butoh dancers-turned-actors

[Bruce Baird]

Markus,

I am not talking about the depiction of HIjikata in the movie which  
Ogawa has (at least) partial control over.  Nor am I referring to the  
depiction of village practices which may well be grounded in  
materiality and not mystical (although the depiction of the  
relationship of between the man and the Kannon statue may well be  
termed as having an air of devotionality or mysticism to it).   I am  
talking about the representations of Hijikata in scholarship and in  
the eyes of his deshi--which do tend towards the mystification and  
hagiography.  In this case of your comments relayed from the deshi,  
it is as if Hijikata were a saint who among other powers could  
predict the future and sense his own demise.

Avant-garde artists may be posers (although that is debatable  
itself), but I think that the job of scholars is to locate them in  
their material and historical practices (even if that historical  
materiality should be that of the poser).

Cheers,

Bruce

On Apr 27, 2007, at 11:00 AM, Mark Nornes wrote:

>
> On Apr 27, 2007, at 10:53 AM, Bruce Baird wrote:
>
>> there being a vast tendency to turn Hijikata into something  
>> mystical and separated from his time
>
> Time is what it's all about, as hinted by the title of the film.  
> But mystical, I don't think so. Insanity, yes. The film, and that  
> story in particular, are ultimately grounded in material practices  
> and local identities. There are religious aspects to Ogawa Pro's  
> take on village life, but this is part of village reality and not  
> simply a "take." And I don't think you could call them mystical.
>
>> rather than see him as part of an international urban-inflected  
>> avant-garde practice
>
> Posers, all of them. And Ogawa was the King of Posers.
>
> Markus

Bruce Baird
Assistant Professor
Asian Languages and Literatures
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Butô, Japanese Theater, Intellectual History

717 Herter Hall
161 Presidents Drive
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Amherst, MA 01003-9312
Phone: 413-577-4992
Fax: 413-545-4975
baird at asianlan.umass.edu




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