THOMPSONSPF10RESEARCH

http://www.wafaabilal.com/

Questions:

In your work “A Bar at Folies Bergere” you commented on the technical effect of the piece, “If the barmaid is annoyed or tired, then she will leave. Only when everyone leaves the space will she return.” Do you feel that the barmaid represents the United States and only when our desires of objects annoy us or tire us we will desert them? Is this act of the barmaid leaving used to create tension between the viewer and the work and if so how does that relate to the tension you create in your works specifically “Midwest Olympia” and “Domestic Tension”?

Most artists find inspiration from personal experiences and exploration of the unknown interests to create work. From this experience they experience a personal growth mainly emotionally and an altered state of interaction with society. Recently in your work you have been putting yourself in isolation and physically altering your body temporarily and sometimes permanently in “…and counting”. How do you feel your artistic journey has altered you and your opinions compared to when you began creating art?




RESPONSE:

Quote:

“You cannot impose ideas on to viewers, but you can engage them.” – Wafaa Bilal

I found Bilal’s statement on engagement very important to me. He made me think about if I try to impose my statements about society rather than engaging my audience to create a narrative.

I also really enjoyed when Bilal said “We don’t need to do something bigger with every project, just smarter.”

Three Words:

Three words that describe the artist’s practice and artwork are, healing, education, and embracing.

Most Interesting:

The most interesting thing I learned about Bilal is his intense need to connect his new found feelings of safety to his past feelings of physical conflict. I believe strongly that Bilal is trying to have a positive impact on those around him but I think he will continue to find that his process will affect his own self more.

Answers:

In response to my question about his earlier work and the effects on his later work in respect to his use of tension, I believe Bilal was merely using tension as a tool to engage people. This earlier work was simply a way to test the waters with this method to gain a sense of working with tension as a medium for his later extreme works “Domestic Tension.”

In response to my question dealing with how his artistic journey has altered his opinions compared to when he began creating art, I think that he has found that “embracing who we are is a powerful thing.” (Bilal). I think by him saying this he has accepted his anger and resentment of his brother’s death and friends as reality and from that reality he has found it important to educate people to improve international relations.

Most Compelling:

The waterboarding of an Iraqi I found most compelling to myself. Having made myself homeless for a week to experience the difference in lifestyle I related to subjecting one’s self to harm in order to gain understanding. His process spoke to me of his dedication and his deep desire to correct what is wrong in his opinion. This lead me to again realize the potential power of an artist to influence people in a positive manner.

Questions:
After leaving the lecture I began relating my efforts to confront society on issues I have been frustrated with and compared the techniques and mediums I use versus Bilal’s methods. If given the chance I would ask him if he would consider working in a less confrontational way such as his earlier works “A Bar at Folies Bergere” and attempt to create the same educational impact on his audience.