Artistic Achievement

In this age when electronic devices attempt to substitute for the fear and glory of performance at the moment and on the spot, the use of lip-syncing and canned laughter--artistic crimes--have been brought about by manipulative, greedy and false would-be artists.

A person dreams a dream and suffers through the fears and agonies of trying to construct it, nurturing it with the fear of failure and the desire and hope of communicating to one’s fellow man the torture and glory of living which is, perhaps, part of the foundation of art.

The above, plus the immediacy of performance, the guts to stand up in public, to face the bulls, to “create” on the spot, is what all performance art is based upon.

“Put up or shut up!”--not substitution. There can be no fabrication of true art or performance. It is the fear that comes with the terror of performance that helps forge effort into art. Without the deepest self-involvement, there is no honest communication.

To me, communication is the essence necessary for the journey toward artistic achievement. Any substitution offered today makes me ashamed. I insist performing (acting) is an art. Courage is the foundation of creation.

ROD STEIGER, Malibu