Event 8
Miroslaw Balka: How it is
Fluxus room (part of permanent collection)
Tate Modern
20.11.09
In between performances I also went to Tate Modern. Miroslaw Balka’s installation in the turbine hall could be heard before it was seen, with the sound of small children jumping up and down in the vast metal tank. I enjoyed the sensation of descending blindly into the void, but felt that it was too short to give a total sense of immersion. The effect was also ruined by the narcissists who felt it was important to photograph themselves in the dark using their phones. A couple of A4 posters at the entrance isn’t going to stop people using their phones, Tate Modern.
The Fluxus room was really interesting: I don’t see much detailed Fluxus work in books very often, so it was brilliant being able to read hundreds of instruction pieces and event posters at close range. I’m constantly aware that a lot of my work is influenced by Fluxus, from event scores to sound experimentation. Simply the awareness that these things occurred allows contemporary work to function in a context, but I will have to be careful that I’m not repeating 1970s work by accident. More historical reading needed, I think.
‘Cans’ re-shoot
03.12.09
I decided to prepare a performance-to-camera version of ‘Cans’, with binaural audio and a head-and shoulders shot, again facing away from the audience. It is intended to be watched on a tv monitor, by one person at a time, so that the scale is almost life-size. I have also simplified the sounds: they are much more physical, and use the handling sound of the cans, rather than the musical elements I used in my original performance. I don’t think this is the finished version of this piece; I just wanted to try it out. I’m showing it to the rest of other/other/other at the weekend in a group crit.
other/other/other at Pulls Ferry
Norwich
05-06.12.09
This isn’t strictly part of the Escalator project, but I did some new work this weekend that I will talk to Bob about, so I thought I’d mention it. We hired a space in Norwich so that we could produce some site-responsive group work and also develop our own practices through group crits. We decided beforehand to prepare some instructions/guides for group performance/activity, and so I presented a new idea I’d had: ‘One-Minute Birdwatching’, an instruction piece, to be performed by a group. The rules are:
1. Start when instructed.
2. Whenever you see a bird, say either its name (if you know it), or ‘bird’ (if you don’t).
3. Name each individual bird only once.
4. Stop when instructed.
I repeated this both days, and filmed the results. It produced a babble of sound like a flock of birds, and was a really interesting group dynamic, with people getting louder collectively. It was performed inside, looking out of the windows. I would like to develop the piece for other sorts of spaces.
I have since learnt that I will be Associate Artist for PULSE Fringe Festival with this piece in June.
