A Thousand Words

Two nights ago I got up and performed at a local open mic here in called "Thundering Word Heard." It's always exhilarating and nerve-wracking to get up in front of an audience and perform, but the thrill is in conquering one's stage fright to override the natural trepidation involved in standing in front of a group of strangers who have given you their undivided attention while you regale them with songs or poetry.
I prefer to hide behind my music when I'm on stage though because speaking or reciting words is a bit like performing naked. It leaves you much more exposed and vulnerable to the audience's scrutiny. Luckily, the audience was pretty encouraging and appreciative as it tends to be at events like this. However, I couldn't help but notice the line-drawn in the sand between the separate cliques of the spoken word poets and the musicians and I sense there is a bit of a snobbery by those who call themselves spoken word artists towards musicians or singer/songwriters. As if their form -- undistilled language itself -- is so much more pure, authentic and "important" than music.
I've always felt this sense of inferiority for my visual art and musical skills and have been made to feel that these talents aren't "enough" in this culture that gives primacy to the word yet ironically, is much more immersed in visual imagery.
I think the word snobs perceive themselves as being the vigilant upholders of a dying linguistic form and of vitalizing language against the audacity of other forms such as visual art or music to demand equal respect. We are a very word-centered culture and I often feel that in order to be taken seriously, one must have an ability to communicate using articulate language no matter what discipline one practices. How often have we witnessed the painter or photographer relying on his/her "artist's statement" to promote his/her work? The text is given precedence over the created image or sound in some cases so much so that a forgettable exhibit of paintings or photographs is made indelible by the grandiose terminology surrounding it. It's as if non-text based media cannot be relied upon to be standalone without the help of text. The precedence that written or spoken language is given over other media comes as no surprise in a culture such as ours that is dominated by the impenetrable codes of legalese or the weighty circumlocutions of academics and politicians. A certain dignity -- a gravitas is awarded to writers that is never quite awarded to visual artists or musicians. Rarely does a piece of music or a painting or photograph require the same length of examination and critical consideration that a novel does. I am not rejecting the novel here, I believe the world would be in a sorry state without the existence of novels, but I am remarking on the prejudice that is shown to other disciplines, albeit it's fair to say that nowadays, that if one describes oneself as a "writer" they will find themselves in the company of other castoffs from other disciplines. Nobody in any creative discipline gets half the respect they might have been allotted a century ago. We are all, truly in it together.
It's always been a struggle for me to accept my "art." I was raised in a family that was very vocal and strongly favoured eloquence and sharp debating skills over more reflective and non-verbal forms of self-expression. I developed a skill in language as a self-defense. My brother on the other hand, went silent as a way of protesting the competitive verbal barrages that characterized our family's dinner environments. My mother valued proper diction and articulation so much so that she would become visibly irritated with anyone who mumbled or even paused during their speech. This often created a frustrating, adversarial environment in which respectful discussion gave way to emotional shouting matches very quickly.
It would be nice to be free of this need to feel validated through language - to have that sense of being respected for my non-verbal forms of expression, but as long as the people in power are the ones with the slickest grasp of how to use and, indeed, manipulate others to satisfy their own ends (with the exception of George Bush), then language will always prove to be the tool for real power and those with the words will be given the social status and attention that those without words can only dream of.
This is why I believe in the potential of the comix medium to use both text and images to work in tandem with each other to convey a story. The image resumes where the text leaves off and vice-versa.