What will we leave behind?

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Alice Dale

Throughout the devising of our work we had toyed with the idea of creating an installation with the letters, airplanes and clocks that would be used within the performances. As we want to do several performances with gaps in between to reset the area we thought this time could also be spent building an installation. This would mean in every performance, the installation would look different. After the performances had finished we would have had an allotted time in which people could look at and explore the installation.

When looking at how we could structure the installation, we looked at work that was built using mainly paper. We discovered one piece of work that was made out of mainly paper.

I fly like paper get high like planes.

This piece of work was very striking and we were inspired by how dynamic it looked. The idea of doing this with the airplanes flying away from the mural was one that we like a lot. However, after much deliberation we decided that this was not something we would be able to do in such a small space of time.

We then started to think what we had done at the grandstand through the previous weeks. Near the beginning of the process, we were asked to take a gift to the grandstand and we really liked the idea of leaving part of what we will be creating at the site even when we have left. I then suggested that we bury a time capsule containing elements of our show. This will happen after the main performances and will be filmed so it could be shared with those who won’t be there when it is buried.

We all agreed that this idea was one that we very much liked and decided to move forward with the idea. After a little more discussion, we decided that we would ask the other groups to add something into the capsule so it will be a collection of all of the performances that will take place on the 8th of May 2014.

We have also decided that at the end of each performance we will ask the audience to take the batteries out of the individual clocks and place them in a jar. This image of stopping time and then burying it at the site is one that we thought was very fitting with our piece. Asking the audience to stop the clock will be accompanied by this poem;

Stop all the clocks.

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead,
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now: put out every one;
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood.
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

W.H.Auden

Throughout the process we have been interested in this poem and how it relates really well to our site and especially the room we had chosen. At the end of the performance seems like the right place for the poem to go. We are now really excited about the image that this will create after each performance.

Works Cited- Dawn Ng: I fly like paper get high like planes, 2009. Auden, W.H., Stop all the clocks, 1938.

Understanding the ‘core’ of Site-Specific!

Posted on April 26, 2014 by Alice Saxton

Appletite (performance name) has slowly morphed into a two-part performance installation involving two performers, yet one audience member. However the performance itself can still be classed as a One to One, with each performer inhabiting their own defined ‘space’ within the site. “One to One performances feel personal, and if we commit ourselves to them, they can affect us in a myriad of ways” (Zerihan, 2009, 3), especially when the performance pushes “the expressive capabilities and capacities of [its performers] body” (Pearson, 2010, 172).

Appletite is, for one part, my own personal response to the site. Although multiple audience members would physically be able to fit into the space, large numbers would diminish the intimacy between the narrative and spectator, creating an exploitation of my response rather than an inclusion. A One to One experience however would seem more intrusive (physically represented by my space being a toilet cubical); the exposure of my teeth and binding of my hands and feet forcing a personal exposure, whether it is wanted or not. “The potential of One to One performance to enable a shared and intense desire to connect, engage and discover another elucidates something about the ephemeral liveness of what might lure us toward this close encounter” (Zerihan, 2009, p.4). Thus audience members will have free will upon entering the site, encouraged by audio’s to ‘find’ me within the instillation and then choosing whether to stay or not.

In Mike Pearson’s In Comes I he states that there was no attempt to either emphasise previous functions of the building or to re-enact moments from its history when creating the performance Baroque (2001), and that the church’s architecture and atmosphere were revealed by what was brought to it (Pearson, 2006, 79). This creative process is similar to that of Appletites so far. We have not been exploring themes that explicitly relate to the Grandstand and its past inhabitants, but have imported an idea (apples) that alludes to such context: horses eat apples → when apples are eaten their core (Grandstand) remains → exposure of the apple’s core results in faster decomposition (neglect). Without our site however, this set-up would become insignificant… I now finally think I’m beginning to understand the value of site-specific performance!

References

Pearson, M. (2010) Site-Specific Performance. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan

Pearson, M. (2006) White House Yard. In Comes I: Performance, Memory and Landscape. Exeter:University of Exeter Press.

Zerihan, R. (2009) Introduction. Study Room Guide: One to one performance.

A creative block, incorporating “fun”, sexy pools and celebrating The Grandstand

Posted on April 23, 2014 by Kieren Davies

Please excuse my lack of entries. The pure honest reason for this is purely due to a block. I find myself stuck right now between the two performances I am in. I feel that there isn’t much I can do leading up to the actual performance until the last few days leading up to it. There isn’t really much for me to add/do at this point in time. Of course this could be seen as a good thing, however when I don’t do something I start to drift a little. I really do have the attention span of a gnat.

I decided to actually look more into the EXPO to cut out the time killing at home. My work with the EXPO team has been good as of recent, as I noticed Samantha’s blog post about the foil dress we shall be showcasing. For the entrance foyer we have decided to adorn the top of it with red and yellow fabrics to give of a chic, jamboree atmosphere almost giving off the impression you are in a circus tent. The picture below shows a very brief glimpse of what we hope to at least replicate:

It sounds weird to say, and I find it hard to actually utter the word as a second year university student approaching his twentieth year in existence… but doesn’t that look nice?The idea of this EXPO is fun. Pure, innocent fun. We are giving the audience food, drink, a metal dress, music, colour and activities in hopes that they have fun. The goal from the start for this project was to humanise the Grandstand and bring this lonely watcher of the original EXPO a party. For me tho I also have set a little side task for myself to make sure the audience have “fun”. How can we make the audience enjoy themselves, and also at the same time give meaning and energy to The Grandstand

In a quest for justification as to why the element of fun is so vital in a piece like this I researched into site specific performance pieces that gave life to area often not looked at. A very specific thing to look for but, surprisingly, I found a rather good post online about a piece called THE SERIES by Nicole Disson. It was a performance art piece that was filmed on the rooftop of The Standard, a boutique hotel in downtown LA. The piece incorporated belly dancers, live music from local band Blackblack, performance artists who were making out for the entire time in the lobby, acrobats contorting and twisting themselves to the sound of heavy metal and Mia Doi Todd singing atop a fireplace.

With all of this activity going on the blur between audience and artist is crossed which is fascinating, at least to me, to have. In the same post online a interview with Mecca Vazie Andrews provided me with however further analytical questions for me to possible delve into. Disson invited Mecca to collaborate with in this project. Mecca went on to explain her choices of movement and dance into the performance and how the space influenced her:

“The process for creating site specific work begins as soon as I see the space. Since I have frequented the downtown Standard since its opening, I have been inspired to make moves and work there. Given the opportunity to direct the series by Nicole is such an amazing treat because the roof top is already aesthetically terrific. First, I decide which spaces make sense logically for audience sightlines, sound and lighting. Then, I consider whether I desire to contrast the style of the space artistically or use what the space offers and feature it. For example, the pool is radical! I think it’s just asking for 2011 future Esther Williams to emerge from it like always. So I’ve created a MOVEMENT movement experimental theatre piece surrounding the pool with dancers and actors inspired by the likes of La Dolce Vita. It’s such a sexy pool so why not rock a sexy artful dance that’s all wet and fanciful?”

One could say that by using all of the LA based actors, artists and dancers that Disson is actually bringing focus to the arts in LA, and by using a building many may not look upon, despite it’s aforementioned “sexy pool”.In doing so this piece could also be a celebration of LA in itself. By doing this she has injected life and art in to a building that had none, and in doing so, used the audience to give it that said life. By what we are doing in the EXPO we are almost using this same archetype. We hope to infuse a event and a building together and make for a dynamic conduction in a mixture of performance, art and breaking down the barriers between audience and art and a celebration to the history of the site.

Below is a really interesting video link to THE SERIES that really inspired me:

Articles used:

Drew Denny. (2011). Nicole Disson’s THE SERIES: Rooftop Performance Art Parties at The Standard Hotel Downtown, Explained. Available: http://www.laweekly.com/publicspectacle/2011/07/05/nicole-dissons-the-series-rooftop-performance-art-parties-at-the-standard-hotel-downtown-explained. Last accessed 23rd April 2014.

Narratives in Site: The Waiting Room

Posted on April 21, 2014 by Samantha Milne

‘Confronted with multiple, and often interpenetrating narratives and voices, their audiences are invited to encounter the site in which these works are realised as re-framed and overlaid by narratives which challenge and draw on the place of their presentation’ (Kaye, 2013, pg. 53)

This is an example of the narratives that have been created for use within The Waiting Room. They are created on the basis of the room within the Grandstand being used as a Waiting Room, a general waiting room intertwined with personal feedback on what people themselves are waiting for as well as what they think the site is waiting for. The combination has allowed for very contrasting and insightful themes within the narratives.

Happiness

What does it mean to be happy? ‘Happy’ is different to every single person in the world. Happiness could be within a job, a place or with someone. Does everyone deserve to be happy? Those who bring terror and sadness to others, no. Have you ever been so happy you could cry? Cry, tears of happiness? One time. Can you remember the last time you were happy? Where were you? On your own or surrounded by people, noise and celebration? Do you have a happy place? Some where you go or visualise? Somewhere that makes you content. Is life about finding happiness? Do we need the bad parts of life to make the good times count? Is happiness such a thing without sadness? What does it mean to be happy?

‘Narrative is treated as another object to be manipulated, allowing it to pass ‘from person to person- and to thing, person to thing, thing to person’’ (Kaye, 2013, pg. 168)

References

Kaye, N. (2013) Site-Specific Art: Performance, Place and Documentation. London: Routledge.

Project Runway

Posted on April 21, 2014 by Samantha Milne

This week I’ve been working on making a foil dress for the Expo Installation. As I have mentioned in previous blog posts, the aim was to make a dress from scratch that emanated the original stainless steel dress seen in the fashion show at Expo ’69.

I chose to use foil to re-create the dress as it is much easier to get hold of and manipulate into a dress shape. However when planning and designing, I felt it would be better to make a dress out of thin cotton first and then attach seperate foil sections later with glue and staples to make the dress more stable. Even though this will be shown on a mannequin, it is important for to hold and look somewhat professional. I was able to borrow a dress makers mannequin from a local charity shop which has allowed me to make the dress as well as it is stand and look presentable.

This video shows the progression of making the dress and other components throughout the week. A lot more work still needs to be done to finish the dress but this shouldn’t take long as I have already designed and gathered the materials I will need.

Progression of Expo: Materials have and are still being gathered and made to create the Expo. Music and lights are to be tested in tech week. Narratives have been written to be either played or said in the Expo space. These narrative are written from the perspective of the Grandstand itself.

The Grandstand Project

A site specific performance at the Grandstand in Lincoln

Monthly Archives: April 2014