THE PROTAGONIST

In my version, I will maintain the format of the original, beginning with a monologue about my experiences in life and therapy which will be in part a parody of Somers’ speech and in part revelatory of my life. This will be filmed in park locations in New York and London and edited together so as to create the illusion that I am seamlessly strolling through these geographically distant environments. The self-help experts of Somercise will be replaced with my psychologist-parents and the therapists who I have had throughout my life. My divorced parents will give their opinions on what it takes to have healthy loving relationships. My current therapist Bernadette Ainsworth, who practices Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy (R.E.B.T.) will address the myth of self-esteem. The psychoanalytic therapist I saw throughout high school has declined being in the film because she needs to maintain her anonymity. Since meeting with her for research purposes I have scripted the scene of our re-acquaintance and will dramatise this with my therapist played by an actress. 

By simultaneously playing into and confounding the stereotypes of the ‘self-help guru’ my aim with this piece is to dispel the notion of the mythically self-assured, autonomous subject that underpins so much self-help advice. I am interested in illuminating the perspective of a modern psychoanalytic therapist on this subject especially in terms of the concept of the unconscious. Likewise, it will be useful to address the R.E.B.T. perspective on self-determination, particularly in light of the fact that accepting one’s fallibility and imperfection as a human being is so fundamental to its philosophy. I hope that the overall message of the film will be thought-provoking and positive in its realism while at the same time comedic in its parodic elements. 

An Audience with Bob & Roberta Smith: Women Should be in Charge
A FREE event on Friday 20th May, 1.15pm-11pm at the ICA, Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AH 

A night of performance, music, participatory activities, films and talks curated and presented by artist Bob & Roberta Smith, which celebrates powerful female voices from the worlds of art, music and politics.

The night includes a Feminist Icon Fanzine Workshop run by Bob & Roberta Smith and his students, interactions with a parade of women dressed up as Modern Art Stars by Jessica Voorsanger and a re-enactment of Yves Klein's infamoust Monotone Symphony, with male rather then female models by Deej Fabyc. The will also be new performances by Oriana Fox & Lazlo Pearlman and Mel Brimfield and music from The Fucks, Flame Proof Moth and Noctum Rectum and a DJ set by Lucienne Cole.

During the evening Bob & Roberta Smith will also invite the audience to sign up to Esther's Law: A new law based on a sculpture by Jacob Epstein of his teenage daughter, which seems to challenge the male hegemony of art and suggests society should create a truly representative political system in parliament, including 50% of women. 

NB some of the performances in the theatre have adult content and are recommended for over 18yrs.

Programme Details 

1.15pm: Culture Now discussion with Bob & Roberta Smith and Cedar Lewisohn, FREE, but you need to book via the ICA box office Tel. 020 7930 3647

6pm - 7.30pm: Panel Discussion in the gallery 'Women Should be in Charge' chaired by curator and broadcaster Cecilia Wee with guests Sonia Boyce, Professor Janet Newman, Ana Laura Lopez de La Torre and Bob & Roberta Smith (including a film screening of a cut from John Roberts film 'I should be in charge') followed by a screening of a series of films by artist Katherine Araniello FREE no need to book

7pm-11pm: Performances, music and participatory activity in the bar and theatre by Deej Fabyc, The Fucks, Jessica Voorsanger, Mel Brimfield, Oriana Fox & Lazlo Pearlman, Flame Proof Moth, Lucienne Cole, Noctum Rectum, Students from Arts Schools across London. FREE no need to book.

On my way up to Nottingham on the day of The Do It All Dating Game my boyfriend pretended to interview me, asking about the intentions behind the work and how it relates to art. The simple answer is that the hosts of the show, John Kilduff and I, are both artists and this piece is a continuation of our creative collaboration. I’ve been told this answer isn’t good enough, so I’ll pad it out here.

John’s show Lets Paint TV, which originally aired on cable access TV in Los Angeles in 2005 and is now a weekday fixture on stickam.com, mimics tropes found within American daytime television – it is Bob Ross meets infomercial. John (a.k.a. Mr. Let’s Paint) ignites canvases with oil paint, jogs on his treadmill, prepares healthful blended drinks and occasionally stirs in a few extra elements such as ping pong or a game of chess, plus he takes calls, adding a layer of spontaneity to each episode. His show deals with the pressures of contemporary life – of ‘having it all’ and needing to excel in so many different areas. To me, John is the ultimate everyman and his message to ‘embrace failare’ [sic] is multifaceted – it’s about creativity and perseverance, allowing oneself to make mistakes and accepting or even embracing one’s fallibility as a human being. His show uses the frantic pace of life as an excuse to play, to blunder and to make a mess. To me, John’s treadmill-induced, phone call-stimulated approach to creativity is analogous to that of Salvador Dali who arrived at his surrealistic imagery by balancing a spoon over a glass as he was about to take a nap, the noise of the spoon waking him up so as to remember his dreamy visions.[1]

The Do It All Dating Game continues my habit of citing pop culture within the context of art. It is also a byproduct of my enquiry into how artistic strategies can help one to achieve wellbeing and self-actualisation. The notion that getting in touch with your creativity can lead to meaningful self-exploration and fulfillment is a cliché – but it is one that I hope John and I imbue with both sincerity and hilarity.[2] Not only do John and I (and in fact most artists) struggle with the creative process, but we fight to fit it into our busy lives. Artists, perhaps more than other professionals, really battle against time pressures – because so many of us have to have second or third jobs and the creative process has no clearly defined end-point. I like to invoke the British turn of phrase: ‘How long is a piece of string?’ If you want to pay your bills, have an active social life, keep up with the art scene and/or have a family on top of making art, it is a real challenge. That’s what The Do It All Dating Game is about – it’s a reflection on both the creative process and the mating rituals popularised by the great mythmaker that is TV.

I was hoping that The Do It All Dating Game would repeat the corny flirtations of the original gameshow, but differ from its predecessor in the representation of gender and sexuality. The implicit question in our version being: Are women really better at multitasking than men? It’s been stated as fact, but having done the research, I know there’s no scientific evidence to imply that women are in fact more capable than men at handling many tasks at once. The fact of the matter is, each human being has but two frontal lobes, which means taking on more than two tasks at a given time will exceed one’s natural capacities. My feeling is that the assumption that women are better multitaskers exists solely because it justifies the expectation that women should excel in a career, raise the kids, cook dinner and clean the house. Hence the punch-line: ‘Why not stick a broom up my ass so I can sweep the floor while I’m at it!?’ As I was stating this to my boyfriend, he objected that it was women who perpetuated and benefitted from this comparison; to him, this idea was a feminist ploy. When women are engaged in a couple of tasks and at the same time listening to their significant other talk – they can more easily get away with pretending to hear by invoking the idea that they are masters at multitasking. We had this conversation before the show aired, so I hoped that the show might shed some light on this difference of opinion. Having now been through it, I believe The Do It All Dating Game proves that the ability to multitask has nothing whatsoever to do with sex or gender.

Just submitted this proposal to my colleagues in the Performance Matters research project who will be editing a special issue of Dance Theatre Journal. Hope I get selected and that I can make this happen...

How To Be Sexy: Cosey Fanni Tutti and Mouse on The O Show

My research explores the relationship between different generations of women who I would define as ‘feminist performance artists’, looking to their work as examples for how to be a happy woman. This entails grappling with the ways in which both feminist art and self-help respectively (and perhaps in collaboration) can create a “sense of belonging” and “refusal[s] or creative contravention[s] to feminine normativity”.[1] Following on from theorist Lauren Berlant’s statement that “the woman who was adequate to [women’s culture industry’s] version of normal femininity was as powerful as a feminist would aspire to be”, my question is: What relationship to power and/or happiness can I achieve by simultaneously embodying avant-garde and popular models for female agency?[2]

            One outlet for this practice-based research is my new web-TV series The O Show which mimics the tropes of daytime television by incorporating interviews, how-to advice and makeovers, combining genuine storytelling with comical send-ups of the self-help industry. The chat-show format provides a framework in which to genuinely investigate questions at the heart of my doctoral research as well as to both critique and champion popular modes of knowledge dissemination and the confessional. For one episode I plan to interview performance artist Cosey Fanni Tutti and club performer Mouse, focusing on their respective experiences in the sex industry. The transcript and stills from the episode will form my contribution to the journal. Having these two artists on the show is an opportunity to explore the complexity of sex-positive feminism, specifically in light of the phenomenon of the prostitute-performance artist as well as to celebrate the legacy of historical figures such as Tutti and their impact on a contemporary generation of performers.

*Louise Lasser as quoted in Susan Sontag's "Death and Matriarchy"

What happened to punk rock, zines and gender with no name? Is camp dead or just haunting us in late-night re-runs, pee-wee herman and Justin Bieber's toupee?

www.mariannaellenberg.com