Progress Report / Process Up-date - April 15 2015

PROCESS / PROGRESS UP-DATE – APRIL 15 2015

Due to extenuating circumstances, the past few weeks have been very difficult.

… In my real life world, my partner & I have had to move out of our live/work/gallery space in the charming historic church building in the rural setting of Madison County NC.

I am currently living alone in my family house in Asheville NC – where there is no Internet service & so have been at the mercy of local Wi-Fi café opening hours (trying to complete extensive research plus Advisor & Crit-group communications etc.)

But “woe-is-me” & “life-sux” excuses aside ….

My current Studio Project is very interesting & has taken its own shape (again … due to extenuating circumstances – hmmm , there seems to be a theme here!)

The thing that has dictated the shape of this project is the unreliability of art student commitment in an experimental, private, hippy liberal arts college in the NC mountains (very close to Black Mountain – yes, indeed!)

… But we all know “necessity is the mother of invention” & all that … so a plan was devised in order to absorb all possible attendance dilemmas …….. that of ……. (drum roll) ….. REAL time/space & VIRTUAL time/space duality!!!

Needless to say, it has been a somewhat complex procedure to set up all the ins & outs of such an ambitious format – but it is working! (kind of)

It is working in the sense that I am able to clearly set out all my intentions regardless of whether any students show up to fulfill them or not! … And actually they are (students – showing up, that is.) A couple here & there. “Here” being in REAL time/space at Warren Wilson College on a Friday morning. “There” being on the Tumblr group site, where the VIRTUAL time/space action is all going down.

It’s all part of a big experiment entitled the “PERFORMANCE ANXIETY WORKSHOP EXPERIMENT”. To see if a Performance Art syllabus can be presented & successfully executed “Here” & “There”.

(Results for this coming May 15^th)

The Research Paper has been …… um “challenging” to say the least.

Again … not wanting to make excuses – but damn! Not coming from a very academic background – this is HARD! ….. I think I described my troubles fairly coherently during my last Crit group response – so I won’t repeat myself too much – but …

Initially, my plan for procedure was just to speak in my own voice & try to be as honest & clear & transparent about my process of discovery as possible.  I felt this was the only possible mode of action to take, as I could not pretend to be coming from any other place besides that of starting from almost scratch.

To me, this course of action implies a chronological approach – what else can it be when taking the reader by the hand to lead them with you through your journey?

This had been discussed with my Research Advisor, however perhaps the implications of how backwards a paper that chronological journey might produce had not been clear until it was presented in my first draft!

Because, as it has become apparent to my understanding, a proper, nice, clean, traditional academic paper sets everything up by presenting the field of reference first & then politely introducing one’s (informed) part to play in that world.

Unfortunately (unfortunately for who, I don’t know!) – that is not my own experience. I have been exploring, investigating, getting my hands (& other body parts) dirty in the sea of experimentation caused by … Original thought? Imagination? Certainly, I was in my own bubble with very little conscious knowledge of what had gone & what was going on in the world in regards to methods of experimental performance & body-based performance pedagogy.

Yet I was producing work that people wanted to see & I was teaching/facilitating classes & workshops that students were being inspired by.

The very reason for putting myself in this academic situation here & now is to challenge myself to contextualize my work & put it under the critical microscope (& see if it survives!) But I have really been struggling with the structure of a traditional paper, as it is not the chronological order of my own experience.

I guess it’s a question of “putting the cart before the horse” – but that depends on which entity one considers as the cart & which entity one considers as the horse!

… Anyway, my Research Advisor has dutifully given me guidance as to how better structure a paper, in order for me not to appear as a completely ignorant imposter! So I do hope it has some sense of credibility.

… But wait a minute ….

Hey – this is MY paper!

Yes MINE.

I own it. I use it to state MY voice.

I can say what-the-hell-ever I damn well please!!!

Can’t I?

Anyway – one pertinent question I have is in regards to the order of Final Research Paper & Final Studio Project presentation/report. It feels as though it’s the wrong way around here … Wouldn’t it make more sense to have the Studio Project deadline FIRST? Then there would be another month for contemplation to draw conclusions & form them well for the Final Research Paper.

It has been hard to try & offer conclusions for the paper when the studio work is still in process.

Links to posts since last Process Up-date:

Performance Anxiety workshops – set up

http://transartcebtransart.blogspot.com/2015/03/performance-anxiety-workshop-experiment.html

Performance Anxiety workshops – week 1

http://transartcebtransart.blogspot.com/2015/03/performance-anxiety-week-1.html

Performance Anxiety workshops – week 2

http://transartcebtransart.blogspot.com/2015/04/performance-anxiety-week-2.html

Performance Anxiety workshops – week 3

http://transartcebtransart.blogspot.com/2015/04/performance-anxiety-week-3.html

Critique Group Response

http://transartcebtransart.blogspot.com/2015/04/crit-group-response-from-32915.html

Studio Advisor Meeting Response

http://transartcebtransart.blogspot.com/2015/04/studio-advisor-meeting-4915.html

*

 

Studio Advisor Meeting 4.9.15

Studio Advisor Meeting with Laura Gonzales

Thursday April 9 – 9.30am EST – via Skype

Laura went over my up-coming deadlines for the rest of the year to go over what needed to be posted on my TI blog on April 15^th & May 15^th.

She emphasized that I need to create a “work” for my final Studio Project summary. A finished piece which is my completed Studio Project. We discussed possibilities. The important factor being the journey of the viewer – for someone to look at the finished work and be able to see what has been accomplished. Not as work-in-progress or sketch, but as completed work.

We also discussed my “Synthesis” proposal for next year. I am contemplating a shift of focus to intensify my enquiry in regards to the Self-as-Medium & further exploration of Transformation, Metamorphosis & Transcendence. Although this exploration could remain in the pedagogical realm I have been pursuing this year, I feel I could now go deeper into this investigation if I focus intently on my own development rather than facilitating that of others.

(Recognizing that I would not have been able to come to this point – of departure? – without the previous pedagogical focus to initiate, outline & define the work.)

We also discussed my approach to pedagogy & communication – Laura noted that I present myself more as a “facilitator” than a “teacher” – I agree with this observation, as I think, for me,  “teacher” comes with connotations of dictatorship - & I don’t think anything new & inspired can arise from a heavily controlled learning experience.

We talked about communication methods for this project. How, although I don’t regard language as my most fluid form of communication, I have done a lot of writing for the studio work. This is because I have felt the need to “report” & “explain” everything that I’ve been doing in this workshop process.

We talked about ideas of communication with no language – through movement only. And I recalled how I have attended dance workshops where the teacher only communicated non-verbally, which was in fact very effective and gave a deeper level of intimacy to the experience.

Something to think about…

All things to think about.

Laura Gonzales is a very thought-provoking person – and I appreciate the manner of her challenges because they are thrown down in a way that indicates she is totally invested & completely on one’s side – with full comprehension of one’s goals as an artist, yet believes one has even more to offer and wants to see it forthcoming!

Performance Anxiety - WEEK 3

 TEXT COPIED FROM PERFORMANCE ANXIETY TUMBLR GROUP SITE:

 

 

Welcome to Week 3!

This week (Friday April 10 - Friday April 17) our experiments are going to be RESEARCH POD 3, ACTION POD 5 & ACTION POD 6.
If you haven’t done the previous PODS, it doesn’t matter - you can just jump straight in here …
Looking forward to seeing the results!

Week 2 - Summary (April 3 - April 10)

Last week at Warren Wilson College, we worked through ACTION POD 3, beginning with Floor Massage/Cat Stretch & easing straight from this kind of meditational mode into exploring a Sustained quality of motion, then breaking out into Percussive motion & then taking this alert, responsive body-mind state into playing Abstracting Adverbs……… From this session, Madalyn & Tesa have posted video of them outwitting each other with Percussive moves & images of their Abstracting Adverbs experiments with “brushing teeth” hastily & “reading a book” slyly.
The RESEARCH POD 2 experiment to find information on FLUXUS movement performance produced an article from Robyn about Yayoi Kusama’s brush with the law (one of many!) There is something so totally endearing about Kusama!
ACTION POD 4 - The focus was on “Air” … air in the lungs for breath, for sound, to inspire & influence motion & air in the atmosphere in an environmental response experiment. Robyn - thank you for your thoughts on this process - I am very interested in any studies focusing on physiological effects of this work and the information on Autogenic Training look like it could be valuable.

RESEARCH POD 3

PERFORMANCE / INSTALLATION
This research experiment is to see what you can find out about the world of performance in relationship to installation.
This article is quite a fun place to start: http://flavorwire.com/323165/10-of-the-weirdest-interactive-installations-and-performances/view-all
There are many nuances & facets in defining the various forms this relationship can take.

ACTION POD 5

Environmental Response 2 (Installation)
Text: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4cHBYnXHpXzSU9fWGgyNnlCMnM/view?usp=sharing
 

In conjunction with this week’s research pod. Enjoy experimenting & post your results in the form of video & / or images documenting your action, plus text describing your process & what you discovered. Title your result “(Your name)’s Action POD 5 Result.

ACTION POD 6

1. Vibration
Text: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4cHBYnXHpXzYW1GRXJoRlVrRkk/edit?usp=sharing
Video: http://youtu.be/MkpCxi01CXc

2. Shape
Text: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4cHBYnXHpXzNzVFYTJscnkxUlE/view?usp=sharing
Video: http://youtu.be/thpFZXUKHpY

3. Human Sculptures
Text: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4cHBYnXHpXzekRtVVgySFlXdzg/view?usp=sharing
 

This trio of experiments provides a tension releasing / energizing warm up to prepare you for intensive body focus & then some fun, creative craziness! Post your results in the form of video/images/text/links & comment on your process. Title the post “(Your name)’s Action POD 6 Results”

 

Crit Group Response from 3.29.15

Crit Group Response – for meeting on Sunday March 29^th – via Skype (audio)

I had asked for comments primarily on my Research Paper.

I had been struggling with the structure of the paper. My research advisor had suggested a completely different structure than the one I started out with. As I am not coming from an academic background, I am not familiar with the traditional structure of a paper and my original intention was to guide the reader through my own chronological journey of discovery throughout my studio and research practice – as I felt this was the only way to convincingly speak in my own voice.

However, I am now being advised to spend much more time at the beginning of the paper to set up a context for the reader.  A context of references, a “scoping of the field” of performance pedagogy and an introduction of the texts I will later be discussing.

My peers all agreed that more contextual set-up was necessary, but that it did not need to be “instead of” my chronological report, but to serve as an introduction to it. They also concurred with my advisor that the thematic aspects of my work need to be presented to the reader as part of the introduction. Here I am referring to the underlying themes in my work of transformation, metamorphosis and transcendence. In the paper I introduce these themes, as well as my concepts of the “self” as medium within the context of Butoh dance, where they are fully embraced and utilized by the Butoh methodology.

It seems that my paper will make a lot more sense to the reader and enable them to understand more clearly where I am coming from conceptually if I present this information as part of the introduction.

(However, it seems that there needs to be so much information included in the introduction that by the time I’ve presented it all, it will not be the introduction anymore – but about halfway through the paper!)

Another question I had was in regards to how to frame something I consider to be an “original” idea or concept – one that I have developed independently of direct influence and might be unable to find a reference for it in regards to contextualizing it within the field.

I don’t think there was much in the way of a solution for this – except for the suggestion to find a method or philosophy with an opposing view or strategy with which I could contrast my own and explain the differences.

However – I feel like searching for references to either support or contrast my work can be like looking for a needle in a haystack!

I expressed my frustration with the incongruous requirements of being an artist in academia – the artistic requirements of innovation and original thought – yet there has to be a reference given in order for any statement to be academically valid. How can one validate an original idea? Why does it have to be supported by evidence of others having already done or said it?

In regards to writing styles, from reading some of last year’s papers it appears that a great variety of writing styles and methods of structuring a paper have been considered acceptable – and in my peer group, one person in particular (Lindey) is structuring her paper as a journal because this is the whole concept of her project.

However, it seems to be the general consensus between advisor and crit group that I try to follow a more traditional layout with a formal introduction and contextualization.

It reminds me of the joke about advice given to someone preparing a speech or sermon: “First you tell ‘em what you’re gonna tell ‘em. Then you tell ‘em. Then you tell ‘em what it was you just told ‘em!”

Performance Anxiety - WEEK 2

This week's Performance Anxiety workshop experiment -  tumblr group activity ....

 

Week 1 - Summary (March 27 - April 3)

Thank you all for embarking on this experimental journey! I’m so happy to have each one of you on board & appreciate your commitment & creative energy.

To summarize the week & engage in dialogue & comments so far ….
We have about ten people who have joined the group - this is a really good size to get a nice variety of input without becoming too chaotic.

I posted an Introduction to explain how the project works, further information about myself, the Transart Institute & how Performance Art is defined in the post Who? What? Then I introduced the underlying Creative Theme of Place, Space, Site: Real & Virtual Locations ………. It seems that everyone is clear on all this “setting the scene” information - but please ask if you still have any basic questions.

Robyn had some thoughts in regards to the creative theme …. Robyn, your inclination to want to separate with the distinctions of “real” & “virtual” worlds totally makes sense in this current time - & that the references to “location” & “site” are embedded into language in a way that now seems kind of out-dated.

RESEARCH POD 1 - Beginnings (Futurist, Dadaist, Surrealist performance)

Robyn - thanks for sending the link for 8x8 Chess Sonata. And yes, although made in 1957, it certainly has much more of an early European Avant Garde sensibility than other American art films of the time (such as early Kenneth Anger etc) … Of course there is the direct link to the Dadaists with Jean Arp being involved. It addresses “performance” in more than one way … As you pointed out, the wonderful scene of Calder in his studio becomes all about the performance of objects - they become characters & their actions are performative, as well as his interactions with them. There is also the question of performance on film - as an “actor’s” performance becomes part of the medium of film itself - but then there are also performance actions that take place that are not just “acting” & which do belong to the realm of “performance art” on film. (a whole specific topic for discussion perhaps!)

ACTION POD 1 - Finding The Essence

Madalyn & Tesa - in the real-time/space session at WWC, we experimented with a brief “Head, Face & Hand Dance” based on “If Marilyn Monroe were a cocktail - what would it be?” - A Cosmopolitan - which is: Strong, Sassy, Sexy - but in a glass that is Unstable & Breakable ………. Robyn gave a very evocative thought poem about “If I were a season” - with very subtle & specific shades of Autumn. I’m wondering if you experimented with any simple action based on the descriptive terms you developed?

ACTION POD 2 - Exploring Space

I love the fact that there were two so totally different responses to this …. worlds apart! - Madalyn’s exploration of the small world of her bathroom & the one continuous minimal gesture of unwinding the toilet roll! I found the sound to be quite effective in its insistence. (One note Madalyn - don’t get confused between naming the Research & Action PODS when you title your results!) … Then Mariana’s transportive images of figure & rock, water, sky - finding small & open spaces in the landscape for bodily interaction …….. With both Madalyn & Mariana‘s result posts, I’d like to know more about the process from instructions - to experiment - to results.

SO NOW … onto WEEK 2 (Friday April 3 - Friday April 10)

Read the instructions for RESEARCH POD 2, ACTION POD 3 & ACTION POD 4, experiment & see what happens … post your results before next Friday …. don’t forget to title your result posts: Name’s / Research or Action / POD # / Result

Looking forward ………

EXPERIMENTS for WEEK 2 (Friday April 3 - Friday April 10)

RESEARCH POD 2 - FLUXUS

An extremely influential art movement during the 1960s & going into the 70s, with many renowned artists involved.
Performance was an integral element of the Fluxus movement.
Research to see what you can discover about performance in the Fluxus movement. Find information about some of the key artists & events … & perhaps dig around to see if you can unearth some lesser known performative actions associated with Fluxus.

 

ACTION POD 3

 

1. Floor Massage / Cat Stretch - a “Body Tuning” warm-up
Text: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4cHBYnXHpXzb3J0Mkk4bEZZcXc/view?usp=sharing
Video: http://youtu.be/opFvh986bZc

2. Quality Of Motion - an exploration of opposing movement qualities
Text: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4cHBYnXHpXzMmhBa29MbkdlUlE/view?usp=sharing

3. Abstracting Adverbs - a “Creative Response” game
Text: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4cHBYnXHpXzTEE3ZzVyNEZ2d0E/view?usp=sharing
 

A complementary trio of experiments - each one prepares body & mind for the next.

 

 

ACTION POD 4

Focus on AIR.

1. Body Soundz 1
Text: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4cHBYnXHpXzOTM1Z2ZsazMwem8/view?usp=sharing

2. Breath
Text: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4cHBYnXHpXzUmVaUUhYTTY4TGM/view?usp=sharing
Video: http://youtu.be/4Bunp056FAk

3. Environmental Response 1 (Atmosphere)
Text: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4cHBYnXHpXzd1dGNEJZdFZRaFU/view?usp=sharing 

 

 

 

 

 

Performance Anxiety - WEEK 1

FRIDAY MARCH 27th

We changed the tumblr site to a private group that is going to work much better than the original site.
(So - please note: The link given on the previous instruction letter is not in use.)

Each week, I am going to post the new assignments here on my Transart blog, as well as giving a summary of results from the previous weeks assignments.

This week, things are getting started - so there is a lot of introducing & explaining to do.

INTRODUCTION - START HERE!

WELCOME … you made it - you’re in the PerformanceAnxiety group!
We are all in for a big experiment!
We’re all in it together - this is an experiment for all of us … so have fun!
The objective of the big experiment is to see if my pedagogy for performance art can work in this virtual context. 
These Virtual time/space experiments are in partnership with Real time/space experiments based at Warren Wilson College- a private liberal arts college in rural North Carolina, USA - this is very fitting, as Warren Wilson is quite an experiment in itself!
HERE’S HOW IT WORKS ….
The Real time/space experiments will happen every Friday morning at WWC at 10am - 12noon
The Virtual time/space experiments will take place at anytime throughout the week before the next Friday.
There will be six Fridays - beginning today - Friday March 27th.
Experiments are divided into “PODS” - each week, there will be ONE RESEARCH POD & TWO ACTION PODS. These PODS contain the instructions for your experiments.
Every Friday, the PODS will be posted here on the PerformanceAnxiety group page - they will be up before midnight.
You can choose to do all of them (thus getting the most out of the experiment) OR you can choose to do two, or even just one of the PODS.
Then you perform the experiment as instructed in the POD, enjoy & have fun with it … see where it takes you - then POST YOUR RESULTS here on the PA group page before the next Friday - using images, video clips, text & links. Also include a description of your process & what you feel you discovered & learned through the experiment.
Everyone is encouraged to view each others work & give comments, feedback, critique & encouragement …. open up dialogue & discussion - create community right here in this place & space!
GOT IT? …. GOOD!
I’m excited to get started!

Who? ... What?

OK OK …. so now you’ve read the first post about what’s happening here & how it’s gonna work …. BUT …. WHO am I? …. & WHAT is “Performance Art”!
Who am I? … Claire Elizabeth Barratt - inter-disciplinary performing artist & MFA candidate with the TRANSART INSTITUTE. This is part of my MFA project to create a practical pedagogy for the practice of performance art.
So here are a couple of links to fill in that information:
My blog/website: http://cebhomepage.blogspot.com/
Transart Institute website: http://www.transart.org/
What is Performance Art? …. well, there are numerous attempts to make that definition - but my favorite is on Wikipedia & includes the diametrically opposing possibilities of what performance art has the potential to be:
DEFINITION OF “PERFORMANCE ART”
WIKIPEDIA
Not to be confused with Performing arts.
In art, performanceart is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or via media; the performer can be present or absent. It can be any situation that involves four basic elements: time, space, the performer’s body, or presence in a medium, and a relationship between performer and audience. Performance art can happen anywhere, in any venue or setting and for any length of time. The actions of an individual or a group at a particular place and in a particular time constitute the work.

Creative Theme

Due to the Real & Virtual duality of this experiment, there is a creative theme that lends itself very appropriately to the project ….. that of:
PLACE, SPACE, SITE: Real & Virtual LOCATIONS
Seeing as we are all going to be wildly experimenting in our studios, homes, bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens, gardens & other establishments public & private (the crazier the better!) it seems fitting to have this theme deliberately placed on the radar.
I’ve written up a little document of thoughts around these terms … please continue this dialogue as ideas come to mind ….
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4cHBYnXHpXzbjdZVVFFSkVpdkE/view?usp=sharing

RESEARCH POD 1

BEGINNINGS
What is now acknowledged as the beginnings of contemporary performance art began with performance being a key element of a series of movements:
FUTURISM, DADAISM & SURREALISM
Russian Constructivism in mixed in there too.
Your research experiment is to see what you can discover about the beginnings of performance art … a good starting point might be “Cabaret Voltaire”.
Who are the key artists here that really interest you? How & why do you think this kind of performance evolved during that time? Imagine what it must have been like to be part of the scene! Present what you find most interesting & inspiring about it - use text, images, links, videos … whatever helps to get your findings across.
Title your post with the heading “(your name)’s Research POD 1 results

 

 

ACTION POD 1

This first action experiment should be a fun way to get to know each other. It’s called “Finding The Essence” & is based on a Stanislavski acting exercises that I’ve been quite inspired by as a performing artist.
If that name is unfamiliar to you … look him up.
ACTION POD 1 experiment instructions can be found in the document located here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4cHBYnXHpXzWmFobXpVTHk3aUE/view?usp=sharing
Have fun experimenting with this & then document what results you want to present with the title heading “(your name)’s Action POD 1 results”
Don’t forget to include accompanying information about your process & what you learned & discovered. …. Enjoy!

ACTION POD 2

An introduction to exploring the space.
As we are going to be focusing on ideas of place,space, site & location - let’s get tuned in to those concepts beginning with our immediate surroundings.
Action POD 2 instructions can be found in this document:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4cHBYnXHpXzd3RXSi1tR20xbnc/view?usp=sharing
Refer to Action POD 1 for instructions on presenting your results. Post under the title heading “(your name)’s Action POD 2 results”
Experience your surroundings under a whole different light!

 

 

 

 

 

PERFORMANCE ANXIETY workshop experiment

I am about to embark on a six-week series of Performance Art workshops at Warren Wilson College - here in Western North Carolina. Known affectionately as "the hippy college", it's a private liberal arts school where students are encouraged to create projects on their own initiative.

I'm working closely with an art alumni and current intern Madalyn Wofford - who is organizing the workshops as an extra-curricular project and also hosting a virtual site where people can also participate. We decided on this Real time/space + Virtual time/space duality for the workshops due to a great amount of interest, but schedule conflicts that would limit real-time participation.
So it really is a great big experiment to see if any learning can be accomplished through this multi-layered format!

So .... 
I will guide you through the initial process of getting started.

If you were a student at Warren Wilson College, you may see some of these flyers (created by Madalyn) around campus ...

Or ....
you might receive this letter of invitation from me .... 

Dear friends,

You are invited to participate in my “Performance Anxiety” workshop series – a performance art experiment at Warren Wilson College, NC … AND in virtual space on tumblr.

Allow me to explain ….

WHAT? – “PERFORMANCE ANXIETY” performance art workshop series

WHO? – Claire Elizabeth Barratt

performance artist & MFA candidate with the Transart Institute

WHERE? – Two locations – real & virtual

Real space – Warren Wilson College, NC – Bryson Gym

Virtual space – tumblr site (to be disclosed on acceptance)

WHEN? – March 27 thru May 1, 2015

Real time – Friday mornings 10am – 12 noon

Virtual time – anytime before the next Friday

(informal sharing of work – Sunday May 3 TBA)

HOW MUCH? – Free

As an MFA candidate, my project is to create a practical pedagogy for performance art. That is – a teaching method that will enable students to:

1.    Learn about the history of performance art

2.    Prepare the body & mind for creating & performing

3.    Create & share your own original performance art pieces

This is an experiment to use both real and virtual space for the purpose of performance art pedagogy! Students will get the optimum benefit of the learning experience by attending ALL the workshop sessions AND continuing to develop and share ideas online. However, it may be possible to gain some knowledge and creative tools for performance art just by virtual participation alone. This is all part of the experiment; so no one is excluded … let’s see how it works!

If this sounds interesting to you, please e-mail me at: cillavee@gmail.com

Or e-mail Madalyn Wofford (WWC art intern) at: madalyn.wofford@warren-wilson.edu for more information and we’ll get you “plugged in” and ready to start!

Looking forward!

Claire*

 Then, if you respond with interest, you receive this instruction letter .... 

PERFORMANCE ANXIETY – participation instructions

Dear

Welcome to the “Performance Anxiety” performance art workshop experiment – we’re glad you’ve accepted the challenge!

Here are all the details …

LOCATION:

Real time/space workshops are every Friday morning at 10am – 12noon

We will meet at Bryson Gym, Warren Wilson College NC

Virtual time/space sharings are located on tumblr at: http://possumgut.tumblr.com/

(Directions and navigations for finding both real and virtual locations can be found at the end of this letter.)

TIMING:

The “Performance Anxiety” workshop experiment series runs for six weeks, beginning Friday March 27^th.

The experiments are divided into “PODS”.

Each week, there will be one Research POD and two Action PODS.

In Real time/space at WWC, one Action POD begins at 10am and the other at 11am.

In Virtual time/space on tumblr, each week’s PODS will be posted by Friday evening. You then have until the next Friday to complete the experiments and post your results.

FORM & CONTENT:

Each week, you will develop the content of your experiment in response to the POD instructions and then post the results on the tumblr site in the form of text, images, videos and links.

Those participating in Real time/space can document, taking images and brief video clips during the workshop sessions – as well as continuing their experiments in Virtual time/space.

Always include an explanation of your process and discoveries with each post.

Everyone is strongly encouraged to comment on each other’s shared posts and to continue open dialogue, discussion, feedback and encouragement throughout the whole series.

(Please note: as tumblr posts are “stacked” with the most recent on top, please make sure to scroll down until you find the first post for each week.)

If it is too much for you to complete all the PODS each week, you can just pick one or two of them to focus on and post your results.

OTHER INFO:

We are planning to have an informal sharing of work on Sunday May 3^rd 

details TBA

The underlying creative theme of our experiments is the concept of “Place, Space, Site: Real & Virtual Locations”.

As this experiment is part of my MFA practice-as-research project through the Transart Institute, I will need to have an agreement from each participant to being a “human subject” of experimentation!

I will contact individuals directly by e-mail in regards to this.

DIRECTIONS:

Bryson Gym

From I-40 – take exit 55 to Hwy 70 going East. Right at gas station onto Warren Wilson Rd – go approx 2 miles. NORTH Entrance – Right onto Upper College Rd. Bryson Gym on the right. Parking areas by Art Department just beyond Kittredge Theatre. Also across WW Rd by the Chapel.

Tumblr site

The tumblr site name is: http://possumgut.tumblr.com/

Sign into tumblr using this information:

ID name – Possumgut, E-mail address - skunkedstudio@gmail.com, Password - cheesesandwich

Once you are in, you will see the “Performance Anxiety” page listing on the top right – click on there and you should be on the page and ready to post, just click onto one of the options on the white bar (text, photo, link, video etc)

This may all seem a bit confusing – I suggest just navigating your way on the tumblr site to begin with and post an introduction of yourself to say “Hi”. You will find some initial posts I already have up there.

If you have any questions please contact Madalyn or myself.

Claire: cillavee@gmail.com

Madalyn: madalyn.wofford@warren-wilson.edu

Many thanks to Madalyn (WWC alumni and current intern) for coordinating this experiment at WWC and hosting the tumblr site.

Looking forward to experimenting with you in one place or another!

Claire*

After which the experiment begins!

I have mapped out the "PODS" for the sessions. They are subject to change, but this is the plan .... 

Material is divided into categories of Research & Action PODS.

There are 6 Research PODS and 12 Action PODS.

PODS for six-week workshop series:

Research PODS:

1.    Beginnings – Futurists, Dadaists, Surrealists, Cabaret Voltaire

2.    Fluxus

3.    Happenings / Public Intervention / Guerilla Performance

4.    Duration / Endurance / Pain

5.    Installation

6.    Key contemporary performance artists – e.g. Marina Abramovic

Action PODS:

PODS 1 + 2

Introduction

Who am I?

What is Performance Art?

Who are you?

What are we going to be doing?

Finding The Essence

Exploring Space (introduction to environmental response)

POD 3

Floor Massage / Cat Stretch

Quality of Motion

Abstracting Adverbs

+ (discussion – review online research & assignments)

POD 4

Body Soundz

Breath

Environmental Response 1 (atmosphere)

POD 5

Vibration

Body Soundz

Environmental Response 2 (installation)

+ (discussion – review online research & assignments)

POD 6

Floor Massage / Cat Stretch

Shape

Human Sculptures

POD 7

Breath

Body Soundz

Creative Synesthesia

+ (discussion – review online research & assignments)

POD 8

Spirals

Definition (plus stillness & silence)

Environmental Response 3 (camouflage / contrast)

POD 9

Body Soundz

Transfer of Weight

Environmental Response 4 (contours)

+ (discussion – review online research & assignments)

POD 10

Vibration

Environmental Response 5 (follow-the-leader)

PODS 11 + 12

Discussion

Review

Plan for “Sharing”

At any time the workshop might depart from the Bryson Gym and temporarily explore the influences of other environments on campus. This has the potential of creating spontaneous Public Interventions and Guerilla Performances if other people are around to witness our actions.

Complicated .... wish me luck!