Tag Archive for: Performance

Energy artist Jancy Pettit was introduced in midlife to a meditative martial arts form call Qigong which transformed her approach to artmaking. She harnesses the energy from the Qigong movement and directs it into her art. This universal energy, called “chi,” moves her body in a spontaneous, free-flowing way to create images with no preplanning or preconceived ideas. The resulting mixed media pieces are nonfigurative, colorful and playful.

This process is demonstrated in the ArtLight performance, where Jancy will create an environment comprised of her own abstract, colorful, energy artwork by projecting it onto a large white background. Then, moving from the same inner wisdom with which the artwork was created, Jancy will perform in front of her art. Her body sometimes blends into the colorful environment; other times, interesting shadows are created. The result is a mysterious, beautiful and sometimes emotionally moving experience for the viewers.

In a 5 – 7 minute Spoken Word Poem, I illustrate the abstract concept of self, as we perceive ourselves to be, through the metaphor of being a blank canvas that the colors of diversity paint upon us as we develop from infancy into adulthood.

“I am a Canvas.
It was the world’s job to paint me before I ever made memories.
I once was a soft, little baby who viewed this world as a masterpiece, and each one of you were the masterful brushstrokes which waved at me — waving your own unique colors of life’s experience so gracefully over me, and I am your canvas.
I evolve as your vibrant, resilient painting, and I am one of the fortunate, because you — as my artists and co-creators — embrace me.”

This piece plays with the concept that we are all born “carte blanche”, and are taught shades of acceptance and ignorance, love and hate, activism and apathy; therefore, we are never truly living in a “me versus the world” mindset — no matter how often we’re taught the notion that we should look out for ourselves.  We create divisions when we forget that those who love us “paint” us accordingly; without those brushstrokes, we would be slightly less complete as a masterpiece.  We are all intertwined, and we are responsible to be self-aware that our beauty is a direct result of all the shades that complement each other to make us beautiful to look at: a portrait that equally gives every color equal spotlight on the eye.

“A world painted in the shade of only one color would truly be a boring world indeed, so don’t let the shade of all the past tell you what shade of all the pastels you should be.
If no one else tells you today, I love you, because you helped make me.

I did nothing except stand here, blank, and allow myself to be your Canvas.”