Artist Statement. Conceming lnterdisciplinarity

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1 Artist Statement 34 'Brian Jchorn is Visiting cassistant Prifessor in cart & 'Design at qrandvalley Jtate University. Conceming lnterdisciplinarity A lthough the term "interdisciplinary" is rooted in the ideas of such historical figures as Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Hegel and Rabelais, it did not appear until the twentieth century. With its roots in modern educational reform and applied/ creative research, the phenomenon of interdisciplinary thinking has fully engaged itself within contemporary culture. This onset has spawned the use of several other commonly interchangeable terms, most notably "multidisciplinary," transdisciplinary," and "crossdisciplinary." Although I currently align myself as an interdisciplinary artist, throughout my career, I have also worked as a multi-, trans- and crossdisciplinary artist. Therefore, I would like to clarify these subtle distinctions from my own perspective as a creative thinker and producer. First, the word "inter-" means "between," "among" or "within." I attach the most significance to the use of the meaning "within." Here, disciplines live within one another, working together to form a larger and stronger integrated whole of various knowledge bases. The disciplines that I have formally studied include fine art photography, graphic design, poetry, and electronic music composition. In my definition of an interdisciplinary artist, I ascribe the following additional responsibility: the artist must be the author/ creator of all work generated from each discipline used. For example, I created a series of photographs that included my own poetry etched into glass. The glass was placed over the images, creating a complex interaction between word and image. Ultimately, the content and execution of each discipline must come from within a single source: the artist. My recent interdisciplinary performance, entitled Speak, effectively addresses this idea of total integration and authorship within numerous disciplines including

2 Brian Schorn performance art, video, poetry, sound and digital technology.the work uses a forty-foot video projection from a live infrared video camera focused on my facial expressions as I attempt to recite an original poetic monologue. My words are processed through a custom-designed computer program that was written to interject radio static whenever consonant sounds are uttered. Additionally, homemade contact microphones are placed on the stage floor and triggered by the intensity of the vibrations as I move over them. These signals are sent to a backstage computer that uses another custom-designed computer program to trigger recorded samples of my voice repeating the words "everything" and "nothing." The samples are triggered as I crawl thirty feet on my belly to reach the microphones. During this crawl, my body is naked, completely shaved and completely constrained by cellophane wrap with my arms at my side.the physical/ emotional endurance required for the crawl and the interruptions of the monologue are the significant content of this intense work. To date, this is the most complex and diversely integrated collection of disciplines that I have presented. Second, the word "multi-" means "many," therefore a multidisciplinary artist has skills in several disciplines. The distinction I place between "interdisciplinary" and "multidisciplinary" is that these disciplines may or may not be combined. For the sake of clarity, I prefer to define the disciplines as not combined. For example, I have written and published poetry in books, anthologies and journals. This writing exists independently from other disciplines. In other words, it uses only a literary discipline to communicate its message. Yet, I have exhibited figurative paintings and drawings using only a visual discipline. These multiple disciplines coexist, but do not interact within each other, unlike an interdisciplinary work. Third, the word "trans-" means "across," "over" or "through." I attach most significance to the meaning "across," suggesting that a transdisciplinary artist works across the borders of different disciplines. In my definition, I also suggest that a transdisciplinary artist is primarily a collaborator with specialists in other disciplines. For example, I recently created live electronic music for a dance performance. Although I have experience as a dancer, my role in this event was to create a musical soundworld to support the dance activity. In order for this performance to be successful, a transdisciplinary approach is necessary. The participants of each discipline must cross and exchange within the boundaries of the others, thereby, creating a more powerful, unified whole. Fourth, the word "cross-" means "to mix varieties" or "combine qualities." Although transdisciplinary and crossdisciplinary are often used interchangeably, I have established my own distinction between the two. Most importantly, "cross-," unlike "trans-," implies hybridity. Genetically created cross-breeds of plants and animals bring together qualities from within different species, subspecies or genera. This suggests that any cross-breed must consist of two origins that are relatively close to one another. With this point in mind, I see much of my own work as a form of genetic experimentation where the invention of new hybrids is the goal. For example, I have a body of work that exists somewhere in between painting and sculpture. This form of painting-sculpture hybrid can be seen in Fig. 617: Scar Plantation and Triptych from the Brotherhood ofthorns. In the 1950s, artist Robert Rauschenberg coined the term "combine painting" to describe his own investigations of painting and sculpture hybrids (see Bed and Canyon as examples). These kinds of hybrids are also present in other disciplines such as music. Most of the music I compose and perform exists as some form of hybrid. This can be seen in such terms as "electroacoustic" and "analog-digital." 35

3 Lastly, I would like to express the importance of another interdisciplinary presence that exists in nearly all of my work. The above definitions refer to the inter-relationships between artistic disciplines, but, in addition to these, scientific disciplines are also present. Although research has suggested physical differences between the brains of artists and scientists, there is an abundance of contemporary artists who engage themselves equally in matters of artistic and scientific research. The bookinjormationarts: Intersections if Art, Science and Technology by Stephen Wilson confirms this. Before I studied art, I was a pre-med student where I had the opportunity to dissect the human body. This was a profoundly life-altering experience for me. Yet, my fascination with science goes beyond human anatomy and includes other scientific disciplines such as geology, cartography, astronomy, biology, botany, anthropology and paleontology. Interdisciplinary relationships between these other scientific fields can be seen in 12 Lessons in Plant Biology, Ichthyological Tomb and No. 7 Map: Red Sea. In closing, I recognize that we live in a growing pluralistic society fueled by exponential technological expansion.this kind of growth and expansion naturally breeds interdisciplinarity. Hence, I foresee the borders we currently attach to disciplines will eventually dissolve and no longer be a relevant part of our discussion. Opposite: I 2 Lessons in Plant Biology: Closed I mixed media I 7'' XIo"xi"I page 44: I 2 Lessons in Plant Biology: Open I mixed media I 7'' x Io" xi" I This book originally included I2 chapters of text about plant biology. Upon removing all of the text pages, leaving only the front and back covers, it is transformed into a dirt-fllled container wherein selected text from each chapter is collaged onto twelve different types of plant stems. Each stem (or lesson) is bound into a functional wire spine and allowed to flip like a page in a book.

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