New York-based artist Lia Chavez is currently sitting for six hours each night, and harvesting the visions of her third eye for a meditative performance art project, Luminous Objects. Which is a lot of sitting. But somehow she created time to answer our questions about her intrepid exploration of inner vision.
HOW DO THE VISIONS YOU’RE RECORDING REVEAL THEMSELVES TO YOU?
“The visions usually have some element of luminosity, hence the title, ‘Luminous Objects’, for the performance. The quality of the light that I experience is widely varied – ranging from ecstatic, stroboscopic firestorms to a soft, all-enveloping light to shockingly sudden visions of objects, which appear as seared in fire upon my mind’s eye.”
HOW DO YOU MAINTAIN FOCUS?
“As my exploration of interior vision has progressed, I’ve found the most vital thing I can do is to remain in a receptive posture while basking in the presence of the Divine. I like to describe this state as ‘active restfulness’, which is a delicious paradox. The more deeply I enjoy the Presence and rest from my own agendas, the more freely these wonderful visions flow. But as any meditator knows, as simple as this sounds, it’s a challenging interior space to hold…because we are actually held by it. It is in this way a state of surrender.”
WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION FOR THE PIECE?
“I was actually in a deep state of meditation when I received the inspiration to undertake this performance! I saw an image of myself meditating in a gallery with petals of light growing out from my head and extending beyond the four walls into the city. These days, I receive many of my most potent ideas in a meditative state. The filmmaker and meditation evangelist David Lynch refers to this phenomenon as “catching the big fish”, which is an idea that resonates deeply with me. The practice of mining deep inner space for inspiration has become central to my creative methodology as an artist. At the core, I believe it is inspiration which gives art its lasting value.”
WHO MADE YOUR DRESS AND HEADDRESS?
“The wonderful Greek designer Christina Kara designed my dress and the elegant ceremonial feather headdress. When I first had the vision for this performance, I saw the dress, with its oceanic silk tentacles, clearly in my mind – a sort of reference to Classical harvest goddesses. Now, there is a very special atelier on Mott Street in Nolita called Blue. I have often stopped by to admire the chic, severe gowns in the window. On one such day, I spotted Christina on the sidewalk in front of the studio and instantly knew she was the woman behind the dresses. We hit it off when she told me she would love to design a dress that was ‘austere but extravagant’ for the show. She quickly grasped the core concept behind the performance in that it uses something very simple and pared down (meditation) to generate a plethora of something else (in this case, interior visions). It was a match made in heaven!”
CAN YOU HEAR SPECTATORS TALKING THROUGH YOUR AIR HOLES, AND WHAT DO THEY SAY?
“I might occasionally hear murmuring if people are near, but this is more a comfort than a distraction. Rarely can I ascertain what they are saying, although I do enjoy the jokes cracked by the occasional comedian. The presence of visitors, at any time of day, but especially during those late night hours, is highly energizing. Members of the audience have spontaneously developed their own ritual of writing me love notes and slipping them under the glass doors, so I actually do receive a great deal of feedback from them. One woman who is a daily visitor has said she experiences a healing each time she visits. Another has thanked me for bringing a peace to her street at a time she needed it. I feel so honored to be on the receiving end of these gracious sentiments and to see the performance having an effect beyond the gallery walls.”
ARE YOU HOPING TO INSPIRE MORE PEOPLE TO MEDITATE WITH THE PIECE?
“Though that was not my core objective, it would be a fantastic spinoff! Meditation is such a healing practice. It teaches us to listen to that voice which is essential to our creativity. A meditation teacher of mine in Assisi, Italy once said, ‘Silence is the altar of God.’ In meditation, we discover the altar lies within each of us. This is very liberating in one’s creative journey to uncover this sacred field of potentiality.”
WHAT ARE YOU GETTING OUT OF IT PERSONALLY?
“An intriguing question. Making art is always its own reward and there is a daily catharsis that comes from doing what I am designed to do in this life. Creatively speaking, the opportunity to undertake embodied, experiential research into the nature of inner space as a performance artist is a timely one and I feel fortunate that I get to make discoveries into an area so vital and vast. I derive unspeakable joy from serving and inspiring the public by sharing my creative process. Art is such an energizing way of expending one’s energy because creativity draws from a source that’s inexhaustible.”
DOES THIS PERFORMANCE IN ANY WAY RESEMBLE YOUR REGULAR MEDITATION PRACTICE?
“I’ve been practicing meditation regularly since 2005, when I got serious about yoga and studied it in India. That experience had a strong impact on me and set me on a contemplative path in life and in art. Since then, I’ve been fortunate to study a wide variety of meditation techniques in depth, from Vedic meditation with Thom Knoles to mindfulness meditation with Jamie Lauren Zimmerman and David Harshada Wagner to the ever rich writings of meditation master Thich Nhat Hanh. The practice which has opened my heart and mind most deeply is the meditation derived from the contemplative traditions of Thomas Merton, Saint John of the Cross and Eastern desert monasticism. On an average day, I will practice a hybrid of all the above for 30 minutes twice daily, in the early morning and in the evening before sleep.”
Luminous Objects is presented as part of Soapbox Gallery’s Plethora exhibit, and runs until August 29 between the hours of 6pm and midnight. Address: 636 Dean Street, Brooklyn, New York 11238. She is live tweeting her luminous visions nightly.
www.liachavez.com
@liachavez
