Memory, Sorrow, and Shame
For this project, I sat on a table in front of a screen, upon which was projected a video of my hands engaged in sewing. The video itself was slowed down and given a blurry, dreamlike filter. Ah, why don't I just show you?
The reason I played that video behind me was because I intended to refer to it in my monologue -- or at least hint at it. Having decided I wanted to do some sewing, I would explain, in the monologue, that sewing was on my mind. The fact of not being able to find my sewing kit, if it occurred, was supposed to be ironic/tragic/something of that sort, when juxtaposed to the daydream.
I don't remember if that actually came up in the monologue. Most of what I said was about the other stuff I've misplaced and lost, like my hats. My goal was to quickly reach the part where I fell to the floor, although, as it turned out, that didn't happen before the video finished.
Now that I think about it, this piece seems more like theater than performance. Performance art usually involves a measure of surprise for the artist, as well as for the audience; unlike theater, where every aspect is controlled, performance art depends upon chance. Who knows what will happen when one measures an entire museum using the length of one's body, or locks oneself in a room with a coyote, or nails one's hands to a volkswagen? Admittedly the last one has less to do with chance than a simple lack of knowledge of what the pain will be like, and how much one can endure.
The element of chance distinguishes performance art from video art as well, for videos can be cropped, edited, filtered, muted, etc.
I really like your video work, and I find it to be really strong, sometimes stronger than your performance work. When you use video you seem to isolate and heighten everyday motions- a pursuit I think video is ideal for. I would like you to continue working in this medium. As for your performance, what I found most interesting was when you let your body hit the table. I loved that play with gravity and think that, perhaps, that could be another video piece, or a performance piece. If you want to go that route, you should investigate Trisha Brown. I think you would really like her.
ReplyDelete