Tim Fite - Preaching to the Converted

Tim Fite's art is extremely Hard to describe. If there was some way for me to prefectly describe Tim Fite, i believe that would be a signal that I would be a genius. But the only person that could do that would be the preacher himself. In order to give you at least a vague idea, this video could help:




So Tim Fite's ensemble consists of several elements. The most apparent members are Tim and his brother Greg, who gallop onto the stage, whooping and a wailing, as if you have suddenly found yourself in a southern tent revival in the early 20th century. Similarly to the role of Tim and Greg, a projector unit is set against a white screen behind them both, featuring a variety of silly videos or simply a recorded film of Tim as an unknown character who sits in a wheelchair and plays the necessary instrument for the song.

While Tim, Greg, and their projector are the most apparent members of the visual and auditory artistic expression, their is one last member of this piece that holds an intriguing amount of power in the reception and interpretation of Fite's work: the audience. While the audience is encouraged to sing, dance, clap, or yell, Fite's preaching is only encouraged by either the audience's enthusiasm or laughter (the latter being the case at the performance I attended)

While speaking to Fite afterwards, I constructed nearly 30 questions throughout his six song opening for My Brightest Diamond, but I was only able to regurgitate a few in the presence of a sweet man who was more than happy to discuss his work. Describing his great musical influences as late 80's rap music, in which "the REAL party happened," I was perplexed at the possiblitity that Fite was actually speaking to me in character. Fite's continual use of religious language when describing his performance, I believe, is pivotal to truly understanding his art.

While I was enthralled with Fite's performance, I was left with a variety of disturbing questions. The first and most important is what is the true nature of the relationship between the audience and the artist. Most artists hold a certain 4th wall between themselves and the audience, but one that is much less constricting than that held in drama or any similar visual performance. While the wall may be less constricting, how relaxed should it be? What is the "balance" between audience immersion and the respectful worship of the artist?