Interview
Joan Simon interviewed by Barbara Clausen, January 29, 2021
Joan Simon is an independent curator and writer based in Paris. She is the author of In the Shadow a Shadow: The Work of Joan Jonas, the first career-spanning monograph on Joan Jonas that covers more than forty years of performances, films, videos, installations, texts, and video sculptures. This interview focuses on Simonâs relationship with Jonas and the evolution of Jonasâs work.
Transcript
- “Joan Simon interviewed by Barbara Clausen, January 29, 2021 (Interview Transcript).” Joan Jonas Knowledge Base, Artist Archives Initiative, 2021.
Abstract
The interview begins with Simon speaking about her background and how she got to know Jonasâs work in 1970 when she moved to New York and lived downtown. She describes the downtown art scene as one of intermingling [00:00â03:40]. She recalls seeing Jonasâs Organic Honey performance at LoGiudice Gallery, New York, noting the strangeness of the atmosphere and how the performance felt like an experiment [03:44â11:24]. Moving on, Simon discusses how she sees narrative functioning in Jonasâs early works, such as Organic Honey and Mirage. Simon touches on how Jonas went from experimenting to finding more of a ritual-like approach and how from the very beginning she used language to create a sense of a doubled space and how the environment plays such an important role in her work [11:25â15:42]. Simon goes on to speak about Jonasâs relationships with poets, including Susan Howe, and how that has influenced her work [15:49â19:27].
Simon then examines how Jonas has translated her works into space and installation, citing examples such as the Volcano Saga and Revolted by the thought of known places…Sweeney Astray performances and her show at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, which Simon considers a changing point in Jonasâs long and productive career [19:28â24:32]. Simon also discusses the importance of the installation setups for the Stedelijk show and the theatrical performance of Sweeney Astray, touching on the relationship between Jonasâs performances and installations [24:33â29:56]. This segues into a conversation about how Jonasâs 1976 exhibition Stage Sets in Philadelphia and her 1977 Mirage installation at Documenta 6 brought a focused approach to translating elements of performance to an exhibition context [29:57â33:26]. Simon then discusses seeing other Jonas exhibitions, including in Stuttgart, and how her multimedia installations have evolved and changed over the years. Simon contends that the most crucial changes were in The Shape, the Scent, the Feel of Things and Lines in the Sand, and she believes that collaborating with Jason Moran took Jonasâs work to a whole new level. [33:27â35:57] The interview ends with Simon giving advice for future curators and historians who might approach Jonasâs work. She advises these listeners to make sure all of Jonasâs films, documents, props, and photographs are preserved, and generally, she suggests that one can benefit from stepping outside of the art world and examining it through different lenses [35:58â44:18].