Shane Humberstone – The Collection Of…

Has Museum Theatre Emulsified the Two?

Shane Humberstone / May 13, 2013May 13, 2013 / Inspiration, Possessed Time, Research

During most museum visits you meander through the exhibits occasionally reading a thing or two and possibly even have a chat about what you have seen however this is changing. Catherine Hughes believes that ‘museums are theatres, rich with stories of human spirit and activity and the natural forces of life… both museums and theatre present us with ourselves in different contexts, holding the mirror up and showing us what we have done and what we might do (Hughes 1998, P. 10).

Performances in museums by actors are becoming increasingly popular, with our piece Possessed Time being an example of this. The parallels have always existed between museums and theatre, the whole idea that an audience goes to see something that they will hopefully find engaging, but now the two have become to merge and the distinctions between the two may be obvious although at a small number.

Susan Bennett observes, ‘… theatres and museums have increasingly become symbolic and actual neighbours, sharing the task of providing entertaining and educational experiences that draw people to a district, a city, a region, and even a nation’(2013 p. 3). They both serve a similar purpose and both work together to create a culture that is symbolic of the area in which they are situated. Moreover, ‘exhibitions are fundamentally theatrical, for they are how museums perform the knowledge they create’ (Kirshenblatt-Gimblett 1998, p. 3). The parallels are clear, they both serve the same purpose they just have always done it in different ways, and now that live action is happening in museums theatre has bled a new dynamic into them. When performing Possessed Time people stared and looked at us and try to understand what we were saying and what our purpose was as if we were a painting or a sculpture.

As well as differences between the two buildings, such as the audience in a theatre being on one side as they sit and watch the actors on the other, there are also differences between theatre on the stage and a performance in a museum. In a theatre ‘the subject matter of the play bears no relationship to the premises in which the play is performed’, whereas in a museum, ‘the subject matter is related to the museum as a whole or the exhibit’ (Bridal 2004, p. 9). If we performed our piece in a theatre, it would have had half the impact compared to Gallery 3 because all our influences and process were based on the things we discovered in that space. Furthermore, ‘museums traffic mostly in material designated as representing the past, while theatrical performance takes place resolutely in the present, ephemeral, resistant to collection’ (Bennett 2013, p. 5).

I believe that although they will forever be separate entities now that theatre has started to become part of the museum experience, the two will become ever more indistinguishable.

Written by Shane Humberstone.

Works Cited
Bennett, Susan (2013) Theatre and Museums, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Bridal, Tessa (2004) Exploring Museum Theatre Oxford: AltaMira.
Hughes, Catherine (1998) Museum Theatre: Communicating with Visitors Through Drama, Portsmouth: Heinemann.
Kirschenblatt-Gimblett, Barbara (1998) Destination Culture, London and Los Angeles: University of California Press.

If I Could Have That Time Again…

Shane Humberstone / May 7, 2013May 13, 2013 / Evaluation, Possessed Time

Although I believe we achieved a considerable amount of which we set out to, if we were to do this again there would be several things I would change which I believe would make the overall execution of the performance better and more effective.

The first of these would be to engage with what time meant for other people apart from us. This could have been done by organising a short survey to find what time meant to them and then interpret that through our performance. , potentially by projection, or displaying their comments physically. Another way in which this could have worked is by adding a different dynamic to our piece, sound. If we had either spoken the words, or played recording of them, I believe that we could have had a bigger impact and it also would have made the piece more integrated with Gallery 3. Moreover, to help further see what affect we had on the them, as well as their perception of time, a feedback survey or comment box would have been really interesting and insightful, being beneficial for our findings but also for the Usher gallery as they could use it as an assessment of the space.

Secondly, I think we could have played about more with the projections and should have looked deeper into the idea of projecting something against us. We did talk a lot about this but could not decide on a strong enough image or way to do it. At points the projection was displayed on us, especially during the sleeping segment, which I thought was a really interesting effect. If we were to have a segment where the image was projected across us, I believe this could have been a good to show how time and our experience had affected us and people as a whole.

Although not entirely vital, but as stated previously, to add a new dynamic to the piece, more audience being among us would have been desirable. It would have been interesting to see not only how they reacted and felt being right in the centre of our piece, being part of something they were more than likely not familiar with, but how differently we reacted and how it changed the feel and impact of the piece. We did put up a sign welcoming the public into the space and to enjoy the performance as part of their museum experience, though more could have been done. Maybe introducing the idea to the public on their entrance with leaflets to accompany their visit, making them feel more comfortable with the idea, would have enticed more people to come closer to the action. Also more signage and direction would have been beneficial leading up to the gallery.

The gallery had introduced an ‘iGuide’ too late into our process to utilise it, but we had discussed using different forms of technology to present our piece. If we were to do the piece again using the ‘iGuide’ would have been really interesting, and beneficial, as we could have put a lot of different images of time and clocks on there and more explanation of our perception, and others, on the effect of time. Moreover, audio clips would have been good as it would have added a contrast to normally a very quiet experience, changing it to a more dynamic one.

Authored by Shane Humberstone

A Reflection on Possessed Time

Shane Humberstone / May 7, 2013May 13, 2013 / Possessed Time, Public Responses

Possessed Time in Action

Beginning with an hour of ‘sleep’ our Site Specific Performance was underway. The daunting thought of doing a five and a half hour performance was quickly forgotten as we started the strenuous movements that represented getting ready for the compressed day ahead. When practising this had always been difficult for the group as our arms were not trained for the repetitive controlled movements. This was the first time we had done all three actions together for the full amount of time, and I thought that this would be difficult, having to keep up the precise controlled movement, yet each segment became increasingly easier.

Next was the walking routine where we walked alongside the ticking noise of the clock. We had played with and experimented a lot with this section but decided on a simple movement to show the routine of the act and the control time had over us. Despite this the track we used on the actual day was a lot shorter than the one we had practise with and because it had to repeat itself there was a break in the rhythm, potentially throwing the synchronization. It could have looked messy if we started to walk at our own pace but instead if anyone in the group lost confidence in the rhythm, they would stop for a beat and then join in again, which kept the section looking crisp.

As soon as we sat down to start the puzzle we all seemed to speed up and move as fast as we could. This shows the effect of being controlled by a mechanic rhythmic movement and then being able to break out of that strict discipline. Due to this we completed the puzzle, the first time, very quickly but as time went on, the puzzle became increasingly difficult. This may have been due to fatigue, but mainly to do with the pieces not sitting as true as they did at the beginning. This made it harder to put them together and to judge if pieces fitted where we were putting them. Luckily we finished the puzzle for the final time just before we changed discipline so we smartened it up for the proceeding audience members.

After the walk home came the watching of the human clock, which we had projected on the gallery’s door. In my opinion this proved the most difficult as we were sitting on the floor looking up at the projection in a set position, which quickly became uncomfortable. Furthermore because this part contained very little movement this section seemed to last longer than it actually did. After the four and a half hour mark we had our dinner eating representation, which we did to the rhythm of the clock again showing its control and also the robotic routine of this part of the day. Fatigue was definitely an issue here as the movement became a lot harder than the ones from earlier. In addition to this we were sat in a similar position to the clock watching, which made it even more uncomfortable.

When we entered our second stint of sleeping the museum had become busier and other performances had now finished. This meant that a lot more people were about. Feeling them walk about the room was a weird experience because when you are asleep you feel safe and in comfort, but when you feel people are around and watching you, it makes it a lot harder to relax and in turn you feel uncomfortable. In addition to this, a weird sense of blinking with my eyes closed came over me as the projection of the pineapple was directed straight at our faces. The flicking of the images made feel like I was blinking and this became really uncomfortable for me, so much so I had to cover my eyes from it.

The Effects of Possessed Time

The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dalí, found on: http://psychopathyawareness.wordpress.com/2011/06/15/why-do-sociopaths-waste-our-time/clock-melting-clocks/

Being on a Saturday the Usher was always going to be busier than most of the days we had practise but because we had experience a busy day before, it was not as daunting or distracting.

After we woke from our first section of sleeping it was encouraging to see so many people watching and several were sitting down which showed they were interested to stay for a good amount of time. As we then continued towards the glass cabinets I felt the audience then become uncomfortable and they started to usher themselves towards the door, although the fact they were still watching was good as it showed they were interested. The public still seemed intrigued and as we had experienced in rehearsal, after one member of the audience decides to get closer and have a better look, then the rest follow. Obviously for most this is not what they expected when they came to the museum but the fact they continued their day and embraced what we were doing was exciting.

When we started to walk around as expected the audience backed away into the corner by the gallery’s entrance. The audience seemed to be impressed and fascinated by this movement as there was a lot of people here at this point. During this section there was a group of ladies that had walked in. As I was just in my underwear they were shocked and had to turn away in embarrassment as my path led straight to them, this was interesting because the rest of the audience did not appear to see it as nothing else than a costume like the rest of my group. When we sat down to start the puzzle more people filtered in around us. In the past when we had done we had felt that people wanted to join in, or at least the engagement of the puzzle made them want to stay around until it had been finished.

As we sat down to watch the human clock observing the audience became a lot easier. We had now drawn attention solely towards it and because we were essentially staring at the entrance the audience reactions were clearer. Several people came and stood at the entrance and watched the clock for several minutes with us. This could have been down to their sense of intrigue towards the clock or maybe because our piece was so elongated they were wondering why we were watching it for so long. Furthermore during this section a lot of parents with their children became engulfed by what we were doing. It even became fairly interactive as parents were asking their children questions on what we were doing and what they thought of the different projections.

On top of this the puzzle was continuously acknowledged and seemed to impress. Now the distorted projection of the pineapple could be seen clearer as there was now little distraction. For a long time no one had dared stepped into the gallery, which was not disappointing but it would have given the piece another dynamic. This was until one man decided to walk straight through us to the other side of the gallery and acted totally vacant towards our existence. This was interesting because it felt like he was trying to make the point that we should not have been there.

Overall, I feel that the public enjoyed our piece and welcomed a different aspect in their museum experience. What I found the most interesting was the willingness of people to continuously come back over the period of the day, almost as if they were checking on our progress, which is what we intended as we never expected anyone to stay for the whole duration of the piece.

Authored by Shane Humberstone

Can a ‘Non-Place’ Exist?

Shane Humberstone / April 5, 2013May 13, 2013 / Possessed Time, Research, Space

‘If a place can be defined as relational, historical and concerned with identity, then a space which cannot be defined as relational, or historical, or concerned with identity will be a non-place’ (Augé 1995, p. 77), if a building possesses ‘non-place’ characteristics then it is there to only serve a purpose rather then add something to a community or an area.

In an ever growing fast paced world, the essence of character and legacy can be seen as depleting and being replaced by service based infrastructure that holds no personality, such as airports and shopping malls. These places are blamed for setting people up on the mundane conveyor belt of life. These places have no character and they do not create experiences or provoke emotion such as churches or battle grounds. It is worth mentioning that a ‘place’ or a ‘non-place’ does not necessarily have to be a building but any area of space, like a motorway for example.

Although I agree that when the essence of the past is present in a building, or a room or even a road, it does create a different atmosphere and a sense of identity. We all know of that back road to that certain place that has the really scary trees and the old broken wooden fence running alongside it, which fills us with memories and atmosphere every time we drive down it, and often we give it an identity by naming it. In turn it is evident that modern places still have their own stories and are filled with people who have their own experiences. An airport can be perceived as ‘Everyday spaces of Late-Capitalist cities’ (Coyne), can be seen as a vacuous filtering system of people, or you could look at the individuals. Each passenger has their own story of why they are there and their own influence on the space. People develop memories and experiences at airports all of which add to the identity and character of the place. Furthermore, the members of staff that work there every day become part of the building and bring a whole new type of character to the building. The beautiful thing about these large places, filled with forever changing people, is that they can be filled with so much more experience and character than any historical site, and on top of that they have the ability to change their identity so significantly and so often, which makes them more of a ‘place’ than a lot of the places Augé would perceive as a ‘place’.

When first looking into Gallery 3 at the Usher gallery you see all these pieces of art and watches with an abundance of history and fascinating stories, which simply epitomises the idea of a ‘place’. Despite this, if you think about it closer, Gallery three is just another gallery conforming to what can only be perceived as a normal museum gallery. It is dark, small and has little writing explain the stories which would indeed truly make it a ‘Place’, compared to the Collection, it can be perceived as somewhat flaccid and thus has another product of what museums should be.

‘Place and non-place are rather like opposed polarities: the first is never completely erased, the second never totally completed…’ (Augé 1995, p. 79), this not only insists that there is hope for our airports to one day been seen as a ‘place’, but also our fully cultured, fully historical churches once started off as a ‘non-place’ and still contains ‘non-place’ characteristics. Moreover, this shows that a building will never reach its full identity, its context and essence can only ever grow. I believe that the speed in which a ‘non-place’ can become a ‘place’ is heavily down to the acceptance of the build in the community, alongside with its actual aesthetic beauty. Take a motorway for example. A town may totally hate it because it has left a ‘scar’ on the landscape and has no positive externalities for that town, whereas it could actually be seen as a compliment to that town and become a big part of it, not only bringing ease of access to that town but also, in time, it can build a new history more fulfilled history and new experiences made with journeys taken on it.

Airports can be seen as a plain large glass blister on the earth just ferrying people in and out, but these people give them more character than any type of brick or mystical stories. I disagree with those who think that airports or shopping malls are ‘non-places’ because they do not ‘identify a loss of personal identity’, or a, ‘decline in meaningful relations amongst the users of spaces’ (Coyne). Despite this it can easily be argued that each member of staff sees each customer as just another number. In turn each customer can see the staff as just mere faces of the company they may be dealing with, ‘The non-place is the opposite of utopia: it exists, and it does not contain any organic society’ (Augé 1995, p. 111-112). Although I still believe, and have experienced, that people in these places genuinely want to help you and create an experience for you which may not be received from a ‘place’ steeped in cultural history, because of the vast size of these spaces, and the volume in which people are dealing with, going to these ‘non-places’ can be seen as a process as opposed to an experience.

Essentially i do not think ‘non-places’ really ever exist, no matter how young the space is, people are forever having influence on everywhere they go and these ‘places’ never have a chance to be a ‘non-place’. Our task is to see if we can re-insert life back into Gallery 3 and give it an extra story to tell.

Written by: Shane Humberstone

Works Cited:

Augé, Marc (1995) Non-Places: Introduction to an Anthropology of Supermodernity, trans. John Howe, London and New York: Verso.

Coyne, Richard Orienting the Future: Design Strategies for Non-Place, Online: http://www.design21.dundee.ac.uk/PDF/NonPlace.pdf (accessed 3 April 2013)

Psychogeographic Mapping- Dériving Lincoln

Shane Humberstone / January 25, 2013April 20, 2013 / Possessed Time, Space

“the study of the precise laws and specific effects of the geographical environment, consciously organized or not, on the emotions and behavior of individuals” (Debord, G, 1955)

As part of our research into Site Specific performance, we looked into the concept of psychogeographic mapping. Due to Lincoln’s architecture, you are instinctively drawn towards what centres the city, which is the award winning Steep Hill, and the city’s iconic Cathedral. Despite this, as we tried to gain a deeper knowledge of both the physical and spiritual aspects of the city, we found ourselves gradually deriving away from the centre.

When we explored Lincoln in greater depth we documented the various buildings and sites in order to answer the set questions we were given.

Where would be the best place in Lincoln to see old people holding hands?

Being the first time we had attempted this, we were still conscious of our preconceptions. This then drew us towards where we naturally expected to see elderly citizens, which was Marks and Spencer. Despite our initial thoughts, as we delved further into the practice of deriving we found the following road sign.

This then became a stimulus for us to consider that when crossing roads, especially in icy conditions, elderly people hold hands for safety.

Where is the best place in Lincoln to go sledging in the snow?

Whilst we were dériving, we were constantly walking up hills, any of which would have been ideal for sledging. However, when we found ourselves behind the castle, we noticed that between the steepness of the slope and the backdrop of the castle that this would be the most appealing site we came across and would create the best experience.

Where would be the best place in Lincoln to pour your heart out?

Initially we found this pub, which we thought would be the ideal place to pour your heart out, although later in the day we came across this graveyard. This made us take into consideration the raw emotion and effect that graveyards can have upon people, which allows them to open up their souls and freely pour their heart out.

Where would be the worst place in Lincoln to sleep rough?

In contrast to the beauty and awe of the castles architecture, we stumbled across some public toilets. It then occurred to us that if were to sleep rough, this would be one of the worst places.

Where’s the best place in Lincoln to shout without being heard?

With this question we were lead towards the nightclub Home because nightclubs are extremely loud places, and often when you shout you can not be heard. We then discovered a secluded car park/storage area situated behind the nightclub. Here we found that between the noises of the generators and the cars on the road, when we shouted it went unnoticed.

Where’s the best place in Lincoln to fall in love?

The easiest way to fall in love is through talking to someone, and with the advances in technology you can reach and talk to people wherever you are. Due to the increased use of mobile phones the magic of communication has been stripped away from society. In contemporary society phone boxes are a rarity, seen as art opposed to being a necessity. With this in mind, talking to someone from a phone box adds to the beauty of conversation. The combination of who you are talking to and where you are calling them from creates an ideal environment for falling in love.

Where’s the best place in Lincoln to witness true beauty?

True beauty can come in many forms, it can be aesthetic or as we found, spiritual. During our derieving we found a Y.M.C.A. training centre.

“Inspire. Develop. Transform.”
Having read their slogan we felt that what could be more beautiful that someone who commits themselves to bettering society, helping those of a greater need.

Where’s the worst place in Lincoln to be alone?

As we ventured up the hill we noticed the police station. This shouted out to us as a place full of anguish and despair. Not only are you put in a cold, dank cell, you are also alone and quite possibly scared.

Where’s the best place in Lincoln to see a ghost?

Edward Parker Charlesworth was a pioneer in mental health. As a monument to a man who helped many tortured souls we believed that if ghosts were to seek comfort then they would be drawn towards here. With the statue being in a gated desolate site, there was further potential for an eerie atmosphere.

“The spectacle is not a collection of images, but a social relation among people, mediated by images.”
(Debord, G, 1984)

Work Cited:
– Debord, G (1955) “Introduction to a Critique of Urban Geography” Les Lèvres Nues (6)
– Debord, G (1984) Society of the Spectacle, unpaginated, Black & Red: U.S.

Authors: Chloe Doherty and Shane Humberstone