Joan Jonas on Organic Honey

Interview

Joan Jonas on Organic Honey interviewed by Brandon Eng and Barbara Clausen, October 22, 2018.

Transcript

• “Joan Jonas on Organic Honey interviewed by Brandon Eng and Barbara Clausen, October 22, 2018 (Interview Transcript).” Joan Jonas Knowledge Base, Artist Archives Initiative, 2021.

Abstract

This interview begins with Jonas describing how Organic Honey began when she took a trip to Japan in 1970. She recalls buying a Portapak recording system and seeing a lot of Noh and Kabuki theater during this trip [00:00–02:13]. Jonas states that she began working on Organic Honey in the years following her trip to Japan and that she presented the first version of this work in 1972 [02:17–05:55]. The second version of Organic Honey’s Visual Telepathy was a performance that was shown at LoGiudice Gallery on Broome Street [05:59–06:49]. While speaking about these first two versions of the piece, Jonas remembers other sources of inspiration [06:50–09:27]. Then the artist speaks about the process of turning the piece into a performance that involved other performers [09:28–11:54]. From here Jonas goes on to talk about developing the score for the work [11:58–14:11]. Jonas speaks about traveling with this work and taking that time to experiment and develop her autonomous videos, mainly Vertical Roll [14:12–19:37]; she talks about working in New York [14:37–15:26], at the Festival of Music and Dance in Rome [15:27–16:07], at Ace Gallery in Los Angeles (where she developed Vertical Roll) [16:08–18:57], in San Francisco and at CalArts [18:58–19:27], among other venues. Jonas also mentions some other autonomous works that were produced [19:39–20:41]. Shifting from traveling, the artist explains how she used a combination of projected images and images on monitors [20:42–22:15] as well as a sound device [22:16–22:54], props, and costumes [22:55–24:11] for different Organic Honey performances and how these elements varied from one performance to another. Jonas specifically talks about the paper screens that she used as a backdrop [24:46–26:16]. From here, she speaks about working with a variety of people and about her rehearsal process; she specifically mentions her work with Babette Mangolte [26:17–27:48]. Jonas also mentions that she began to make drawings for Organic Honey [27:49–29:08]. The conversation then moves to the topic of sound [29:09–33:33] and whether or not the audience was receptive to this kind of work at the time [31:45–32:40]. Moving closer to the present, Jonas describes the exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum and the process of the museum acquiring the work as an installation [33:34–39:17]. The artist then shares her thoughts on an installation of the work that she deemed unsatisfactory [40:04–40:59]. She then briefly talks about an exhibition at the Berkeley University Art Museum in 1982 [41:33–42:27]. The interview ends with Jonas recommending people the Joan Jonas Knowledge Base team should interview [42:35–43:19].