Mandy Morrison: What influenced your decision to create (performative) work that would interact in a public sphere?
Damali Ayo: I am always looking for the best media to communicate the concept I am working with. For "living flag" I was looking for a way to explore the idea of reparations. It was an issue that needed to be discussed in a public forum, but in a way that was different than what was going on in government or proactive political arenas. I wanted to make reparations real. I was simultaneously fascinated with panhandling. The decision to combine the two became clear. I had to make reparations actually happen on a one-on-one level for real dollars.
Damali Ayo – Mandy Morrison
Mandy Morrison: What influenced your decision to create (performative) work that would interact in a public sphere?
Damali Ayo: I am always looking for the best media to communicate the concept I am working with. For "living flag" I was looking for a way to explore the idea of reparations. It was an issue that needed to be discussed in a public forum, but in a way that was different than what was going on in government or proactive political arenas. I wanted to make reparations real. I was simultaneously fascinated with panhandling. The decision to combine the two became clear. I had to make reparations actually happen on a one-on-one level for real dollars.
MM: Audiences tend to be both fascinated by as well as intimidated by confrontational work. What benefits does the viewer derive from this experience and how do you think this can affect a larger politic?
DA: I don’t consider my work confrontational. It’s disappointing that our society has gotten to a place where being presented with the truth gets perceived as "confrontation." You can’t grow in that kind of a society.
In my "living flag" piece, I sit on a corner with a can and a sign. Sometimes I even wear tape over my mouth. I barely say anything besides, "do you want to pay some reparations?" or "here I’ll make a reparations payment to you." Being present is the core of the work, not being confrontational.
People can also interpret public performance as confrontational because performance artists insert themselves into the daily life and this causes a disruption. This disruption can cause a moment of awareness, or even a moment of disgust. Regardless of the external reaction, the internal reaction still requires the person to let the work inside of them. In our culture, the unexpected is often the unwanted. So people find this offensive or confrontational. It’s a shame.
MM: What types of performances or experiences have been the most provocative and meaningful to you personally? Why?
DA: The things I love the most are rehearsal and training. I can relax in a training or rehearsal in a way that I can’t in any other area of my life. I can let my body lead. I can make mistakes, I can experiment. It’s a wonderful environment.
In terms of performance, I find unscripted, unstaged, language-limited, physically focused, work to be the most provocative and rewarding. The less I do, the more occurs. I am trying to find now a physical vocabulary that allows me to heighten this type of performance without resorting to a verbal or physical script. I want the interaction to be the height of engagement—so that when a person is talking to me, you can see my whole body paying attention, which I hope in turn engages them in a potent way, so they leave feeling as if the performance got inside of them. I think of someone like William Pope.L’s work embodies this idea perfectly.
MM: Do you think that American culture as a whole has become more passive regarding the political issues affecting them or merely preoccupied?
DA: More passive. No question. Which boggles my mind. I don’t know how people sleep at night. Oh, I guess that is how they sleep at night. That is disturbing.
MM: Do you think that contemporary artists (and the art community as a whole) generally veers towards certain types of practices for reasons of fashion, conviction or economics?
DA: I think there are trends and that performance is coming up now because we need a voice to get our attention. We are so cut off from human interaction with high technology—so our instincts are driving us to the street to get people to interact with us, with themselves, with the world. It sounds cliché but I can’t tell you how many times a week I say, "is anyone paying attention to what is going on?" and too many times the answer is no. I talk to people who don’t even listen to, watch or read the news. So artists and performance artists are becoming newscasters of sorts. If you won’t go to the news, I’ll bring the news to you.
Bio
Damali Ayo is a conceptual artist born in Washington, DC. She currently lives and works in Portland, Oregon. Her work has taken her from women’s prisons to middle school environmental arts camp. Her recent book How to Rent a Negro was reviewed in media across the nation, and she held her own in an appearance on the Bill O’Reilly show. In her spare time Damali….well, she doesn’t have any spare time.
www.rent-a-negro.com
