I am in touch with someone from The Forum, which describes itself as "an innovative weblog featuring reviews, previews, opinion pieces and interviews from independent arts writers." She has sent me four questions which have actually been very timely in prompting me to write about aspects of my own responses to Hirschhorn's Incommensurable Banner. I have decided to post these (rather lengthy) entries in this and the following posts. The first question began on post no. 64.
2. What kind of audience reactions have you noticed?
The range of audience reactions has been broad: from deciding not to look at all to an apparent laughing enjoyment of an overt and hungry looking at them. (Though I would question what such laughter is and where it comes from. Laughter can often be a very effective way of releasing fear, embarrassment and anxiety, for example.) To describe all degrees in between these two poles would amount to another long passage. But generally, as regards my own perception of these responses I would have to say that I have remained very open to what others’ responses might been. More open than usual perhaps as a result of the extended process of observing the vacillations in my own developing responses. I feel I would not want to condemn any kind of response but rather take them all on board as interesting and necessary to try to understand or at least to discuss. I find it slightly hard to understand those who will not look at all because I don’t understand how you can know you don’t want to look at something if you don’t even try. But perhaps I am just judging others against my own, very strong, curiosity?
