece of paper or typing them on a keyboard is not the same as working on a piece for publication ... it's a lot easier to express freely in the first instance. Spelling and grammar are pretty insignificant in instant messages ... the relationship is more important than the rules :)

[Nick]

In my case by the time the alcohol brought down the inhibitions, it also had a detrimental effect on physical coordination and partners toes. It became a far better bet to play the music for others to dance to. :-)

[Dan Goodwin]

A friend of mine who dances jive with her husband says he won't dance until he's had a couple of drinks, and for a few dances he's fantastic. Then the alcohol kicks in a little too much with similar results to those you explain Nick. She says in a good night she'll get one or two anxious dances and 3 or 4 increasingly clumsy and uncoordinated ones, punctuated by 15 minutes of dancefloor brilliance in between!

I don't drink and dance myself, well only lots of water!

[Dan Goodwin]

Barb some intriguing points here:

Relating intimately: I think I'm good at this through the written word, and am very aware I have to be careful with txt messages, especially where there's potential for romantic misinterpretation. I don't know how much you use them in the US, but personally I send maybe 10-15 or more a day. Communication etiquette has been redefined with this medium. I wouldn't consider phoning someone after maybe 8pm unless in a real emergency, whereas I send a txt message at any time, knowing the person has the choice when/if they wish to respond.

Dancing: I was just talking with some friends earlier today about the doing it right versus doing it in your own style and enjoying yourself. Interesting to observe. Some people get very hung up on dancing exactly right, so much so that they never enjoy it. Which is the point of any dancing, ultimately... I've found that the fairly strict structure of salsa has been very freeing, perversely. Once you have the framework of the basic rhythm (1-2-3-pause 4-5-6-pause over 8 beats) it gives great scope for playing around with that because it's always there underlying to return to.

Writing: The grammar thing is interesting. I was just looking at a news article (online) with a comments board below. The diversity of comments ranged from serious and thought provoking, to witty and frivolous to vitriolic ranting. And the spelling and grammar was as varied! Again in text messages I write in abbreviated form, like cul8r, nt, how ru etc. In any other place though, I feel I need to write in full, and abbreviation feels like misuse of the English language.

[Barbara Ann Storrier]

Text messaging with a cell phone is quite popular here, too. I no longer have a cell phone but had an experience a while back that brought that potential for misinterpretation into very clear focus for me.

As for the comments on news articles online, I used to get very, very upset and dismayed with the vitriolic poisonous ones, wondering how in the world people could actually twist things into an opportunity for such ranting. I've learned to just let it go. If I spend any time thinking about this sort of ignorance, I get depressed!

[Dan Goodwin]

I agree about the last part. The internet has taken the freedom of speech to new levels and it seems some people use it to vent their personal frustrations and intolerances at complete strangers. I visit YouTube quite often, usually for music, and tend to avoid reading the comments these days.

What's heartening though is there are also so many opportunities to support people and their art through all kinds of different blogs and websites.

[Virginia Gardner]

This is very interesting for me. I understand what you've suggested/asked, and I can imagine alternative personalities emerging during the act of creating. I am a visual artist, however, and I find just the opposite - my true self emerges with my art. A significant case in point would be how I use my art to bring out negative energies, painful pieces of the past. I've just completed a piece that has done just that. It's been great (blogged at virginiagardner.com). But even before this latest evolutionary piece, I've always felt more real while I make art than at any other time.