Jerome Murat – art is an illusion

This piece corresponds well with Baudrillard’s theory of art, yet it appears to be rooted in a totally different ideological position. So, in this very world of no real meaning art is an illusion, a deception and a lie but it’s full of inner life and sense just because it chooses to be a sort of a trick. What is Murat’s performance? What is all about? An illusionist’s manipulation? An actor’s game trying to impress us with an appearance, a story or – simply – by playing? I believe that Jerome, being a skilled actor/mime as he seems to be is making a good use of his (presumed) fascination of David Copperfield’s or Derren Brown’s performances… But he is a performing artist first of all and his message is that of an art asking magic for a date…

It’s about chemistry of an Encounter, about beauty and drama of being One among Others – so similar, yet detached; it’s about a desire of a total assimilation/unification with those whose Presence seems to be mysteriously inseparable from our own existence… It’s about re-discovering your own Face…

What a pleasing and thoughtful comment on humanity…

P.S.

This video has been originally uploaded to the Youtube service by “dobetko” – thank you. If it’s not playing go here, please.

21/12/2007

This performance possess an obvious in a sense entertaining quality and it can be distracting – watching it, first of all, as a show… But it’s “just” a sign of our times – street performers engaging themselves in a superficial world (hyper-reality) of a television production…But the message is still there – I can easily imagine it being done without that catchy scenography – in black and white, without music and…it would be even more evocative.