For my project, I wanted to do something that would involve some sort of interaction and/or participation with the audience, (specifically strangers). The “Events” and event scores from the Fluxus Performance Workbook inspired me to create verbal instructions to be performed. My original intentions were to write them myself and give them away to strangers, but that would have taken away the exciting dynamic of having the audience be the “composers” of the “event scores”.
Two days were spent in various locations downtown Seattle trying to get people to participate. I didn’t realize how hard it would be to approach strangers and explain to them what I was doing and ask for their audience input. Another problem I ran into was trying to explain to them as simply as possible Fluxus Art, and the ideas behind my specific project. I had the participants write down on a card their instructions, and then to leave the card anonymous or signed as they liked.
Performing these written “instructions” was very enjoyable and even humorous. When you see a person doing something obscure or unordinary in a public environment, people take notice to the unusual event. Whether or not it is a public event or a private one, through doing this project I am more observant to little things around me that go on unnoticed or appreciated on a regular basis. I think for some of the ‘events’ I performed were personal things that the person who wrote them would want to participate in as well.
THe Following are the collected "Event Scores" from the week:
*Take a bus or drive with no destination in mind.
*Mask one of your five senses for a day
*Wear non-matching socks for a week
*Hand out flowers to those you don’t know
*Take a picture everyday of something beautiful
*Create a self-portrait using only food condiments
*Walk down a crowded street singing your favorite song from a musical.
*Cut out the entire center of a newspaper and read it intently in a public place.
*Sit on a busy street corner with a musical instrument and money in music case. Play the instrument when someone takes the money.
*Take a nap in a display bed in an upscale furniture store.
A few of them are things I have actually done before on my own, such as; handing out flowers to strangers and driving to nowhere. It was uplifting to know that other people thought so positively about peoples actions as I do. I was hoping that the participants would write a few absurd and outrageous instructions for me to do, but all in all I had a bvery good experience putting myself out in the public and getting people to volunteer for an artistic experiment of mine.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Self Portrait
Create a self-portrait using only food condiments.
This particular one was very fun and interesting for me because it was difficult to use food condiments as an artistic medium for painting but it challenged me in a good way. I had to search high and low in my kitchen for the right spices and sauces for color and texture.
This particular one was very fun and interesting for me because it was difficult to use food condiments as an artistic medium for painting but it challenged me in a good way. I had to search high and low in my kitchen for the right spices and sauces for color and texture.
Find peace in a park
Find peace in a park
-Tina Biehn
This was the first instruction written for me to do, and it might be my favorite one. It was very simple, but I think so very important to do. I live a very busy and at times very stressful life and to have even a few minutes of solitude and silence in the day can refresh the mind body and soul. I took my dog to the park by the beach and listened to the water. The next day I found a new park to enjoy some peace near a fountain and sat reading a book in the afternoon.
-Tina Biehn
This was the first instruction written for me to do, and it might be my favorite one. It was very simple, but I think so very important to do. I live a very busy and at times very stressful life and to have even a few minutes of solitude and silence in the day can refresh the mind body and soul. I took my dog to the park by the beach and listened to the water. The next day I found a new park to enjoy some peace near a fountain and sat reading a book in the afternoon.
SOCKS
Wear non-matching socks for a week.
This was a very silly but eagerly performed instruction for the week. I was nannying two young children during the week, and everyday I let them pick out different colored socks for me to wear.
This was a very silly but eagerly performed instruction for the week. I was nannying two young children during the week, and everyday I let them pick out different colored socks for me to wear.
Information-Gathering
Cut out the entire center of a newspaper.
Read it front to back in a public place.
For this, I sat in the public park by Pike Place Market and read the newspaper front to back, turning pages as I went. People walked by and smiled or laughed at me, but I get my composure and a serious face. I am sure they were wondering the purpose for my "information-less" newspaper, but I didnt bother saying anything. I just kept reading.
Read it front to back in a public place.
For this, I sat in the public park by Pike Place Market and read the newspaper front to back, turning pages as I went. People walked by and smiled or laughed at me, but I get my composure and a serious face. I am sure they were wondering the purpose for my "information-less" newspaper, but I didnt bother saying anything. I just kept reading.
Take a picture everyday of something beautiful
For this verbal instruction, I spent a day walking around the city and became very observant to the natural beauty around me. The reflection of clouds on a tall building, the raindrops on a metal railing after a rainfall, etc. Here are the photos I took:
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