Art star performance (at least I hope.....actually I don't care):
Showing posts with label performance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label performance. Show all posts
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Friday, March 11, 2011
(Stage)(Heart)Beats
You might have to turn your speakers up for this - the dynamics are quite exaggerated and the bass is both tactile/physical and aural. More and more I find that sound is playing a significant role in my thesis - in the characterization of the performer and the stage, and in the experiential qualities of the performances (for both the audience and myself).
Again, the stage has a presence, a life, a heart beat...
Again, the stage has a presence, a life, a heart beat...
Endurance
To get to the top you must take large steps. To get to the bottom you must take careful steps. You don't stay at the top for long. You don't always look so good at the top either. How many times can one go up and come down?
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Who Dare Disturbs My SLUMBER!!!!
In retrospect this little experiment reminded me about that particular scene in the Wizard of Oz when the rumbling, roaring, entity floating in front of our heroes turns out to be a small bumbling man behind a curtain in front of a control board. In some ways the performer inside the stage at the soundboard, shaking the stage with his bare hands, is the man hiding behind the smoke and mirrors act. Unlike the giant green meanie however, I feel the stage really does have a personality - a head, a voice, a presence. So while it may not be productive to compare the two (because Oz turned out to be just an elaborate illusion) the larger than life feel of the wizard resonates with me. I can guarantee that I won't come out from inside and start handing out brains, hearts, or courage.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Monday, February 28, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
One For Violin (1962)
It seems that instrument smashing is not a stranger to art either. Nam June Paik performing One for Violin during NEO-DADA in der Musik.
Below is a video of the performance being re-inacted.
(click on images to enlarge)
Below is a video of the performance being re-inacted.
Body Pressure (1974)
Body Pressure
Press as much of the front surface of
your body (palms in or out, left or right cheek)
against the wall as possible.
Press very hard and concentrate.
Form an image of yourself (suppose you
had just stepped forward) on the
opposite side of the wall pressing
back against the wall very hard.
Press very hard and concentrate on the image pressing very hard.
(the image of pressing very hard)
press your front surface and back surface
toward each other and begin to ignore or
block the thickness of the wall. (remove
the wall)
Think how various parts of your body
press against the wall; which parts
touch and which do not.
Consider the parts of your back which
press against the wall; press hard and
feel how the front and back of your
body press together.
Concentrate on the tension in the muscles,
pain where bones meet, fleshy deformations that occur under pressure; consider
body hair, perspiration, odors (smells).
This may become a very erotic exercise.
Bruce Nauman, Body Pressure, 1974, (c) 2002 Bruce Nauman /Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Breathing Exercises - Instructions
Here are the set of instructions I read in the performance Breathing Exercises to Raise the Collective Heart Rate and Forget About Your Butterflies.
for Performer and/or Audience
1. Stand up straight, hands at your sides, chest out, head facing forward with your chin up.
2. Inhale, slowly raising your arms from your sides up above your head.
3. Repeat as many times as desired.
4. After repeating step 2 enough times begin to incorporate the body in the upward motion created by the arms (i.e. standing on the tips of your toes, jumping, etc.). Breathing rate can increase as well.
5. Rn around your stage performing steps 2 through 4. (Participating audience members may run in place or in a small circle)
6. Continue running until your heart rate has increased noticeably and/or fatigue has set in.
7. Stop.
8. Cool down by repeating steps 2 and shaking your hand and feet.
for Performer and/or Audience
1. Stand up straight, hands at your sides, chest out, head facing forward with your chin up.
2. Inhale, slowly raising your arms from your sides up above your head.
3. Repeat as many times as desired.
4. After repeating step 2 enough times begin to incorporate the body in the upward motion created by the arms (i.e. standing on the tips of your toes, jumping, etc.). Breathing rate can increase as well.
5. Rn around your stage performing steps 2 through 4. (Participating audience members may run in place or in a small circle)
6. Continue running until your heart rate has increased noticeably and/or fatigue has set in.
7. Stop.
8. Cool down by repeating steps 2 and shaking your hand and feet.
(Glitch) Music and Video Performance
In Chicago I had the opportunity to check out an exhibition at the Jennifer Norback Gallery (a small gallery a few blocks from the MCA) that UF alumn Wesley Wilson had a piece in. There I met a few artists that were working in the mixing of digital media and experimental music.
James Connolly and Kyle Evans were amazing. Totally agonizing to listen to but fantastic at the same time.
Spencer Hutchinson, the artist who organized the exhibition in collaboration with Jennifer Norback, had some really great pieces as well including one entitled Video Performance #1 with Affected Turntable (2010).
The piece used a hardware hacked mattel mindflex toy to control the operation of a belt driven turntable. The brainwave energy picked up by the mindflex sensor was transformed to a variable electric current to control the playback of original sound pieces on an custom cut vinyl record.
James Connolly and Kyle Evans were amazing. Totally agonizing to listen to but fantastic at the same time.
Spencer Hutchinson, the artist who organized the exhibition in collaboration with Jennifer Norback, had some really great pieces as well including one entitled Video Performance #1 with Affected Turntable (2010).
The piece used a hardware hacked mattel mindflex toy to control the operation of a belt driven turntable. The brainwave energy picked up by the mindflex sensor was transformed to a variable electric current to control the playback of original sound pieces on an custom cut vinyl record.
Artifact
Keith Buchholz, one of the organizers of the FluxFest, performed a variation of Release (you can see the score for the performance in the scan of the book in the previous post) in which he smashed a mug from the MCA gift shop on the floor and placed the broken pieces in envelopes that he handed out to members of the audience. I was lucky enough to receive an artifact.
Fluxus Scores
While I was in Chicago I got to sit through three days of Fluxus performances (some of which I got to participate in) enacted in the main lobby area of museum. Here are a few scores they performed that they also handed out to the audience.
What I realized most about the Fluxus performances was that a lot of them were just plain old fun. One thing I think I had forgotten about in all my attempts to locate my work in academia was "play." I forgot about playing - playing music, playing the stage, playing characters, etc.
I had some wonderful conversations with Nancy Tien - a former sculpture undergrad from UF who's now in the performance department at SAIC - about performing, play, trust, absurdity, and fun. It was really refreshing. The simplicity of the performances caught me off guard at first. I found myself thinking a lot of it was dumb...until I participated in a few of the performances. While some were more successful than others I found that the space of the gallery itself changed. The relationship between audience members that were willing to participate and those that weren't changed. The relationship between the artists and the audience members changed. And probably most important of all - it was all relatively accessible. I think more people (including myself) were more confused at times because of the absurdity of the performances and not because they were over intellectualized. They were simple and poignant. I enjoyed that about them.
(click on images to view larger version)
What I realized most about the Fluxus performances was that a lot of them were just plain old fun. One thing I think I had forgotten about in all my attempts to locate my work in academia was "play." I forgot about playing - playing music, playing the stage, playing characters, etc.
I had some wonderful conversations with Nancy Tien - a former sculpture undergrad from UF who's now in the performance department at SAIC - about performing, play, trust, absurdity, and fun. It was really refreshing. The simplicity of the performances caught me off guard at first. I found myself thinking a lot of it was dumb...until I participated in a few of the performances. While some were more successful than others I found that the space of the gallery itself changed. The relationship between audience members that were willing to participate and those that weren't changed. The relationship between the artists and the audience members changed. And probably most important of all - it was all relatively accessible. I think more people (including myself) were more confused at times because of the absurdity of the performances and not because they were over intellectualized. They were simple and poignant. I enjoyed that about them.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Andy Kaufman
Do you give the audience what they want? How much do you make them endure?
Andy Kaufman reads The Great Gatsby (embedding disabled upon request - otherwise I'd have the damn thing on here)
Andy Kaufman becomes Elvis Presley (embedding is also denied on this video - f*ck this youtube user as well)
I particularly like how Andy has a pre-recorded laugh track for this "improv" sketch:
Andy Kaufman reads The Great Gatsby (embedding disabled upon request - otherwise I'd have the damn thing on here)
Andy Kaufman becomes Elvis Presley (embedding is also denied on this video - f*ck this youtube user as well)
I particularly like how Andy has a pre-recorded laugh track for this "improv" sketch:
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Performance Videos
Here are some videos of the performances I'm putting together. They're definitely not complete or fully fleshed out but I like where they are headed - particularly some of the more absurd interactions I'm having with the stage. Much more room for additions and improvements by way of voice and character and purposefully using the multiple tiers of my stage to affect the performance. Everything so far has been relatively silent.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Vito Acconci
A reference/connection I won't be able to avoid - in fact I don't dare avoid it. I certainly won't be masturbating beneath my stage, but I will be thinking about my audience and their presence in the gallery.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)