Anthony Gonzalez
The concepts of what constitutes real art has changed many times over the centures. By looking at a relatively new art movement, one can weigh the harsh claims of traditional art critics against a respect for those who struggle to meticulously validate modern art forms.
Jugglers have begun to explore the essence of their craft as an art only in the past 25 years. They have long emphasized the physical struggle of juggling as its own end, which served to entertain others. But juggling has now become the tool, or means, for a wide variety of expression.
“Juggling as an art form is very, very young,” professional juggler Jay Gilligan said. “If you compare it to other art forms like painting, photography, or even dance, it’s just pathetically behind the times. But then that also makes it a very exciting time to be alive, as the art form is so young it is developing very quickly and many new exciting things are happening these days.”
The concept of the “art of juggling” is open for discussion and it invites critical daggers as it struggles to validate itself as an art movement.
Exemplary artistic jugglers
Juggler Denis Paumier is well known as the author of numerous musical juggling duets. Not only has he pioneered musical juggling (compositions choreographed to music), but he has also produced music through the rhythmic catching and bouncing of juggling props. But is Paumier an artist?
Juggler Manu Laude performs a stunning routine of juggling and dance, seemingly choreographed to the exact inch of the stage in which he will land, spin, catch or collapse. Laude, with a background in dance and circus, presents a diverse skills repertoire while performing. But is he an artist?
French jugglers of a ballet persuasion and a movement known as “Cubic,” have written a manual of juggling forms to be systematically mastered in a manner similar to ballet techniques. But does a quantified written system make juggling an art form?
Even when including musical elements and dance, juggling artists continue to face scrutiny from other artists and even other jugglers. The problem remains: Jugglers must validate the act of juggling as a stand-alone art form. While Paumier and Laude may still prove their pluck as juggling artists, the inclusion of dance or music does not solidify juggling as art. The systematic mastery of skills, a la ballet, is also inadequate.
Getting serious about definition and validation
Ignoring semantics, the process of defining art often moves toward the elements of form, or medium, and purpose. For example, a painter uses a brush and paint to depict a landscape or an emotion such as grief. A juggler may throw and catch balls to show the beauty of the body in motion or the perfection of geometric patterns in the air. Throws and catches could potentially depict profound feelings, as a painting does.
But do medium and purpose wholly define an art form? Many things in life can be whittled down to form and purpose. For instance, I walk left foot, right foot, left, right, and I do so to move to a destination. Even walking has form and purpose—but few would call walking an art.
So the questions remain: Why is juggling an art as opposed to a craft? Why choose juggling as a medium for art? What makes modern juggling, opposed to juggling of the past, an art form?
Juggling is art
The origin of the art juggling movement is almost exclusively pinned on two men: Michael Moschen and Francis Brunn .
Moschen especially pushed his craft to a level of expression beyond that achieved by circus artists. Circus artists had for generations performed as parts of ensemble circuses, considering their physical prowess as the highest end of juggling. A routine would be always be performed with the goal of defying gravity and shocking audiences.
Modern juggling artists turn away from the idea of juggling as an end, and instead emphasize juggling as a means for something greater—as Moschen proved was possible.
The movement matures
While the modern juggling art movement does not have a declared leader, Jay Gilligan often leads the recognizable core of jugglers with his performances and workshops; his insistence on logical and philosophical artistic vindication make him an example for the movement.
For Moschen, Gilligan and other contemporary jugglers, it is their craft-turned-art that has the ability to represent concepts in a way unlike any other art form.
“I believe there is something special that juggling can express in the world that no other art form can express,” Gilligan said. “I believe there are shapes and movements that only exist inside of juggling that make it a unique art form in and of itself.”
Characterized by their desire to express aesthetic beauty and the many facets of humanity and human fallibility, jugglers worldwide have pushed towards a new essence that uses their physical skill to represent something more.
Gilligan said: “[If someone] believes throwing a ball in the air could never represent true love ... it is my work in life to prove him wrong ... I mean that I fight to make juggling an art because I believe deep down that somehow it is.”
One may believe the modern art world is composed of hacks, frauds and self-proclaimed visionaries. But at their cores, modern jugglers continue to struggle for a classical validation of their art.
Gonzalez is a Hillsdale College sophomore majoring in political economy.