Fireside Chat Artist Statement

            As I read the assignment description for the Fireside Chat, I felt my stomach sinking. I have nothing against live performing, but I find it difficult to perform live as myself. It’s enjoyable to present a character in a performance and pretend to be someone other than myself, but to bare my own life, experiences, emotions, and self to an audience is much more challenging and nerve-wracking.

            During preparation for this project, however, I began to realize that I had something that I wanted to say. The ideas flowed and something began to develop. One phenomenon that I have observed here at BYU is that although there are a number of students, particularly within the film program, who are socially liberal, there are very few who are fiscally liberal. Being incredibly fiscally liberal, I decided to use this as my topic.

            In Susan Sontag’s essay, “Regarding the Pain of Others,” she writes that photographs often present something as better than it actually is. During my preparation for the Fireside Chat, I realized that I wanted to avoid this phenomenon if at all possible. Because of this, I chose to not use any form of projected media for my project. I wanted to use something that was physical, real, and tangible. I felt that this added a small sense of realism to my project.

            I also wanted to avoid preaching or lecturing. I knew what I wanted to say, and I knew what my viewpoint was, but I decided to make things even more personal than I had originally planned by telling a personal story about myself. I was inspired by Jane Taylor’s poem, “Poverty” and the way that she personalizes her story by talking about what she will do with her money, whilst still very powerfully making a point. I wanted to do something similar.

            And so I told a personal story, interwoven with cynicism and political thoughts, dressed as a homeless man, and used cardboard signs as my media. All in all, I feel as though the presentation wasn’t as effective as it could have been. Although I memorized my piece, I forgot several parts as I stood in front of the audience. I also feel as though it may have been the wrong time and place to present such a topic. Most of the other presentations were more comic in nature, even if they were dealing with serious topics. I wonder if this detracted from the message I was trying to convey.

            In conclusion, I enjoyed the Fireside Chat more than I thought I would. I was able to share a personal story about myself in a manner that was potentially more powerful than simply writing it. I do, however, wonder if even the Fireside Chat was the best medium for this particular story.