The Collection Of… – Page 7 – 'experiences of contemporary museums as theatre' (Bennett,S 2013)

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

Our final performance

Gabriel / May 6, 2013May 9, 2013 / People

Well it has finally come to our final performance, we have become a long way from our first initial plan of being in the cafe, and tying up the building together.

We turned the outside into an exhibition, even while we were setting up people wanted to know what was going on. At one point we had our other “exhibits” set up, though we weren’t performing as we were getting changed, and I could see people curiously looking and wanting to know what was going on.

As the women went by it I could see her saying to her husband she did not understand what was going on, it was highly interesting to see that before I went outside to perform.

I believe that the most amazing aspect about site specific is the audience, with ours as there was no set audience just people walking by, and as it was a nice sunny day a lot of people were. There were an interesting mix of interactions from people smiling awkwardly even to one old couple telling us to shut up and it was highly annoying.

(We continued, though that was quite a shock!)

It reminded me of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmnaZrQIymU (Lonetwin, 2008)

As with John Stevens, our audience was anyone passing by, and their comments and reactions ended up being part of our performance.

The audience would see this sign and come in for a closer look before they saw our performance and they would see Fran, Jenny and myself talking to our invisible companions. Then they would look up to see Holly and Shellie having a tea party. It was motion after motion, and I believe they were unsure what to do.

I mentioned in a later post about cafe culture and being in your own personal bubble when you enter one, strangely enough though a lot of people noticed us outside, the people in the cafe’s (though I was seated right next to them just outside) ignored my presence, even though they could glance outside and right next to them I was talking to myself.

Though many people sat at that window seat while I was performing, I did not notice a single person look up from their conversation or book. Even though at times I was mirroring them with my timing of turning my page of my book, and putting my book down. Yet they were completely oblivious as they were in their own cafe bubble.

As an exhibit it was quite a success! With many people having their interests piqued in our little gallery.

I believe it could have been easily very different, with no one paying much attention at all but because we were performing on a hot Saturday afternoon at lunchtime, many people stopped and ended up becoming part of our piece. I would be interested to see if people would have bothered stopping to take a closer look at us if it was raining or cold.

Site Specific was an incredibly interesting performing piece, one I would like to experiment again with some day.

Bibliography:

Lonetwin, (2008). Town Crying: My name is John Stevens. [online video] available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmUn2ZTzeY0 [accessed 06/05/2013]

Overall Thoughts

Jade Nicholls / May 6, 2013May 13, 2013 / Cultural Terrorists, Evaluation

Our performance was on Saturday 4^th May 2013 at 3:30pm, overall it went extremely well and we had many positive comments afterwards. I believe the use of us using our own car to speed up to the gallery and speed away from the gallery really startled the audience who were gathered outside and I overheard one audience member say ‘oh wow its started’, this really highlighted we were smuggling something into the gallery and it needed to happen quickly. The audience then followed us into the gallery which worked really well as it drew the attention from many members of the public who seemed to be extremely confused and worried about what was going on. The music was already playing when we went into the room which had already meant there were some members of the public waiting to see what was going to happen. The construction of ‘The Big Ben’ went incredibly smoothly and all of our practicing has really paid off. Once the Big Ben started to chime on our soundscape we took of our balaclavas and began acting completely differently like sophisticated ladies from the 1920s and walking around the clock as if we had no idea how it had got there. I believe this would have brought comedic elements to the audience members who were there the whole time, but for the audience members who had not seen how the sculpture had got there it may have led to confusion which is what we wanted to happen. Once we had given away our balaclavas to get ‘rid of any evidence’ we then left the gallery slowly and as if we had done nothing wrong. We left the ‘Big Ben’ standing and did not return until the gallery had closed to create more of an impact. This was our aim to let members of the audience and public have a proper look at the ‘Big Ben’ we had created and to leave them wondering if anything else was going to happen. Furthermore our costumes looked shocking as the outfit was a huge contrast, we had flapper like dresses on which women wore during the 1920s, with big work boots and balaclavas. It worked really well as it again added to the ‘shock’ factor of what was going on and once we had taken of our balaclavas we were able to play completely different characters. Overall as a group we were really happy with our piece and the reviews we received after, the idea worked very well and the ‘Big Ben’ looked remarkable once it all came together. Below are some photos from the performance and rehearsals.

Jade, Lacey and Fotini next to the completed Big Ben

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During rehearsals, practicing putting up the Big Ben was a struggle at times when we did not have very high ceilings.

One of the four clock faces

Evaluation of Final Performance

Jennie Chapman / May 6, 2013May 11, 2013 / Evaluation, People

After finally performing our piece the other day, I have mixed feelings as to whether it was a success. On the whole I think it went well and enjoyed being a part of the group and my part in the performance. However, if we were to do it again, I think improvements could be made.

Considering the amount of changes and alterations we have gone through for our performance, what we eventually came to was simple yet what we wanted to achieve in the beginning; turning the cafe into an exhibition. Along with our static exhibits, the cake stand and the tea set, we successfully ‘performed’ as a Collection of People. Myself, Fran and Gabriel reciting quotes and conversations we have listened to which has been a great element to our performance from the weeks of research and experimentation of this module and Holly and Shellie performing their mimic of the cafe demonstrating the activity we have also observed in the cafe.

For me, this performance has been the strangest one yet in terms of how and where it was performed. The cafe already being open and the museum itself, we were waiting around to begin our performance. Although we said that we would start at midday, it did not feel like the start of a performance unlike it would if we were doing it in a studio or on stage but then again this is to be expected. One reason why I think this was was because we did not have a standing audience, our audience were the people who happened to be around or in the cafe at that time, which is what we wanted and achieved. I found that the people who did see us were hesitant to engage with what was happening particularly with myself, Fran and Gabriel, proof of this came when a couple asked us to stop! However, some spectators did engage by waving up at Holly and Shellie and I heard others ask each other what it was about which in a way is a compliment as it shows that people were trying to understand our performance.

“It is tangible, uncomplicated, unitary: all that legitimizes and validates acts of theatre. It may as a result be barely accounted for and under-represented within the purview of historiography” (Pearson, 2010, p192).

This quote from Pearson is speaking of the after math of a site specific performance. He says that performances go unnoticed and undocumented; they do not cause a huge stir among the public. This I can understand, however, I feel that this is because site specific performance is unique and has no boundaries. To have been apart of a learning experience like this, I have been able to experiment and undertake new practices, which is what site specific performance is about according to Pearson. It is not to prove a thesis it is to “encourage further initiatives in performance” (Pearson, 2010,p2).

Our work at The Collection may have only been small and experimental and I would like to expand on it, but it has been something different and intriguing to me as it has given me a greater knowledge and understanding of contemporary performance. The development and process of this piece has been challenging and complicated at times, however, I am happy with how it has turned out overall. If I were to do our performance again, I think I would like to take our performance further by making it more of a durational piece of work and also emphasise the idea of the cafe being in itself an exhibition as a I think we could have made our idea much stronger than it was. As well as this, I would hope to improve areas of the process in order to further inspire, communicate and encourage spectators to see this site from a new perspective.

Works Cited:

Pearson, Mike(2010) Site- Specific Performance, Palgrave Macmillan.

The Final Performance

Tabitha Hilton-Berry / May 6, 2013 / Evaluation, Possessed Time, Space

After months of preparation and hard work, the performance was finally put into practise and we felt it was very successful. Enduring a 6 hour performance was an extreme test for us but we found ourselves captivated by the continuous sound of ticking clocks which made the rhythm in our movements easier to achieve.

The start of the day proved to be a little stressful as we set up the projections and puzzle pieces ready to start at 10 o clock but found that everything came together well as we started. We only had one mishap throughout the entire performance which occurred in the first hour when an alarm clock failed to go off to notify us it was ‘time to get up’. Luckily, this was resolved quite easily and went unnoticed by the audience we had at the time.

During the first hour, we ‘slept’ against one of the walls in Gallery 3, which I found the hardest task of the performance as we had to keep very focused and could not relax like you do in reality when you sleep. After we had woken up from the sleep, we began the start of our condensed 24 hour day which included the motions of brushing our teeth, washing our faces, eating breakfast and walking to work, all for 15 minute sessions. Due to the practise for these movements that we had done prior to the performance, the movements were easier to control and physically were not as gruelling as we had expected them to be.

In the third hour, the focus was to be at ‘work’ which we had decided would be a clock factory as it reflected the ideas of James Usher’s clock collection and his views on industrialism. We decided that we would create a floor tile puzzle in which we drew a clock onto it and then during the ‘work hours’, we would work together to put the puzzle pieces back together, as if we were putting the components of a clock together in a factory. I found that this particular part of performance was successful as it seemed to intrigue a lot of visitors of the museum to follow our progression. This lasted for 1 hour and 45 minutes and then we moved on to the last two hours of our performance.

The final hours consisted of using movement to portray watching television, relaxing and eating dinner before then returning to our starting position of sleeping against the wall in the gallery.

Overall, I thought that our performance was successful and that the projections we used, which included a fully working digital clock that we had made using our bodies as the numbers, and a decomposing pineapple that we had filmed over a series of weeks, they were both an important and intriguing aspect.

I feel that we could have improved the movements we used and maybe incorporated more movements to the piece to make it more of a statement in the space. If we were to develop this further, we could consider extending the time in which we performed and perhaps consider performing for the complete 24 hours. However, due to the space we were in, it was not possible to do this as it is a public museum which has opening an closing times that we had to abide by.