Meghann Snow, performance artist hailing from New York, recently performed at the 10th Edition of Dimanche Rouge in Paris. The first time I spied Meghann, she was spinning in interminable circles. Her head was down. I quietly sat down to watch. There was no dialogue, no music, just the dull sound of her taped-feet scraping along the ground. What is she doing? How does she turn so smoothly? Does she realise that she’s standing in a circle of black powder?
Bursting with questions, we tracked Meghann down for an interview.
Emma Lee: Meghann, please tell us a little more about your recent performance at the Dimanche Rouge Experimental Art Festival. What materials did you use? Was the performance the work? Or a process to create an artwork?
Meghann Snow: I use bubble wrap, scotch tape, a tarp, plastic and charcoal. The process is very simple. I make the shoes [from the bubble wrap and tape] in front of the audience and then allow the materials to have a voice [Meghann spins the charcoal in circles with her feet to make a black circular pattern on the piece of tarp].
The audience is getting an experience, and they can decide for themselves whether they are interested. The performance itself is a major component of the work, I am still figuring out what the “work” is. To turn the question around, what did you [the audience] feel like when you experienced it?
You have a physical experience and along with the physical experience, you see the work stretched out. That is the final viewing, but as you have experienced seeing it created, when you look at it your memory goes back to the performance. The performance and the work is one and the same. You have seen it being created, experienced it and viewing the charcoal work you see it again.
Even if you haven’t seen the performance, you get a physical feeling from seeing the work. The work itself is a physical performance.
EL: Why do you spin in circles? Is there any significance there?
MS: When I skated, I loved spinning on the ice. I loved skating really fast and winding up and spinning. And turning in ballet, I love it. It’s an adrenaline rush.
In my performance, I am speaking through my own language. My language is abstract and full of movement that needs to be released. Circles seem like the most perfect way to express myself. The circles are made through extreme focus and determination. I have always been judged for them [in ice-skating and ballet], it’s funny to see how our childhood comes back and makes a full circle. I would have never thought that it would.
EL: The endless turns (Meghann’s performances generally last a few minutes) must make you dizzy! How do you stay on your feet?
MS: I am so used to spinning and turning that it comes naturally to me. In my performance I spot [look at] the ground. In ballet you aren’t supposed to EVER look down. I used to get yelled at for looking down. Teachers would say, “there’s nothing interesting on the floor!” But in my defence there is, there is! My bad habit has turned into a part of my technique.
EL: During your studies (Meghann completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts at The University of Akron, Mary Myers School or Art and a Masters of Fine Arts at Parsons The New School For Design) you experimented with painting, installation and video art. Your portfolio is certainly diverse! What inspired you to enter the world of performance art?
MS: During my MFA I was studying /working with a New York based artist Jackie Brookner. She was my Professor and encouraged me to do performance. So, in the middle of writing my thesis, I started doing a trial and error testing. I was making videos by taping the camera to my body, specifically to my knee, stomach and arms. I was trying to get different perspectives.
I started thinking about video as painting and treating the film like a canvas. After that one performance, I went back to making abstract paintings but continued working on the videos. Then in the winter of 2010 I did a one night performance at Envoy Enterprises, a gallery on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. I wanted the small space to radiate with the sound of the bubble wrap and tape. That was the music. It was a great performance. Since then I have been performing the Dance Drawings.
EL: What other performance art projects have you been involved in?
MS: There was a performance piece with CREATIVE TIME in New York City in collaboration with Adrian Piper.
That was a crazy experience. I was in my second year of graduate school and I was taking a class about public art in NYC. Studying performance art, I fell in love with Adrian Piper’s work. I love how radical it is and how daring it is with people and public spaces.
At the time I was working at a synagogue and I was working for a high fashion clothing store. I thought long and hard about being involved in the project. I almost convinced myself not to do it but then I took a leap and was like, we only live once, let’s do it! So I did it!
As the henna was being applied to my forehead I was like, OMG, OMG OMG OMG… this is real, this experience is real. The henna tattoo read, “EVERYTHING WILL BE TAKEN AWAY.”
As part of the project you had to look in the mirror 3 times a day and record your feelings. You also had to photograph yourself every time you looked at yourself and you had to journal your feelings. Once the tattoo was on, I felt everything starting to fall apart. My synagogue students responded better than everyone else. I almost got fired from the clothing store and everything was falling apart in my personal life. Then, once it was gone, I felt everything kind of came back together.
I have also been a Visiting Artist at a Hillsborough Community College, which was also an amazing experience. I was commissioned to create two new works in collaboration with the Dance Department. I remember walking in to the studio with Keith Arsenault and the students asked him, “where’s the artist?” I blended right in. When I stood up they were shocked because I looked so young!
They were very surprised that a visual artist could blend dance with visual arts. With them I created a work called, “The Idea of Being Present.”
Then I made another piece called, TIME TO GET PERSONAL. This is basically me exposing my process on stage. I was asked to expand my work into a theatrical experience and I thought why not recreate my painting onstage. I worked with my assistant Sarah Tarvin. We picked some basic moves that would move the paint around the surface. It turned out to be a successful performance and the work was amazing to see. They are large abstract paintings.
EL: You have previously said that art school was like “therapy”. Meghann, you come across as such an open, effervescent person, would it be too bold to suggest that art-therapy worked? Would you recommend it?
MS: A professor I had in graduate school treated our sessions like what I would think a therapy session would be like. I would say that it worked, sure. I was happy to have the experience. I went so I could spend more time on my work, meet new people, and really focus on my craft and process. I would highly recommend graduate school, that’s for sure.
EL: You are clearly an all-round artist (you paint, video and perform), but are you also an art-lover? If so, is there any one particular piece that you would like to hang on your wall at home, or an artist you would like to meet? Why?
MS: If I could bring back anyone from the dead, I would love to have a drink with Jackson Pollock, Robert Rauschenberg, Joan Mitchell, Merce Cunningham and Ana Mendieta. If I could meet anyone right now it would be Helen Frankenthaler, Adrian Piper, Twyla Tharp, Jessica Stockholder, Joan Snyder, Frank Auerbach, Jerome Bel… that would be a dream.
EL: Where do you see your performance art taking you? Does the future look bright for performance artists like yourself?
MS: I like to be optimistic. Everyone’s work takes off into many directions. I can only speak for myself and only hope for the best, and keep working like I do, letting the wind blow me where ever it should lead me.
Posted on January 26, 2012
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