Due to some technical difficulties, my camera only captured 3 seconds BEFORE my actual performance. But it's okay, I will explain my process.
My initial idea for this piece was actually an upgraded version of my first performance that would include my body as one of the items to pile/hang on each others. I also intended to include larger items like chairs, tables... However, figured that I wouldn't be able to prepare them in my "magic" bag myself, John Cage and Merce Cunningham's idea of indeterminacy came about. That's when I decided to set up 3 boxes where people can pick out random items that were placed in the first 2 boxes beforehand and the 3rd box gives them options to pick out larger items in the room. The plan was to have people from the audience come up one by one to put items on me. Another piece that I associated mine with was Yoko Ono's "Cut piece". She also had people come up and cut away a piece of her clothing.
However, the performance did not go as I planned due to my lack of instruction at the beginning. The audience rushed in all at once and pick out the items at the same time. The down side of this is
1. The audience cannot see the progress/the endurance building up.
2. It changed the odd of a number to be picked. For example, the 2nd person, instead of having 1/3 chance to pick a number of the box, she/he would have only 2 choices in the pool to pick out. It affects the process of CHANCE significantly.
Another factor of the performance that I got the most feedbacks about was the sound. The ideal sound I had in my mind was to have a speaker system that can cover the entire room with sound. Unfortunately, all I had was a little speaker chilling underneath my notebook so that wasn't the best. I really appreciate Sandy's comment about how I should make the sound a part of my piece instead of JUST being the background sound.
I like how people could interpret it as some reference to New York city base on the base on the chaotic city sound and my pose, although it was not my attention. I think that's also the purpose of chance, both the artist and the audience cannot predict the specific result of the piece.
Overall, I think this piece was not a success. There were too many elements to the piece and I think it created more room for mistakes than structure the performance itself.
I wouldn't say this piece was not a success, I think you played with chance operations and in that respect the piece worked. I loved your use of chance operations to create a living sculpture, although I wish you had remained in a "traditional sculpture pose" throughout the piece- the moving confused me. I felt you had the right amount of elements, but that we needed to enter and then engage with the rule so that we could be sitting, and come up one at a time. I think this plays on all your strengths as a dancer and was wondering if you thought about applying chance operations to your paintings? Nice work!
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