Katarina Kojic on Red Rae

Dear Red Rae,

I came to Fire Portal already in an artistic state of mind. Because the performance was running late, I had time to wander through the other galleries as they were getting ready to open. I saw some work that caught my attention and even bought a canvas bag that says “Philly is for Artists” on it. I remember thinking that it was a pretty perfect prelude to seeing a performance piece. I was open. Curious. Ready to have an experience.

And then I experienced Fire Portal.

There was something mysterious about the performance that invited me to keep watching and wondering about what was underneath it. I found myself curious about the personal place it came from and what the experience of performing it meant for you. I imagine there were layers of meaning and feeling in it that I could only glimpse as an audience member, and that sense of something deeper beneath the surface stayed with me.

What I did feel very clearly was how brave it was.

I kept thinking about what it must feel like to put yourself through something so vulnerable in front of an audience, especially when the work seems to come from such a personal place. I don’t think I could have done it. There is something powerful about being willing to expose that much of yourself and then trust an audience to simply witness it.

The title Fire Portal stayed with me after I left. I began imagining the performance as a kind of walking through fire: entering something painful or overwhelming, catching the fire, and somehow learning to hold it rather than letting it consume you. Maybe that interpretation has nothing to do with what you intended. But it was the image my mind kept returning to.

I think that is one of the interesting things about experiencing art. We don’t always meet a work in the same place the artist created it. Sometimes we understand something immediately. Sometimes we don’t. And sometimes what stays with us is not an answer, but an image, a feeling, or a question that continues to unfold after we leave.

I left Fire Portal thinking about courage, vulnerability, and what it means to willingly walk into something that scares you.

I may not have understood everything you were exploring, but I could feel that you were willing to go somewhere difficult and personal in order to explore it. I have a lot of respect for that.

Katarina Kojic

Red Rae is the Performer of Fire Portal.

Katarina Kojic is the Performer/Director of Photoprov.