Chick Snipper left a career as a social and urban planner in Toronto and Edmonton to study dance at Grant MacEwan Community College in Alberta. She is currently Artistic Director of DanStaBat. This Spring, her show Chrysalis premiered to acclaim at the Vancouver East Cultural Center. Her experimental dance film won first place at the Sea to Sky Festival in 1999. She teaches movement at Studio 58, Western Canada's highly respected theatre training school. She is currently directing a documentary for History Television on secret mustard gas tests during WWII. Chick is the proud parent of two extraordinary children, Lanie and Kalen.

Main

Chick Snipper

John Lazarus

Deborah Dunn

Mavor Moore

Peter Birnie

what we do

Saving Civilization from Art and Bad Critics

Once or twice I've read a review of my work that resonated beyond the superficial. Shannon Rupp reviewed an experimental piece I created on AWOL Love Vibe, a performance poetry group. The final piece was a jumble of several ideas and aesthetics. My uncertainty about what I was attempting was pretty clear. Although Shannon's comments in the Globe & Mail were negative, I agreed with most of what she said. I was kind of touched because she commented that although the work did not succeed it was pushing both dance and performance art. She was able to separate the poor quality of the final product from the creator's intention, without going soft on the critique. I respect that kind of insight.

But there are many critics other than those who are paid to write reviews. I have had the benefit of some very telling comments from audience members who often start by saying, "well I don't know much about dance but..." Sometimes they demonstrate a level of critical observation that deserves attention. My daughter Lanie, who is now 23, saw my last two evening-length dances and commented that my work needs to be seen several times to be understood. Without realizing it, she was reflecting on one of my weaknesses as a creator. My dances tend to be dense and layered, both physically and emotionally. I have set simplicity of form and movement as a goal for myself for several years now, and slowly things are improving. But that simple observation from Lanie reminded me that I still have a lot to learn.

I question the use of the term "critic" as applied to most reviewers in this town. I believe that we're usually reading or listening to journalists acting as reviewers, not reviewers acting as critics. Shannon Rupp used to say that her job was to act as a journalist. I think she was implying that she reports on what she sees with as much accuracy and objectivity as possible. Of course the irony is that no one would accuse Shannon of being objective. Whatever the hell that means anyway.

I've had the good fortune to receive many excellent reviews over the years, some for pieces that I thought deserved a positive notice, others for work that was not up to snuff. In the moment, supportive reviews have that "feel good" impact, primarily because one's ego gets stroked, and because it's always nice for the artist to have her work affirmed. Beyond that, I'm not sure that good or bad reviews make much difference to the arc of someone's career.

So if in my experience the reviewer doesn't affect the artist's career - at least the 90% of us not working at an internationally recognized level - then I wonder what the critic's role is?

I believe criticism should be treated as an art form, and as a form of historical notation. It should be pursued with the same dedication, intelligence and high standards of research and craft as any other professional pursuit. I also believe that the reviewer should a have a vision, one that he is building and refining, so that the body of his work becomes more clear and distilled as his skill develops. This requires a mixture of humility and self respect. It requires the ability to learn from mistakes, acknowledge biases, and most importantly - love the work itself. A critic should be able to separate his work from his ego, and from his desire to be perceived as clever and witty (at the art or the artist's expense).

I am sometimes astonished at how my own colleagues will annihilate a particular reviewer, until that same reviewer writes favourably about their work. I myself am somewhat flummoxed when a reviewer whose observations I have found to be silly or uninformed turns around and gives my work a good review. But I always come to the same conclusion - life is full of contradictions, and those who are reviewing art are as contradictory as the rest of us.

Truthfully, I think in order to talk about the critic one has to talk about art and its role in our times. I think our world has changed to such a degree that the old adage, "the loss of art to a society signals the loss of civilized culture", is kind of cute and antiquated. Most artists are so self-absorbed when going about the business of creating, they aren't pondering their impact on, or responsibility to, the society that supports them. I don't judge that kind of self-involvement. I mean how can I, as that pretty much describes my history as a working artist? But I do wonder how that approach to art can save civilization from its own demise.

Some say the role of art is to question, break the rules, turn the world on its' head, upset and remold. Others feel it should uplift, bring beauty. I kind of believe in all those roles. On each piece I make specific choices about content, context and style, depending upon how I think I need to develop my craft at that point in time.

I hold dear a personal belief that is the basis of all my work, no matter how dark, weird or intense the dance or play may be: I do not wish to contribute bland or pretty images - or, at the other end of the scale, evil or pornographic ones - to the viewer's mind. I attempt to create work that is hopeful, that might inspire courage and imagination, no matter how difficult or challenging the subject matter. That is my personal desire as an artist, and beyond that, any feedback from critic, colleague or audience member is appreciated, particularly if it reflects on how I can better achieve that goal.