Success is about movement
Interview with Casper Dillen by Victoria Stepanets
Victoria Stepanets in conversation with Casper Dillen, Photo: Ning An
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Today, contemporary art is becoming an increasingly ambiguous concept. Sometimes it seems that it has neither boundaries nor explanations. It is impossible to define what is art and what is not. And on the one hand, it has its advantages, because it does not create restrictions, but expands the worldview, and gives much more freedom of expression. On the other hand, it leads to blurring the line between amateurism and professionalism, which in turn raises the question: can everything be art? This is the topic we raise in this issue of the magazine, and in our interview with a choreographer, dancer, performance artist Casper Dillen, who is currently obtaining his Master degree at the Royal College of Art.
Casper: It is like a cake. There are the raw ingredients: the egg, the dough, the milk. And then there are preparations through the cooking process. The assemblage, severing, moulding, applying heat. The raw materials can be seen as the qualities, complex notions that exist in the world, one is thrown into a world that contains certain intersubjective qualities such as beauty, boredom, speed, surprise, etc. And the preparation can be the coming into contact with those forces with contemporaneity. The arrangement and manifestation. So the raw material and the preparation can be the coming into contact with those forces with contemporary art. There is creation, but also arrangement for me.
ArkTalks: The question I want to start with – what do you imagine when you hear the word ‘art’?
AT: You already talked a bit about your vision of art, but I want to extend this question with reflection on the definition. Do you think that art should be defined? And if yes, who has the right to determine it?