Category: Public Responses

Trying it out..

Samantha Mckenzie / / Concealed Illusions, Development, Experimentation, Public Responses, Uncategorized

‘People had a real familiarity with the space that was being worked with yet they were invited to experience the environment from a new perspective due to the performance that was enacted within it.’ (Govan 2006, p.122)

On 18th March, after many weeks of experimentation and development of our ideas, we were given the opportnity to test out a section of our performance in front of members of the class and any other members of the public who happened to be visiting the Usher Gallery. It was vital for us to get some feeback from our peers so we could be assured we were moving in the right direction, see that our performance communicates as we hoped or learn where/what we were lacking. There were particular areas in which we felt may not reflect the ideas behind them accuratley. For example, during our experimentation process with makeup, we were fascinated by the appearance of a dirty make up wipe and how something which appears so perfect initially, eventually descends into a filthy rag.

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To reflect this in our performance we came up with an idea which would also decide our choice of costume. We wanted to show side by side the result we are looking for by applying makeup and also the substance that is left afterwards. This resulted in our desicion to wear white clothing during our piece and use this to remove the makeup rather than the conventional products; metaphorically becoming giant makeup wipes. What we hoped would become clear after this was our intention to reveal the negativity behind masking the real thing or becoming something idealised; which you are not. When we tried this out on the day we were pleased with the feedback we recieved and also how our audience began to think over what we hoped they would. For example they were struck by the duration of time in which it took us to apply the makeup and we were happy they picked up on this because our general approach is to show something real and everyday using the real time scale. We felt successful in delivering the message we intended to.

We are now trying to push our piece to the right standard leading up to the performance day which will mean more experimentation in the Usher Gallery ensuring we are happy with what we are revealing and where we are doing it. Ideally we would love for our audience to enjoy seeing something new and different in the art gallery but also appreciate its coherance with the rest of the art work.

 

Work cited

Govan, E., et al (2006) Making a Performance:
Devising Histories and Contemporary Practices, London and New York: Routledge

 

 

Time to develop ideas

Shellie-Ann Barrowcliffe / / Development, Experimentation, People, Public Responses

After discussion we decided that we wanted to use another space in The Collection, the education room that looks out onto the Café. This was because we thought it would be good as it was an example of how the two buildings could be together yet they are apart. It was also another thing to do with our research and how children mimic what they see in society and in cafes. Children notice things that adults don’t. We decided it would be a good idea for some members of the group to have a tea party up in the education room, acting like children and using a child’s tea set. We experimented trying out lots of things whilst the rest of the group sat in the café and suggested to us afterwards what worked and didn’t work. Throughout this process we felt it was more natural for us to start as children but by the end become business women who were professional. Whilst we were doing this in the education room, the rest of the group aimed to create an exhibition down in the café and present all of the things that people might not notice but we had noticed over the past few weeks. After experimenting with this exhibition idea it was clear that it needed to be pushed even further as it just wasn’t working but again we had to take into account that it was still as business…
This was beginning to not seem a great place after all.

We showed our performance ideas so far to the rest of the groups and received great feedback for the tea party in the education room and got told things such as

“once you watch your intrigued that you need to keep watching to see what happens next”
“it’s a really good idea”
“it works well, maybe make more of it”

This was really positive for us as we wasn’t sure if it was going to make an impact or not. Most importantly we wasn’t sure if we could be seen clearly enough but it seemed to work ok, this wasn’t the same for the café however as the idea we hadn’t didn’t really work well and so needed to be rethought. As well as this exhibition we had the other three group members in the café talking to themselves using a verbatim script that had been creating through listening to peoples conversations. This seemed to get lost so we discussed our whole idea and decided to see what the effect would be if we took this outside. We weren’t sure if this would work as we were taking it out of its original setting, out of the café atmosphere and outside. So taking this outside and trying it out it felt like something was missing, it lacked energy and needed something to back it up. Still wanting to keep the education room idea we discussed whether there was a way that we could link outside and the education room. In the end it was suggested that maybe we could attempt to create our own exhibition outside and portraying our version of the important things in the café.
Our ideas included:

• Having the three people sat at their own individual table talking to themselves, one would portray ‘the reader’ another ‘the working man’ and the third would portray ‘the family man’ as these are the three characteristics that we picked up on most throughout our research.
• Taking pictures and creating a framed piece up on the wall of the café, and showing how it changes throughout the day.
• Having the sentences we had heard wrote in chalk down the stairs to create something different
• Using the placard idea from inside and seeing how that worked.

Occupying the Collection Gallery cafe

Francesca Maria Izzo / / People, Public Responses, Video Research

A couple of weeks ago I was walking through Lincoln high street when I came across a sofa with a white square in front of it stating ‘Joe’s space’ and sat down on it were a couple of girls. I did what a lot of other people in the street did and looked at it as I walked past but didnt interact with it any further.

This was part of Joe’s photography project which was ‘a social experiment to explore the boundaries of the public spaces on the High Street, but also an investigation of public interactions with strangers.’ Along with this he states in the about section of YouTube with the video, ‘ most occupy movements have been engaging significant political value, mine was to instigate conversation and basic human interaction as so many of us just walk idly by one another.’

This made me think of our group piece which is based in the Collection Gallery cafe and an experiment which our group tried the other day. A few members of our group sat on their own around the cafe and started talking to themselves, no one caught anyones attention except from Gabriel. Gabriel sat having argument with an imaginary person in the seat opposite and caught the eye of a customer of the cafe who looked up, saw what was happening and quickly looked away again. This shows that we avoid any interaction or involvement with things which are not considered normal or which may include being a part of it. Like the passers by in the street, compared to the amount of people in the high street, only a small number of people actually stopped and got involved with the project.

From the observations my other group members and I have found from the customers in the cafe, a lot of people tend to sit on their own and appear to be in their own world, totally oblivious to everyone else. Which makes me think, are they so involved in their own bubble they don’t really notice anyone or do they pretend to be to ignore things which happen around them? For example, yesterday afternoon an elderly man caused some commotion in the cafe with the staff but the only people who seemed to notice were our group and a couple who were sat behind us. I looked around and everyone else just carried on as normal with their own conversations or still reading as if nothing had happened.

There are so many examples in today’s society where people avoid situations because they feel awkward or not safe. An extreme example of this is demonstrated in the video below:

Is this now the extreme people will go to to not get involved? Does this make anyone else think we live in a society where people are more enclosed and seem cut off from everyone else? 

 

Burt, Joe (2013) Occupying Lincoln high St. [online video] available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgSP7Rb3cb4&feature=player_embedded [accessed 5th March 2013]

PayNoMind416 (2010) The Bystander Effect: No One Cares. [online video] available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGaJrgi_SpE&feature=player_embedded [accessed 5th March 2013]

BREAKING NEWS: A Corpse is Found in a Gallery

Eloise Grace Henshaw / / Nova Inventa, Public Responses, Research, Space

5th feb

This was the week in which we decided to really try and focus on what our objectives were as a group in order to begin to build a foundation for our performance.

Here’s what our initial idea was:

Our aim is to take an interesting space created by architectural structure and explore the way in which we may turn it in to something passers-by will notice.  We want to look at the concealed areas around the museum and expose them. Our aim is to make places that would usually be passed by noticed by the public.

Aim: Make the Audience pay Attention to details!

 

THEMES FOR OUR PERFORMANCE

Consciousness

EXPOSURE

Make the audience KNOW what our aim is

Obscure view of the gallery itself

METHODS IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE CLEAR OVERVIEW:

TALK TO STAFF

Everyday staff, ask for their view

FIND MORE SPACES

OUTCOME:

We managed to use our time asking the members of staff around the collection

–        Did your perception of the building change as you began to see it on a daily basis?

‘Yes, everyday when you come in you notice something slightly different with the space around you as there are frequent changes in the art found in the gallery. I guess that has a lot to do with some ones perception as each piece of art can be seen as changing the space in which it inhabits.’

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–        What is the most interesting space in the building

‘I don’t know if you’ve noticed the way in which the cathedral is framed in the entrance hall. It is almost breath taking, although I do worry sometimes it goes to waste as people walk past and don’t seem to look up and notice it. In my opinion, the window itself is a work of art.’

–        Which piece of art draws the most attention?

‘Generally, the more contemporary art, for example the stuffed tights and the gnome made out of cigarettes seem to attract the most attention as people see its obscurity and are forced to ask the question, is this art?’

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–        What is the most drastic reaction someone has had to a work of art?

‘On a day to day basis, there aren’t usually any reactions that are out of the ordinary as it is always interesting to hear people’s views, but recently we have had an installation put in place in the usher gallery which depicts the body of an artist as a dead man, lying face down on the gallery floor. Last week some time, a visitor came across the installation and fainted due to its incredible life-like features.’

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^ Not for the faint-hearted!

 I found it helpful to talk to the staff as it was useful to have an insight in to the way in which becoming familiar with a space may alter someone’s perception.

 

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See you soon!

Author: Ellie Henshaw

Word Count: 447

“Breaking the Silence…”

Kirsty Taylor / / Concealed Illusions, Public Responses, Space

At our site in the art museum, each building has its own environment and focus which stays constant each day. The Collection focuses mainly on educational exhibits for schools, however is adapted to cater to a wider audience range from young children to adults. Because of this, the space is loud, vibrant and full of voices both from the visitors and the sound wall stretching the width of the building.  In contrast to this is the Usher Gallery where we intend our performance to be based. The building has the feel of a ‘typical’ art museum set in a beautiful manor house with traditional paintings and artifacts being the central focus. Here, the atmosphere is much more hushed and serious. Even in the room holding more contemporary art, visitors still keep their voices to a whisper whilst the sound of footsteps and music echo through the rooms. In the room holding the paintings, this is particularly amplified with silence feeling naturally expected of you as a visitor.

Bearing in mind this natural urge to be quiet and respectful in the gallery, how would visitors feel when this traditional silence is broken by our performance and what impacts will it leave on the space? Considering the nature of the space we are to work in, as actors we will have to consider, “the possibility of the audience member moving through or past the performance“(Randle, 2001, p86). The nature of a site specific performance means that our audience will be much more involved than with a typical theatre based performance and so will be forced to acknowledge what we are doing and question it. However, considering the kind of people who are attracted to art galleries, I believe they may be open to new ideas about art through performance as when questioned, they are willing to talk about art and don’t shy away from seeing different interpretations of the art surrounding them. Some were interested in what the reality of our focal painting of the Lincoln Brayford would be by stripping away the idealised image. Hopefully when this is put into action, we will leave a lasting impression on the space and change the way in which paintings are viewed by the public. This will reflect Artaud’s idea to “fuse art with life” (Randle, 2001, p86) and also challenge the stereotypes and boundaries of what kinds of ‘art’ can be shown in a traditional gallery.

 

Randle, J (2001) ‘Theatre for the Interactive Age: Participatory Site-specific Productions’, International Journal of the Arts in Society, April: p83-93