Organised Chaos
Thursday was performance day! I left writing a few days to leave some time between the making and reflecting. On Thursday morning I live streamed putting my make-up on as Penny Arcade. I forgot how long it takes for me to actually get into her character and the set-up time required in the bathroom. My flat looked liked organised chaos. I performed the piece four times with the last runs being the most successful even though I could still improve on them. In my last post I wrote that I was less interested in ‘refinement’, however watching the video’s back I can’t help but pick out all the minor faults in my performance. It was torturous watching them back. I let someone else view the work and that helped me see which video was the best and highlighted the one annoying mistake in it. For this reason I need to go through the whole ritual again. The piece is very lo-fi, although I don’t want a silly mistake to disrupt the quality of the work. I plan to do another day of rehearsals and videoing on Sunday. This still means I have to keep rehearsing the script between now and then to keep the words fresh in my mind. The lighting in the bathroom is still niggling away at me, could I get brighter bulbs for the ceiling?
Checklist
Audio clips set to start, test
Video framing correct
Lighting placed
Marker in corridor
Wig and make-up check before each performance
Wedding rings off
Use all three intro cards
Final rehearsals
Set-up bathroom ready for videoing
Rehearsal part 1 & 2
Change into outfit
Put on make-up as Penny Arcade
Dress Rehearsal
Play back and review
Final performance
On & Off
I have been streaming everyday putting on and taking off my make-up for the past 5 days. So far I have received 65 views. Due to the short period I have been broadcasting I am not seeing a pattern in the viewing. The more broadcasts I do the more I will learn about my audience. I need to keep a detailed record of this by using my Facebook and Twitter feeds to keep track of the exact times. Early in the week whilst I was using my computer cam I also had my ipad next to it to see what it looked like. The feed is a bit lower quality and slightly behind real time to what I see on my cam. On my iPad sometimes the stream gets stuck and I’ve had to refresh the page to start it again. This is a bit annoying as the act itself doesn’t last that long so by the time you refresh, you can miss a big chunk of time.
Now I have stopped watching myself on the iPad, as there isn’t much I can do about the technical wizardry behind computers. I can upgrade my ustream account, which will raise the quality of my broadcast however I can’t afford it. There is a materials budget for the AA2A scheme although I’m not sure if I can use it for this. Yet again computers and money are equally motivating and de-motivating my work. I am struggling to keep my interest in refining the Penny Arcade performance and I question what’s the point? ‘Refinement’ is something I am interested in less and less in my practice. However I feel I have put a lot into this piece so far and watching the video back I think I could improve on it. I could also video it on my DV tape camcorder to up the quality, although it still has a grainy quality. I will see how I feel in the morning.
Daily Broadcast
I broadcasted live on Saturday putting on my make-up by using the cam as my mirror and practicing my Penny Arcade script. Putting my make-up on to my usual standard was hard to achieve compared to using a hand held mirror as the image on screen was pixilated and blocked out the finer detail on my face. I have always liked watching people apply their make-up. I struggled applying my eyeliner as the cam captures in reverse. I managed to do my right eye and found it almost impossible to apply the liner to my left eye. I kept marking my skin and missing the under lid of my eye. For the past few weeks I have been getting notifications to watch ‘the birdie’ a channel I follow of bird on a perch. On this channel they video the footage, which creates an online archive. Creating online cam videos helps to build an audience. Using the live stream relies on people being able to view in the moment and if they don’t the work is gone. I broadcasted at around 10am and got 27 viewers.
I rehearsed my script during a live broadcast although this was an experiment that didn’t really work. However, the simple act of putting my make-up on feels right for a durational piece to live stream. Penny Arcade is a performance to camera, video piece for a gallery context and who knows were my make up will take me next. I need to send info out to my contacts how to subscribe to my channel. I love the unique and ephemeral live act/live feed but I can also appreciate how video creates a legacy. Later in the evening on Saturday I thought why not also stream taking my make-up off. Before I did this I put a message out on twitter that I was going to take my make-up off in 5 minutes to give people a chance to tune in. Although I forgot to put out the message on facebook which I think directs more viewing traffic to ustream. For this reason I only got 7 viewers it may also be because I broadcasted at 7pm. For now keeping the work live feels right and I will continue in this way for now. If you would like to watch this work then follow me on twitter or on facebook and then click on the link when I appears. This will happen at different times of the day.
Facebook: Nicola Smith
Twitter: @nsartist34
Ustream Channel: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nicola-smith-present…
Famous Cat
I was forwarded a link to have a look at on twitter, which is a call out for artists to create workshops for DIY10, 2013 with the Live Art Development Agency http://www.thisisliveart.co.uk/prof_dev/diy/diy10_…. Scrolling down the page to theme 7 there was another link to Marina Abramovic’s work referencing her performance The Artist is Present, at MOMA http://www.moma.org/explore/inside_out/2010/03/15/…. I was surprised to read that a big institution had problems streaming this performance and I question if the artist was consulted on using this medium? Apparently the stream was at a low frame rate and kept getting stuck. The online comments page for the show makes an interesting read.
Why would anyone want to watch this online for any amount of time? I can partly understand why people would want to sit with Marina such as wanting to be near a famous artist, being part of the work, trying to feel a connection with another. However I can’t help but feel that if any other person suggested this as a performance piece it would be laughed at. As Marina Abramovic is ‘famous’ I can imagine institutions are lining up to show her work. This reminds me of the work ‘cut piece’ by Yoko One who re-staged it at the Baltic. She originally sat on the floor however this time she sat on a chair for the duration. I remember watching the video documentation of this and I found it funny how people would come to her and almost bow down to her like she was the Queen. This re-enactment is totally different from when she originally performed it; people were less respectful of her back then.
Are these performances meant to act more like ‘mirrors’ at the audience to look at themselves through the artist? Are the artists taking control of the situation by using their presence & reputation? All these big questions make me want to regress and be silly in my performances. Like a moth to the flame I have been watching Ustream trying to find out what the most popular shows are. It seems that there are only a few formats and the content tends to be live, streamed events such as a concert or sports game. People talk directly to the camera like a low quality TV show. My personal favourite are animals being watched in their environments. Birds and cats are most popular. This has got me thinking about adding some cat special effects to my Penny Arcade wardrobe. Could I simply stream getting ready for the performance?
Working in reverse
I followed up on my previous conversation with Paul Sermon at Media City and discussed the pros and con’s of live streaming. It was really good to get an outside view of the work without him actually seeing the piece. I simply told him about the content of it and my ideas about displaying the performance. However he raised the question of whether this video or live stream was meant to be a private one to one experience or a shared experience? I guess I hadn’t really thought about this and just kept thinking the more people who see it the better. Considering the controversial content of the script and my provocative attitude, is this something I want to turn into a spectacle? Should it be seen in a more private and self-reflective way? Paul spoke about how entering into an online dialogue could side track away from the work and be open to misinterpretation. On reflection I don’t want the audience to be more interested in each other’s comments rather than watching the performance.
Should the work be shown in a gallery context? This would really focus the eye on the work itself and erase distractions that might pop up on your computer screen. I had thought that I would like to show this piece at an event, although I don’t think this is right as again its turning the work into a spectacle without people investing their time into the whole piece. Considering what is the audience meant to get from seeing it is making me change my mind about the presentation of it. This video needs to be shown either on a monitor or on my laptop with headphones for one person to view at a time. I am still very interested in creating live, streamed performances, however this requires making work specifically for this medium rather than forcing this performance to fit. In my practice I tend to make work in response to a place or situation, however I have been swept away with the process of making a performance from home which is why I am struggling a bit with deciding how to show it.
