NYC notes, and a conversation with Morgan O'Hara
The dancing is necessary, and I'm making performances. I clarified this for myself in New York. I was teetering on making films, but I now know this is much more personal than pointing a camera at myself in the style of a selfie. It’s about the inward gaze, introspection, and the process of exorcising that out.
The performance at Spacebodies of “This Desiring Pony”:
- working with limitations/constraints went well
- the three tiered shape of the costume (the wide leg pants, the shirt, the hair) worked as a silhouette
- the shirt should have been black
- the shadow on the wall worked. There were people sitting in my performance space, but I managed to stay in the light enough, around them. Did everyone see these shadows? Remember this when setting up the next show, and where to position the audience, the light, etc.
- the music worked (piece by Colin Stetson, with text excerpts of 'she comes up to you and whispers in your ear...'
Presentation: I attempted to choreograph the conditions of a ‘presentation’ by letting people witness my thought process and research process as it usually takes place in the studio. I projected the laptop onto the wall, and I typed for 15 minutes using audio cues (on a headset). I demonstrated my process in finding the choreographic directive, which ended up being 'up to go down, down to go up'. I then performed this directive as a dance, in a the costume of my alter-ego 'Schpando' to the sound of an audio recording of my thoughts as generated by dancing.
- the words (typing and audio) offered a way of addressing the present/facing myself: talking and listening to myself
- the kind of talk: identifying what is present in that moment
- if I keep changing with the words, then it might get ‘cute’ (remember the underscore…), similar to when you identify an emotion, it changes your emotional state/ the feeling of it. Careful here. Practice.
- can I move and talk at the same time? The words would modify the dance, and it would be challenging to stay in the present, especially in front of an audience. Resist the urge to entertain (I’m going to try moving and talking at the same time in February at an informal showing in Toronto)
- the ear buds, and what is withheld from the audience, including my own presence and acknowledgement of them (think about my interaction with this cueing a bit more)
- during the typing section, I was too disconnected from the audience for too long, and the Mariah Carrey music went on for too long. In the next edit, make the typing shorter, and the music less dominant
- the forward motion/ processual motion of the tyrping was evident, even when I backtracked and corrected, it was still happening 'forward' in time
- witnessing the moment I decided to stop correcting my spelling was good, but it might be hard to re-create
- letting the text and thought process ‘dance’
- the costume works, and the hair covering my face works because it becomes something else via the unitard. It isn’t a fashion statement, it's part of the dance
- the balloon: provided a vertical axis, but the popping of it was a throwaway
- I am responsible for every detail. Change the configuration of the room if I need to, because some people at the back couldn’t see, and the space confined my movements at the front.
- Consider the chairs, and the sightlines
- it’s a good thing i can type quickly…
- the projector image is critical, and the accidental image that appeared worked (another audience facing another projector with text on it/ audience performer mirror)
- think about the transition into costume (from typing into dancing)
- ‘selfie’ is a reduction of what I’m actually doing. What I’m doing is much more personal
- ‘Spaziani’ is masculine plural, not feminine singular
- I showed three variations/ layers to the idea: process/gathering research, projection/ sound, and physicality
To do:
- committee meeting (feb 5th)
- process meeting with morgan after feb 20th
References:
Steve Paxton, 'Physical Things'
Francois Sullivan, 'Je Parle'
The Sense Lab (montreal)
Late Miranda July
Dan Graham
Carol Anderson
Virtual: oculus rift equipment: artist
Life references:
Connie Crothers, LA (pianist)
WAGE (working artists in the global economy)
Marcia Vetrocq: Art in America (writer)