Simplicity

Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler.
(Albert Einstein)

Simplicity is an art.
(Dominique Loreau)

The third joint edition of the festivals Performa and Contemporary Dance Platform places centre stage the notion of SIMPLICITY, which can be seen in art, science and in life in general in the lucidity of the proposed idea, usually arrived at after pursuing a long and complicated path of learning, focusing, reducing, contemplating the essential. Simplicity of the essence of any artwork that is not crammed with the clutter of unnecessary fillers. In other words, "It’s a matter of simplifying. Practice removing extraneous ideas [...] until you have only what is needed to express a simple thought." (Leo Babauta). Simplicity as the original core of any meaningful idea. And not lastly, simplicity as an idea out of which Contemporary Dance Platform emerged ten years ago.

Simplicity is also a challenge that guides collaborative work and the creativity involved in starting, running and rearticulating the programming of two festivals that used to break new ground, each with its own vision. We have thus embarked on a search to find ways to connect and intertwine the two principles and two visions, with an aim to develop and move beyond the established festival programming patterns and to offer and consequently examine the possibilities of a different kind of organisation.

This year’s edition of the festivals is introducing a programming collaboration with the Summer Puppet Pier, a festival run by the Maribor Puppet Theatre. The three festivals will namely close on the same evening with a performance that builds on an intertwinement of the genres featured by individual festivals. With this choice we aim to gradually attain and fulfil the vision of moving beyond the festival logic toward the creation of a platform that would connect the dispersed players and create conditions for an exchange of ideas.

This is also the time to take a look at the very beginnings, to the then upcoming generation and to place them side by side with the generation that is on the brink of entering the field of professional culture now. The coexistence of both namely unfolds relations, points to the differences, the continuity or discontinuity in how they make art, how they constitute and formulate their poetics, aesthetics and their distinct and seemingly isolated worlds. This is why our programming focus this year was not on performances but on the artists, who will mainly present their new works. This consequently brings up a number of interesting questions:

What is the relation between the unrelenting dictate of innovation and simplicity? How much of what is going to be presented has already been seen? Which formats are being developed by new productions? How to practice art in everyday life? Does this entail a special space, time and focus?

To bring together, layer by layer, the forms that offer new perspectives on what’s already been seen and communicated and to open up new ones. Since we are already so overwhelmed with the accumulated clutter that all we want is simple solutions.

Simplicity is an art. And simplicity is a challenge, again and again – in art, work, and life.

Welcome on our path to simplicity!

 Jasmina in Mojca