There seems to be a divide between being an artist, and a performer. Where do you guys fit in this spectrum?
I am an artist that happens to be a perfomer. like most painters that perform when they paint( think Jackson Pollock.) It's an interesting tidbit that during the Baroque era of music (1685-1750) The order of importance and artistry in music went like this: 1.Composer -the creator so therefore the true "artist." 2. The performer - Merely the "executant" of composed works so on a lower rung than the comoposer. It is interesing to note however that most Baroque musicians could improvise their butt;s off - they had to becuase much of the written music was incomplete. For instance the concept of "thorough bass" which was generally the parts for the harpsichord and the gamba or the cello. The harpsichord parts genereally only had one line of the counterpoint written out and by reading symbols placed above the music the performer was expected to "fill in the blanks."
I'm a bass player. Just a bass player, that's all. This reminds me of an interview with Johnny Kruk, the former baseball player and one-time Padre, in which the interviewer referred to Kruk as an "athlete." Kruk responded, "I'm not an athlete, I'm a baseball player." I'm not a musician. I'm a bass player. Now don't you snooty east-coast types and euro-pansies get all in a tizzy over this. I'm sure many of you are artists, and many others are performers. Me, I'm just a bass player.
Yeah, musician combines the two. Performer, I performed on stage last night. Artist, I write my own parts, I contribute to finished pieces of music and I improvise live and in the studio. So I am both, but specifically in a music sense. Performer and artist are both very all ncompassing terms. ..but in the end I'm just a bass player too
hey moley, you're 5000th post and all you said was "yes"... that's kinda cool... considering the average words per post
I'm a performer. Artist? Most musicians are craftsmen, not artists. I'm not sure I can even call myself a craftsman with a straight face
I'm not an artist. I'm a musician who tries to put on a good (entertaining, energetic) performance by playing bass in a cover band. I admire performing artists a bit more than plain artists/composers. There's something about live interaction and moments of true communication that makes me tingle.
I think I would be most gifted at being a Performance Artist Anyways, euro-pansy or not, I've always been most interested in the performance-part - you know, getting on the stage and throwing a set with energy and attitude that gets your fluids flowing and crowd jumping. I guess that would make me a performer.
do perfartists leave a funny after-scent? i'm a drummer. i suppose i consider myself more of a performer, as "artist" connotes some real major talent ability, which i don't have. i do try to play sensitively and artistically, though. as i bash and bloody my hands about the tubs.
When I'm at home I'm an artist. I play music for the sake of the music. I don't care what anyone thinks of the music, it's an expression of what I am feeling at the moment. I create and experiment. At the gig, I'm a performer. I tune into the audience. I put on a show. I think about my stage presence. If they want flash, I'll give em flash. If they want to dance, I'll lay down a simple and mean booty shakin grove. If they want to hear a certain tune or style, I'll try to accomodate. My main gig is a cover band, so I am limited in my artistry, but I'll inject where I can.
In my heart of hearts I'm a creator - an artist.But there is something about playing to a live audience - that ego boosting tingle when things are in the pocket that makes it a performance thing. I'm a visual artist as well but that has a different kind of rush.Playing live is like is like a fix.The adrenelin is pumpingfor an extended amount of time and you essentially end up being exhausted or spent::. Then you want more of the same the next day. Perfartists is hilarious! lol If anybody's interested you can see some samples of my artwork at www.artwanted.com/McDonall