Review of Diaspora, Displacement, Dislocation

There was a great variety of performances in last week's class.

Jennifer Sommerstein showed a video featuring herself and two classmates in which their voices were exchanged with each other. Jennifer spoke with a male voice and Ben spoke with a female voice. The scene was spent trying to correct this problem. The displacement of voice raised questions of gender normality and identity.

Skunk entered the room wearing a Star Wars mask and long white underwear in which he stuffed many styrofoam balls. He removed the mask to reveal a freshly shaven head, and proceeded to remove the styrofoam balls from his underwear. After this was done, he sat down and started to pick his nose as he read Tagalog from a manuscript. Skunk said later that he was describing his surroundings and what was going on. This piece to me spoke about the displaced social oddity, and the exclusivity of language.

Martina wrapped her head, blindfolding and masking herself as she typed her stream of consciousness onto a laptop, which was projected onto her face, casting a shadow on the wall. This piece to me spoke about the feelings and instincts of the invisible and unspoken for minority.

Princess Genevieve, Anna, and Grant showed a video in which they built an impromptu shelter out of scraps of wood, discarded furniture, and other debris. To me, it spoke about the displacement of the homeless, and their dislocation to the fringes of society.

Derya showed documentary footage about Satanic cults. Because of their subversion against society, and their immoral code, they are forced (or perhaps choose) to operate, and conduct their rituals underground. This is interesting to me because I believe the displaced people who choose to join such cults do so out of a sense of rejection from society, and rebel against its norms out of resentment.

Final Project

DESCRIPTION: 

I am standing in front of the audience silently and politely begin to ask, "Humanity? You call this humanity?" Gradually I get louder and angrier, "HUMANITY?! YOU CALL THIS FUCKING HUMANITY?!" I start ripping off my clothes down to my underwear while repeating over and over, "HUMANITY?! YOU CALL THIS FUCKING HUMANITY?!", flailing about and throwing myself violently into the walls . This would last for about 2-3 minutes.

Then, as I collapse in exhaustion, I will breathlessly repeat, "EVERYONE. EVERYONE. IF YOU'RE SCARED OF EVERYONE, YOU'RE SCARED. WHY ARE YOU SO SCARED?". I crawl towards a table or desk with a voice recorder resting on the top. I take a seat, calm myself down, press the play button. A female voice says, "OBSERVATION". I repeat, "OBSERVATION". I playback and repeat a total of 3 times, then go to the blackboard and write, "MEMORY LOSS". I sit back down and playback and repeat 3 times the word, "SIMULATION", go to the black board and write, "THE MIRROR DOES NOT EXIST". I go back to the desk and playback and repeat a final 3 times the word, "ASSIMILATION".

ARTIST STATEMENT:

My piece explores the origins and consequences of dislocation: the inhumane living conditions that drive people to leave their home country, and the difficulties and sacrifice of identity one must make in order to integrate and assimilate into a new culture.

BUDGET:

$0 (I already own the prop I will use)

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS, PROPS:

voice recorder

blackboard

desk/chair with table

VENUE:

Robson and Burrard

RESUME:

Fall 2006-present Emily Carr University Vancouver, BC

4th year Film, Video & Integrated Media Major

Emily Carr Media Show

-A Dialogue Between Two Lovers, short film Spring 2008

-To The Victor Go The Spoils, documentary Spring 2008

-Mirror Window, short film Spring 2007

-Dreams In Negative, short film Fall 2006

Context

In class, the performances happened sometimes one after the other, and sometimes simultaneously. Proceedings at Martina's Net(Work) show at VIVO center took place in this manner as well. I took a friend there who has close to no exposure to contemporary performance art, and he commented that it felt very strange and creepy. No doubt, this did look like a freakshow.

I think performance art needs to operate in a context of normality in order to function properly. It is the stark contrast of a strange happening in a normal setting that arouses curiosity and stimulates in the viewer a search for meaning.

The Sun is Crooked in the Sky; My Father is Thrown Over my Shoulders

I haven't been out to see live performance art in town...

But the posting on moodle was an interesting one. Naufus Ramirez Figueroa sits on the floor amid a mess of powdered milk and ash, wearing only a white t-shirt and underwear. He proceeds to cover his legs with the dusty mixture before turning over onto his belly. He spends the rest of this 100 hour performance in this position, breathing heavily, blowing the powder and ash into a dusty cloud with each breath.

In his statement, he claims to be commenting on race mixing in Latin America, what is known as Mestizaje (the offspring of a Spaniard and an American Indian). Being Mestizo himself, he "analyses inter-family relationships", and "re-discovers the violence that is unavoidable in the history of the Mestizaje".

Although I truly liked the piece, I don't understand how all that is apparent in the work. I see the ash and powdered milk as symbols of race, their particles intermingling with each new breath, each inhale and exhale representing birth and death. But the powdered milk, to me, is more evocative of whiteness than the Latin or American Indian.

On a side note, I would really like to know how it is physically possible to stay awake for 100 hours without the aid of methamphetamines. 

Naufus Ramirez Figueroa

Winteruption

There was an interesting performance on Granville Island tonight. Underneath Granville Bridge, suspended 20+ feet in the air was a metal platform on which two female dancers suspended by bungee cords were doing some kind of interpretive dance. It looked like a mix between modern and jazz, but I'm no expert. The bungee cords allowed the dancers to float mid-air. Their movements resembled that of ghostly spirits. On the ground below, a cellist was playing music, when I started noticing layers developing. I began looking for other musicians that might be hiding in the darkness, but soon realized the multiple layers were being produced by an electronic loop machine.

A fourth performer appeared, with a flaming hula hoop, and started dancing about. Then two male figures appeared whom I thought were confused spectators. One started singing while the other clung to the bridge support and started moving about suspiciously.

Above, the dancers unleashed two long banners of blue, and incorporated them into their dance.

It all ended when the singing man emerged out of the darkness with a flaming umbrella frame.

The unconventional location made for an interesting performance. There were some elements I liked, such as the suspicious man, where the dancers were situated, and the loop machine. But mostly it was too circus-like for me.

Shadow Puppet Performance Individual

The entire class was seated, dispersed throughout a room with a projection of a city alleyway on one wall of the room. The lights went out and we were enveloped in darkness save for the projection, on which a silhouette of Heather with a chain of cigarettes dangling from her neck could be seen. She then proceeded to approach at random the seated attendees one by one with the simple word, "Hi". 

This for me was a strong piece. It expresses the sincere desire for intimacy and connection amid a sea of anonymous strangers.

Shadow Puppet Performance group 2

The scene begins with an innocent young girl in the midst of a wheat field as she blows a wheat husk in the wind. Suddenly she finds herself caught in a whirlwind of a magnetic disturbance which transports her into another dimension. Worlds collide and planets revolve before a Peeping Tom gets booted in the face by an oversized foot for spying on the young girl taking off her bra. The strength of this piece lay in how transitions were used to unite by separating disparate elements. It told a narrative story that had a dramatic arc through the journey and adventures of the girl.