Artist Spotlight #5: PAUL OUTLAW
PAUL OUTLAW is a writer, singer, actor, translator, storyteller, and performance maker who says: “When I'm working on a "solo" project, I find myself longing for the support and sense of communion that can be enjoyed in group endeavors. But when I'm involved in a collaborative process, I can get impatient...”
Paul, you've done so many different things as an artist. How do you describe what you do in the world?
I am a performing artist, which is not the same thing as a performance artist—although it can be.
I am not "of the academy."
Language is usually an essential component of my work (writing, singing, acting, translating, storytelling).
How does collaboration manifest in your creative process? Do you prefer to work with others, or on your own?
I don't have a preference. Ideally, I like to alternate between projects of my own initiation, concept and vision and those in which I'm a member of a team or an ensemble, with some bleed possible. That is to say, there can be overlaps in scheduling or collaborators from project to project, from moment to moment. When I'm working on a "solo" project, I find myself longing for the support and sense of communion that can be enjoyed in group endeavors. But when I'm involved in a collaborative process, I can get impatient...
(I put the word "solo" in quotation marks because there is always some significant level of collaboration in what I do, even if I'm driving a project.)
How do you see your field changing over the next 10 years? What do you want to see more of?
The use of innovative technologies in live performance will increase, and with it the challenge to preserve meaning and authenticity (a word I usually avoid) in the experience. I hope to see a lot more cross-disciplinary and cross-generational collaboration of the kind that I've been involved in for the past decade.
What's coming up next for you?
I'm a featured vocalist on Splendor & Misery, the recently released album from experimental/noise/hip-hop trio Clipping. I've joined them on stage a couple of times recently and look forward to doing so again whenever I happen to be in a town where they have a gig.
November 11: an experiment in collaboration with performance artist Mariel Carranza [Rhizomatic Studio: Shared Practice at the Hammer Museum, info here]
December 18: an exploration in preparation for an upcoming (2017) theater work with Asher Hartman and Gawdafful National Theater (also at the Hammer)
Paul Outlaw in What Did I Do to Be So Black and... (a dream I had/after falling asleep/with the Fox News Channel on). Photo: Leo Garcia.
