The Aura of Bad Maps

Abstract

While wondering about the importance of live performance and how it is different from virtual/on-line performances, I try to define Benjamin's aura and chew on ideas of authenticity, presence, community, and audience. This essay alternates between theoretical/practical examples (Ralph Ellison's notions of the cosmopolitan to Mahalia Jackson's love of performing in church to Reverend Billy to recent science on body maps and biomagnetic fields to the do-it-yourself technology provocateurs, The Institute for Applied Autonomy) and an anecdotal journal chronicling my solo performance tour of intimate spaces (cafés, backyard sheds, Brooklyn lofts, and the Edinburgh Fringe).

Keywords:

• Aura
• Live performance
• Technology
• Mapping
• Do-it-yourself

Acknowledgements

A draft of this piece (originally titled “Performance, Aura and Sucking”) was submitted on July 12, 2007. On September 26, 2007, I received an email-invitation from Dr Dillard (accompanied by Reviewers’ Notes) to revise and resubmit the article. I've had support, encouragement, and technical assistance from Jennifer Allen, the Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities and UIUC's School of Art and Design, and editorial advice from Associate Professor Brett Kaplan, Associate Professor Isabel Molina, and Elizabeth Wlodarczak.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Deke Weaver

Deke Weaver is Assistant Professor in the New Media Department, University of Illinois