The Art of Silence

Wordless poetry. The art of mime is the poetry of silence. The mimodrama is the narrative that the silence speaks, unfolding through the mime artist as a channel or medium to reflect, a mood, a character, a story expressed through the minimalist forms of facial expression and dance like movement.Unlike other visual artists, the mimeist creates his art with a palette of silence.

Marcel Marceau, through an almost metaphysical spirit, re-invented the art form of mime, by elevating what had been European carnival acts into a structured art form where Marceau could project an artistic vision and intent with highly refined pieces.marceau-1

The themes evoked are often profound and subtle with most centering around the fragility of life  and coming to terms with the absurdity of living  that seems more than we bargained for and can coherently perceive.He was a wordless Shakespeare.

 The endearing and timeless appeal of Marceau is properly based on his mastery of the medium which is slow and meditative in nature contrary to the fast rhythms of modern life. His empathy  for the subject matter and his faith in reconciliation was presented as a lyrical narrative . Its a generous gift for someone whose father perished in Auschwitz. 

 Marceau: ‘‘I have designed my style pantomines as white ink drawings on black backgrounds, so that man’s destiny appears as a thread lost in an endless labyrinth. I have tried to shed some gleams of light on the shadow of man startled by his anguish”. A master in the art of body language and its projection as an art medium, it is ironic that Marceau considered ”gesture” unimportant in mime, but rather attitude as the prevailing catalyst. Marceau ( 1923-2007), used mime as a magician to harness the forces of illusion to speak his words.

According to The Guardian newspaper, Michael Jackson based his celebrated moonwalk on the Marceau piece ”Walking In The Wind.” though the evidence is perhaps less than conclusive  but plausible. The link is perhaps based partly on Marceau’s agility and superb athleticism and the idiom of the mime as a mass medium to which Marceau was its unique creator.

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2 Responses to The Art of Silence

  1. SonyaSunny says:

    Thank you! I would now go on this blog every day!
    SonyaSunny

    • Dave says:

      Thats great. This is not really an ”aggregator” business model like Gawker, as the material produced is much more labor intensive. However, we should be able to put out one good piece everyday. Thank-you
      Dave

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