Taking up space with Sage Cannon

Sage Cannon is an interdisciplinary artist and Master’s of Fine Art Candidate. For the Pride In Art event, Sage is showing three recorded performance art pieces that express a sense of isolation and repetition. We sat down with Sage to learn more about what inspired this work.

Pride In Business: How has your identity influenced your approach to art and your work

Sage Cannon: My identity inherently influences my work, while it is not always the subject of an artwork it is not something that can be set aside. The biggest influence my identity has on my artwork and approach would be that I am more comfortable to move against the grain and take risks. I often feel through just existing as a lesbian woman and artist I move against the societal grain and ‘norm’ which can be challenging at times but also liberating.

PIB: What inspired you to pursue a career as an artist?

SC: I have always been interested in art and theatre; I started acting in plays almost 15 years ago. I don’t remember ever deciding to be an artist but rather just continued to follow what I loved and was interested in, which led me to complete a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) and now my masters. I truly believe in the power of social change through art which is the biggest reason for continuing to pursue this field.

PIB: What inspires you to create performance art in a video medium?

SC: The videos that I will be displaying all started as live performances with the videos coming afterward. I use the video form as documentation of the performance but also as an extension of the project. Video allows me to edit and shift how the performance is perceived while giving a taste of the original.

PIB: Do you work in other mediums? If so, what made you choose these three works present at the show?

SC: Yes, I work in a lot of different mediums mainly theatre, sculpture, and art installation. I am really interested in how mediums can be combined such as installation and performance or how one concept can be imagined through multiple mediums. The works I chose to display fit the call for submissions best through theme and form.

PIB: In the work you shared with us, a sense of isolation appears to be mixed with monotonous and laborious activity. Can you share a little bit about what you are trying to say with some of this work?

SC: Isolation appears in both pieces as it was a feeling I was working through at the time of creation. I was just starting to come out to people and felt quite alone in my experiences. I was also thinking a lot about how much of my identity and personal life I wanted to share with people around me (coworkers, friends, teachers etc.) and how much I felt I had to explain myself to others, which ultimately led me to isolate myself at times.

The monotonous labour featured in these performances is meant to represent the repetitive nature of the experiences I was having at the time, how the ideas I was working through felt continuous and never-ending. From a performance aspect I always find it fascinating to just watch people perform tasks without a specific narrative agenda, this ‘performative action’ I find means you can just see a person rather than an actor or character.

PIB: You also appear to modify a space through your work – again, done in silence and over an extended period – what is your intent behind transforming these spaces?

SC: Modifying space has become a central theme to my work no matter that medium it takes. For me, modifying space is a way of forcing myself to take up physical space which is something that can be difficult and something I shy away from in daily life. Partially I think this is from growing up a woman and being socialized to be ‘small’ and ‘quiet.’

Transforming space also gives the space new meaning or a different way of looking at it which I find interesting, it interrupts the social norm and dynamic of the room. While these artworks were created, I went into a bit of a deep dive into durational art and wanted to see what it felt like to perform over a long span of time. I enjoy durational work because it is as much an experience for myself as the performer as it is for an audience member watching me.

PIB: What kind of takeaway do you hope viewers gain when exhibiting your work?

I hope that viewers gain insight into different styles of performance work. I hope that they gain an emotional investment or insight and that my work can provoke questions or thoughtfulness. I share these performances as a way of connecting with viewers who may feel isolated, invisible, or lost.

PIB: What kind of response have you received when showing this work?

SC: I’ve received emotional responses from people who felt connected to the work emotionally as they felt it related to their lived experiences or emotions.

I’ve also had responses from people who viewed these projects as live performances that they felt uncomfortable (particularly with “cornered”) as I, as the performer, was in a vulnerable space and they were separated from me.

PIB: As a Master of Fine Art candidate at the University of Calgary, can you tell us about how your MFA work has impacted your work?

SC: My MFA work has taken a big shift from focusing on queer theory and my own queer identity to researching lived experiences from young adults in poverty.

The form that my work takes is similar and I have more resources to expand on my ideas. My current artistic practice is combining theatre practice and visual arts in each creation project and finding new ways to weave the two disciplines together.

I have been able to dive into a lot more research on how performance art functions which impacts how I create and what feels possible to me.

PIB: Can you share more about your studies of “Interdisciplinary Performance Creation and Research?”

SC: My current research is about young adults who have lived experiences of poverty and how collaborative creation can be an avenue to dismantle stigma and shame.

The really interesting part of this program is because it is interdisciplinary, I am able to academically and artistically research across different disciplines. My two main area of focus are theatre and visual arts, but I have also been researching into social work to gain better insight into my project as a whole.

PIB: You’ve also shared that you mentor LGBTQ+ youth. Can you tell us a bit about your work as a mentor?

SC: I previously worked at a summer camp for LGBTQ+ youth in Ontario, where I worked with youth aged 12-18. This experience taught me a lot about queer experiences, challenges, and ultimately queer joy. While working with youth it gave me an opportunity to reflect on my experiences as a teenager and give the youth, I was working with the acceptance that I wanted so badly as a young person.

Website: sagecannonart.squarespace.com
Instagram: @sagecannonart

To see Sage’s performance art and the work of other featured artists, get your tickets for the Pride In Art event on May 26, 2023 here.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

**Fraser Tripp**
*PIB — Managing Editor*

Pride In Business article in partnership with TD.
By Fraser Tripp

Taking up space with Sage Cannon

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