(no subject)
"COUM hope to enable all kinds of people to discover their abilities to express ideas through different media. COUM believe that you don't NEED special training to produce and/or enjoy, worthwhile, significant and unique works. COUM demonstrate that there are NO boundaries in any form. It has NOT all been done before, and that which has can still bear valid re-interpretation. Thee possibilities remain endless. COUM try to examine basic premises in theatre, music and art with both a sophisticated and niave approach, thereby creating and exploring new structures, whilst being aware of their historical context. COUM still use old methods and formulae where they remain the best. COUM try to have open minds and to open minds. Not new things for thee sake of it, but perhaps for thee sake of art.
COUM explore their own dreams and obsessions and live them out where possible. They believe that there is no reason why anyone, of any age, cannot, if they REALLY want to becoum thee character they want, and create the things they want in some form. Normal, traditional channels of training still remain important, but just seeing and discussing an alternative view can widen one's vision of what might be done. A trained pianist, for example, is just as incapable of capturing thee feel and style of a non-pianist as that non-pianist is of suddenly bursting into Chopin. Everyone has a place. Perhaps a new system, an open system, of evaluation is necessary. What is good? COUM try to expose potential and act as a catylist to trigger any person who will listen into thinking about what has and what could, happen. In this sense COUM is more a movement than a group, aiming for a re-vitalisation of human creative self-confidence. A re-affirmation of everyones right to choose inclusion in a culture. To do things for themselves once more.
No one really knows what is best, or right anymore. So we have to decide for ourselves. We have to discover what we really believe in. Thus COUM performances in all media are also discussions in visual and sound terms about just what IS valid, and what thee rules are. Everyone can perform, though not everyone wants to of course. It's all a matter of time, patience and flexibility. COUM hope to give people an idea of what they themselves can manage, and that is valuable. They want to put things in perspective, to proclaim the joy of discovery in art, music and performance, to end self-limiting ideas of competence a situation of general development. COUM hope to show people what they can manage. So COUM is a family of people, not only who have PhD's, University & Art College degrees, but also people who left school at 15 to work in factories. Collectively increasing their awareness and adaptability as a performance group on all levels.
COUM do not make explanatiion explicit in their performances, music and exhibitions. They do not impose their ideas. They feel an audience, whatever its nature has a responsibility to work on what it sees and hears. However, afterwards they are happy to discuss the subtleties, private obsessions, clues, satires and suggestions incorporated with disguised opinion that is obviously open to debate. One problem always present is, how direct can you be without destroying the parallel to human subconscious behaviour and dream worlds with which COUM wish to deal?
Even if you do not agree at all with COUM propositions and ideas, it is still a valuable experience to meet, work with, for instance in a weeklong workshop, with a differnt method of approach so that ones own ideas and real ambitions can be clarified. COUM are happy to COUM and work with you, for you and discuss their work. They have always said that talking, and meeting people is really thee most rewarding result in the end."
COUM Transmission, 1974
now that deserves a deep, deep sigh of relief. where do i sign up? apparently this is a statement from a sort of performance-art-other collective from london, members of whom later formed the group Throbbing Gristle, whose record i just bought, finally.