The Dynamics of Interaction Between and Busker

Bricollage and Counter-Bricollage

Busking is often automatically considered to be a “low taste”, unsophisticated form of expression. Those who listen to and observe the buskers are viewers rather than an audience. These two terms have been compared in texts previously (Sturken and Cartwright 2009) but essentially audience refers to a group that is conceptualized by the media industry as having a common interest or priority, whereas a viewer is an individual who is observing. Because a number of individuals with very different backgrounds, musical taste and priorities pass by buskers, it is incorrect to refer to them as an audience. A sort of modern-day bricollage and counter-bricollage has taken place in the world of busking. In analyzing this, we compared buskers at the Churchill station near Edmonton City Centre to well-known celebrity-status buskers on video on YouTube. The French anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss coined the term bricollage, which refers to the use of cultural commodities outside of their typical contexts. Busking can be considered a form of bricollage because it is the utilization of and performance of music outside of the expected, structured context such as a concert hall or on a stage and to an unexpected, casual setting such as a subway station. At the Churchill station, the interaction between audience and busker varied. On some occasions (observation occurred at the same time each day), the viewers were not receptive to the buskers and we did not see crowds forming. The viewers passed by, some gave a glance and only two people were observed dropping money for the buskers. This reinforces the value of busking being a low-class, kitsch-like activity (Press and McNamara 1975) practiced by those who do not have enough money to make ends meet. Yet, busking has recently become a sort of avant-garde thing to do. A conversation with a busker revealed that the individual was from a well-off family, and did not require the money that he collected from busking to cover his costs. Rather, he found this to be an enjoyable way to spend his day, giving him an outlet to perform his original music and juxtapose his relaxed self amongst the hustle and bustle of the rush hour. Searching “buskers” on YouTube bring up a number of videos of well-known artists in popular music who are busking on the streets with a large number of viewers gathered around them. This counter-bricollage of using busking as a way of capturing viewers and gathering new fans is almost a new form of free marketing that artists are using. The video below shows British singer James Morrison busking in Birmingham city in England.

Crowds gather all around him, of all ages and demographics and are very receptive to his performance, dropping money and increasing in numbers as he performs. Video two shows an anonymous busker in Churchill station in Edmonton busking. No crowds gather, most quickly pass by and no one drops off money. The reception and interaction between busker and audience is therefore dependent on the status of the busker within the community.


Nostalgia and Reproduction

Individuals are always looking for familiarity, particulary in places that are for the most part unfamiliar to us, such as a subway station. Our observations led to the conclusion that interaction between viewer and busker depends on this. When we observed buskers playing familiar songs such as “Time of Your Life” by Green Day, reception was greater and by a greater diversity of viewers than when the busker played an original song. The reasoning for this could be that in the midst of moving to and from different locations to get daily tasks done, hearing a familiar song which many people can relate to helps to conjure up a sense of comfort and nostalgia within the viewers thus leading to greater reception. Hearing an unfamiliar song by an unfamiliar artist on the other hand, may make the viewer feel distant from the busker and thus not as receptive to it.