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By The Artist - Intimate Cities

Date: 29 Sep 2010

Mary Nunan's talk, Intimate Cities, was given to a full audience in the Musgrave Theatre at the Firkin Crane. Having inspired her viewers with an outline of the various techniques and artists that had influenced her career and pathway to dance making, Mary spoke of how 'noticing' had become an integral part of how she maintained the ability to return to herself and her practice despite all the other concerns in her life and work.
She then invited the audience to go on a short walkabout outside the building to begin the journey of noticing - on return each person wrote their thoughts on paper and some shared their beautiful descriptions aloud.

Mary concluded on a note giving food for thought on this process quoting 'this is what I call choreography'.

Touching the city

“Touching the wall, the concrete of the building, enjoying the rough feel on the skin”

“Noticing the burn of calves down steps”

“A desire to move to walk forward
To push on, to touch off the streets
My baby kicks in my belly”
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Choreographer’s notes:

In recent years I have been interested in trying to set up situations where the focus of my choreography is on the people/audiences and their experience, rather than on the “work of art”. This is tricky and a bit difficult to pull off not least because it means in many way downplaying the artist/performer as the central point of focus in a performance and in order to create space for a different relationship between audience and the artist and the work to emerge.

So when I was invited to talk about my relationship with Cork city for the Points of View public Lecture Series I decided that rather than giving a talk about my work and my relationship with Cork city I would like to set up a situation where I could invite people to join me to take some time to sense, through this work, their own relationship to the city.

I set this up by first of all talking about some of the people whose works/reflections have influenced, and continue to influence, my work as an artist. In doing so I wanted to stimulate reflection on our senses and sensuousness.

I referred to a US choreographer Erick Hawkins’ (1909 -1994) “revolution” against what he saw as a subtle Puritanism underlying approaches to those dance training techniques that are driven by a desire to “make” movement happen or to dominate movement. He felt that although this kind of attitude or effort can result in movement obviously perceived by the senses it is not sensuous. He reckoned that “sensuousness is always effortless- that through sensuousness the body becomes a clear place”.

I am intrigued by his suggestion that effortless sensuousness might be a “revolutionary” act. I think I could join that revolution.

Seeing the city
“black net curtains framing a view of sand blasted images on the Firkin Crane wall”

“the goldy fish facing south and glinting in the sunshine”

“the clang of the gates and chains blocking my way”

“ Lines of intersection curving around Firkin Crane onto cobblestones, stacked bricks meeting rising upwards,
Centre arteries moving producing and carrying people, produce and cars in motion”

I feel even more motivated to “join up” when I read French philosopher Julia Kristeva’s views on the word “revolt”. It is her view the invasion of spectacle in performance may cause great works of art to remain invisible and that the only way that we can provide for the possibility of their appearance is by keeping our ‘intimacy in revolt” By revolt she intends, return/turning back/displacement/change. Mind you I have some questions as to what she may intend by “great works of arts” so I look forward to returning to reflect on this again and again.

But in the meantime I am very curious as to what might happen, to ourselves, our relationships, and our cities if we all keep our “intimacy in revolt”.

Smelling the city

“taking time out to notice the freshness of the air mixed with the smell from the river, mixed with the smell from the sugar factory”

“noticing a smell that reminds me of childhood”

“ the smell of piss in the alley making my stomach tighten”

The word intimacy comes from the Latin word intimus, the superlative of interior, thus the most interior.

A lot of dancers and choreographers now use Somatic practices in their own practices/ dance training/choreography. Somatics is a term that roughly translated means “the body as perceived from within”.

Hearing the city

“Red door heavy groans open, sighs shut.
Chains rattle on a bag”

"Hearing the bells ring out from the big clock tower. It is half past two."

As choreographer I’m interested in asking, through my work, how I can invite a return to intimacy, and in exploring what that might mean.

And so in Intimate Cities (1) Cork 2010, I wanted to explore what a return to intimacy might mean for people in the audience, and for their relationship with the city. So having set the context I invited the members of the audience to walk outside and notice what they noticed and to come back and write their experience. Extracts from their writings are included here.

Tasting the city

“The Four Liars Bistro
Early Bird €19.95
In the main menu deep fried brie in a raisin and cranberry sauce”

“tasting the fullness of noticing”

This was a very brief “experiment” and in many ways the time spent outside was a little too short. But, that said, I was very touched by what people wrote and so I intend to further develop this choreographic structure in the future.

I really welcomed the opportunity that this event gave me to experiment in this way. The Firkin Crane has a long tradition of supporting artists, to take risks, to try new ideas and because of this it has made an enormous contribution to dance, and particularly contemporary dance practice, in Ireland. I was delighted to return there. It has a special place in the history of dance in Ireland, and in history of Cork City also.

Mary Nunan 29 September 2010

By The Artist - Intimate Cities

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