Many people watch pseudo-documentary work such as Behind the Music with the Latest Lame Boy Band and the like. But even those quasi-real glimpses at the artists’ life reek of antiseptic. Yes, they occasionally contain elements of soap opera and other things to please the mostly hypnotized viewers of “reality” television but they rarely touch on what artists actually do.
I hope that over the past three weeks of this series you have had a fair chance to see who The Cabiri are, what they do, how they work–and, I hope, you have taken an interest in them as important members of your community, not just as artists but also as people with thoughts, feelings, ideas. If not, I have one more week to convince you, so convince you I shall try.
I wanted to make some photographs of The Cabiri at work. It is far from glamorous but it is nevertheless essential work. Rarely do people see artists doing things other than perform. I hope this helps show that they put it much more work behind the scenes than most people can even imagine. Performances are fairly seamless and look simple. All art, in fact, shares this quality. Removed from the process of sweating tears and sometimes blood in order to make everything look so naturally simple, one often gets the impression that it is all too easy. In my eye, I wanted to capture the quieter, less spectacular moments that, too, are integral to the process. And perhaps have a bit of fun at the same time.
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