Silence as a space of being - After

keywords: silence, temporal space, being, self, reflection, resistance, communication, creation, disruption, vague


In my search, I came across two famous pieces that really center the concept of silence. One of them is John Cage’s 4’ 33’’ which is actually 4 minutes and 33 seconds of silence. Second one is Marina Abromovich’s “The Artist is Present” which she sits in silence and faces with audience one-to-one. In these examples, a period of silence has a presence providing a meditative space of self-reflection just like in Zen Buddhism and it is not perceived as absence of “voice” contrasting the conceptualization of feminism. In that context, “voice” belongs to the powerful and others have to break their silence and claim their voice. Instead of repeating this social structure in the attempt of reversing it, there have been the ones that choose “to be in silence”, further “to share their silence” as Fivush argues (Fivush, 2009). This silence can be understood as distancing to fixed determinations not only individually but also in groups by creating a safe space -or even a space of resistance- to embrace complexities for being an outsider. Also when shared, silence can be a space of belonging through non-verbal communication. In her TEDtalk, anthropologist Jitska Kramer gives an example of this by describing the outcast Ramnami community’s bonding ritual which is a combination of chanting and silence (TED, 2020). In addition, instead of constant urge to articulate, Gilles Deleuze underlines the importance of gaps of silence and solitude which are temporal disruptions that are needed for thinking and creating without getting into the trap of oppressive elements. Likewise, Susan Sontag criticizes the noisiness of the contemporary and the neglect of the need for silence for creativity in Aesthetics of Silence in which she problematizes the conceptualization of silence as absolute in modern art. As all come together now, silence can be a temporal space of not only self-reflection, but also communication, resistance and creativity providing disruptions in reality.



Marina Abramovic - The Artist is Present (2009)




...




Morgan,G. (2018, November 19). The power of silence: the art of Marina Abramović. Cherwell.

https://cherwell.org/2018/11/19/the-power-of-silence-the-art-of-marina-abramovic/


TED. (2020, September 14). Silence, the Forgotten Human Skill | Jitske Kramer [Video]. YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDr_GW4JnJ0&t=318s&ab_channel=TEDxTalks


Fivush, R. (2009, July). 'Speaking silence: The social construction of silence in autobiographical and cultural narratives'. Memory. 18 (2). 88-98.


Deleuze, Gilles. (1995). Negotiations. Columbia University Press. P. 129


Popova, M. (2015, July 6). The Aesthetic of Silence: Susan Sontag on Art as a Form of Spirituality and the Paradoxical Role of Silence in Creative Culture. Brainpicks.

themarginalian.org/2015/07/06/the-aesthetic-of-silence-susan-sontag/

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