The Mask of Virtuosity "The Record Effect: How technology has tranformed the sound of music" by Alex Ross (The New Yorker, 6/6/05):
Most modern performance tends to erase all evidence of the work that goes into playing: virtuosity is defined as effortlessness. One often-quoted ideal is to "disappear behind the music." But when precision is divorced from emotion it can become anti-musical, inhuman, repulsive.
When the artist disappears behind the work, is her product then a mask? Renaissance painting is smooth -- a reality on its own. But I love Modern art, where I can stand close, see the brush strokes, and get a glimmer of how the artist constructed it.
But then I think of actors. You want an actor to sink into the role, not tamper with it to serve her ego. But I know at least one person who dislikes Meryl Streep because every performance is so clinically perfect.
I can't produce a slick video like the ads agencies do. My pieces are very "Susan." Maybe it's due to my lack of skill, but I also like the economy and authenticity of "lo-fi." It's like musicians who are now producing music tracks in their bedroom studios. Perfection belongs to a universe I don't need to know.
8:34:07 AM 
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Is making art about assuming a mask or about ripping the mask off? Do you wear a mask? 