Over the weekend the Arts Collective on campus hosted their annual Beaux Arts Ball. The only requirement: come dressed as an artist or a piece of art. My Post Studio Projects class was also in attendance, and as such it was an opportune time for us to try out some conceptual art. After some internal debate I decided to go as Yoko Ono's Cut Piece (1965). Overall it was a well received piece and very interactive, but there were distinct differences relying on multiple factors such as my gender and the environment of the art.
          Yoko Ono performed Cut Piece by sitting in silence on a stage while people came up one by one to cut away from her clothes with scissors. Some snipped away buttons or small pieces of fabric, but eventually people began to take off larger sections of clothing. Everyone was generally fine with this and laughed along even as men began to cut away at her undergarments and bra (one man in particular was incredibly disgusting and clearly enjoyed doing this). It wasn't until her hair began to be cut away that people had a problem, as she became a person and not just an object of art.
          Unlike Yoko Ono's piece in 1965 I was performing among friends and some strangers at a college party. Everyone was in good spirits, and some even felt too uncomfortable or worried that they would hurt me. I remained silent while they cut away and then resumed normal conversation until the next person took up the scissors. I also was not subjected to being viewed as an object in the way that women artists generally are (like Yoko Ono and Marina Abramovic). No one tried to cut away at my hair (thankfully) or underwear, and so I was eventually left dancing around in a pair of bright pink briefs and scraps of black cotton around my ankles. It was a good opportunity to see how environments affect performance piece, which will help in revising some of my projects for more public spaces (which will of course be documented). Until next time!

- Noah 
Open your mind, be brave, and be kind. 

          In order to better understand assignments and instructions in conceptual art each member of my class had to choose, enact, and film a project from a book entitled DO IT. While some are more direct in telling the reader what to do, most of the instructions are up to interpretation. Initially I chose one where I was given the task of doing "something that is unique to you that no one else in the world can do. Don't call it art." Initially I thought of just being myself, as no one can be or do the same things as me in the exact same time and place. However the more I thought about it the more difficult it became, and I did not like being told to not call something art. 
          Ultimately I settled on a new assignment from 2012 by Simone Forti: "Think about climate change. Sit for some moments in dumb grief, dumb knowing, dumb amazement." This led to the idea of recycling and garbage, since Dickinson is heavily invested in sustainability. We also happened to have some unusually warm weather this week with a peak of 80 degrees Fahrenheit. What you have is the result of an afternoon spent thinking about the sudden shift in climate, cluttering, and recyclables.

- Noah 
Open your mind, be brave, and be kind.    

          Titles always hold some sort of power, whether you choose to include one or not. Finding the perfect name for a piece or show can come as naturally as breathing, or perhaps it takes some exploration and deliberation. Thus I decided to enact #39 of my 100 conceptual assignments: Create an art show title from the seventh word of the seventh page of seven books. I could have made the distinction of choosing the seventh page of where the story began (the books I chose were all queer novels), but instead I focused on the physical books themselves rather than just the heart of each work. The books and words chosen are as follows: In Awe by Scott Heim (my), The Waterfront Journals by David Wojnarowicz (man), Another Country by James Baldwin (vintage), Dancer from the Dance by Andrew Holleran (the), Christopher and His Kind by Christopher Isherwood (tortures), Carol (the original title of the novel was The Price of Salt and I will forever be dismayed and infuriated by this change) by Patricia Highsmith (reality), and Written on the Body by Jeanette Winterson (thanks). I rearranged the words into seven possible titles, hoping that this magical number would help create the best one.

          THANKS MY MAN TORTURES THE VINTAGE REALITY
          THANKS REALITY MY MAN TORTURES THE VINTAGE
          THANKS MAN THE VINTAGE TORTURES MY REALITY
          THE VINTAGE MAN TORTURES MY REALITY THANKS
          THE MAN TORTURES MY VINTAGE THANKS REALITY
          VINTAGE THE MAN TORTURES THANKS MY REALITY 
          MY THANKS TORTURES THE VINTAGE MAN REALITY

          Well, that was something. The question now is what kind of show will this be? Performance art could always be an option (perhaps an improved version of the my endurance piece "Lady Godiva Sucks Oranges" could be incorporated) but this really is an art form in itself. An artist might have a title in mind when creating their work, but a show title usually materializes after the work has some significant body to it. Words have power, so to start off with a title means that the pieces involved have to possess a strong connection. We'll see. 

- Noah 
Open your mind, be brave, and be kind. 

          As a part of the first half of my Post Studio Projects course each of us must enact three of our 100 original conceptual art assignments. Of course they have to be three of our strongest, but that also depends on us as performers and how we will react to each piece. For my first one I picked #41: Sit in the dark and draw what you think. This is also a time to mention that I don't like being alone (and conscious) in the dark. Having an overactive imagination doesn't help either. I cleared off my desk and set a timer for seven minutes, and I am glad it was not any longer than that. The first five minutes were fine, but soon after I could feel the presence of something creeping up behind me. My lines became more frantic, in hopes that by speeding up my drawing I could make time flow faster. Those last two minutes felt like an hour, and I was utterly and without a doubt terrified of whatever my mind had conjured to lurk inches behind me. Fortunately the timer went off and the lights came on.
          Sometimes it is good to face your fears, especially when you know it's all in your mind. However those can also be the worst ones, for as long as you live they can keep creeping up from the fathoms of your imagination. There were quite a few assignments I created that have to do with fear or negative emotions, so this is just dipping my toes into the shallow end. This will continue to be a refining process as I work on editing and improving my list. What will happen then no one can say. 

- Noah 
Open your mind, be brave, and be kind. 

In the tradition of John Baldessari each Post Studio Projects student must create 100 assignments of conceptual art. My creations, both questions and instructions, are as follows: 

1. Conjugate a word in a language you don’t know and make a portrait.
2. Inhibit consumption.
3. Create a self-portrait using your favorite/least favorite possessions.
4. Offer a stranger an apple and photograph their response.
5. Reconstruct something out of its opposite.
6. Put your favorite song(s) in a minor key.
7. Portray “adult” themes using elementary school art materials.
8. Change the senses, make someone see a scent or feel a sound.
9. Shave your head or grow your hair.
10. Collect objects from people that they think represent “safety.”
11. Condoms.
12. Have people rearrange your closet and photograph the result.
13. Create a portrait of your worst fear.  
14. Blank Canvas.
15. Give someone or something a makeover.
16. Induce feelings of doubt. Record.
17. Recreate a nightmare using only one word, image, and object.
18. Opposites attract, or do they?
19. Use the scientific method.
20. Think blue.
21. It starts with the light. Follow it. Record.
22. Destroy something precious.
23. Create with your feet.
24. Find the fruit of your loins.
25. “Use me.”
26. Take away the value of money.
27. Verbalize the unnecessary. In public.
28. Bring attention to the terribly ordinary.
29. Maximize your presence, everywhere.
30. Have a conversation with yourself. Record.
31. Edit your life.
32. Paper Mache. Everywhere
33. Make Believe.
34. Reverse the flow of time.
35. Find the means to break free.
36. Enact a fairytale.
37. Murmuration.
38. What can you do with a dish and a spoon?
39. Create an art show title from the seventh word on the seventh page of seven books.
40. Host a princess tea party, but how a child would do it.
41. Sit in the dark and draw what you think.
42. Are dreams in fact reality? Record your dreams and create a blueprint.
43. Try to start a conflict between two other people.
44. A walk in the woods should be relaxing, but in the dark? Who knows?
45. You can’t see them but they can see you.
46. Create the ultimate monster.
47. You’re living in a monochromatic world.
48. Words remain. Throughout the day have people write a word on you in marker.
49. Salvage from the forgotten.
50. Make music with your feet.
51. Remember the mean kid in school? Be them for an entire day.
52. Give power to good by knowing evil.
53. Create your own season, present with all senses.
54. What does value mean to you?
55. Play an instrument you’ve never played before, upside down.
56. If ever there were a time to dance now’s the time, in public, bathrooms, everywhere.
57. Cook cereal in a soup pot.
58. Limit yourself to only negative words for an entire day, and the rest of the week to positive words.
59. Become a hermit, but your shelter is in a public space.
60. Candy is dandy but tomatoes make great missiles. Demonstrate in a field.
61. Can you put the universe in a jar? Try it.
62. They say a picture steals someone’s soul. Steal 100 souls.
63. Pick a word from the dictionary. Scream it at random points during the day.
64. Curate a show based off of a song picked at random.
65. Be disgusting.
66. Imagine an object as an orphan. Create an orphanage.
67. Grow a garden in your shoes.
68. If the world were underwater…imagine.
69. Go ahead. Take it.
70. If the slipper fits.
71. Find your despair, now chase it. Give it a rhythm.
72. You have found yourself in a new land, what do you do?
73. Build an empire out of paper.
74. Pick a random word in the dictionary and create a movement from it.
75. Imagine your stress as a doll.
76. Fashion a new instrument and attempt to play it, then give it to someone else and see what happens.
77. You’re digging yourself into a ditch, will anyone help?
78. Baking soda and vinegar.
79. Piss off Joan Crawford.
80. What would John Baldessari disapprove of? Do it.
81. See how far you can get on a tank of gas.
82. If teas have medicinal properties, try to concoct the cure-all.
83. Can anything be a canvas? What if you wear it?
84. Become a personal cheerleader for a week.
85. Lick 33 elbows.
86. Harness the power of all the dogs in the Art & Art History department.
87. Observe pagan rituals for a whole month. Try and get as many participants as possible.
88. Create the most uncomfortable mask possible.
89. They say to dance to the beat of your heart, but what if you actually did that? Choreograph based on your heartbeat.
90. Find a remedy for the sickeningly sweet.
91. Stay up as late as possible and draw or write every twelve minutes.
92. Give up.
93. Pull yourself together, get string or something.
94. Now that you’ve gotten some sense of purpose, do the first thing that comes to mind.
95. Say yes to everything until faced with a moral dilemma.
96. Climb the mountain and describe the most ordinary rock you find. Bring it back if possible.
97. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, go the other way. What did you find?
98. Discover and document 49 answers to the meaning of life.
99. Is water sustaining or detrimental to life? Find out.

 100. Enact the desires of those you hate the most. 

​          This week we had to do a performance piece about endurance for three minutes. While I was initially thinking about how I need to endure something, immediately my mind went to what LGBRTQ+ people have to go through each day, and while some are luckier than others many face terrible violence at any possible moment. Thus also playing on the phrase "Anita Bryant Sucks Oranges" I decided to do a piece where not only my endurance and that of the fruit would be tested, but that of the participants. Their willpower to either continue to assault or resist the mob would play heavily into the piece.
          I did not edit the documentation of this performance primarily because I wanted to capture every aspect. From here it becomes easier to reflect and refine the process, thinking about how this piece would be replicated and done differently. Overall it went well, but this is also because I know all participating members (save for one visiting candidate to the department). If performed for longer and in a public space that safety would be removed and we would truly see what people would do to assault, or resist, a queer body. Perhaps this piece will be performed in the future, so stay tuned!

- Noah
​Open your mind, be brave. and be kind. 

          For my second Post Studio Project I was given one of three John Baldessari assignment that I chose from his rather large list. My first reaction was to limit people's senses, have them imagine a smell based on how it looks and its name, but since this is conceptual art I need to look outside the box. Interactive pieces are usually a good choice primarily because the outcome always depends upon the participants. As the initial component I created a sent of my very own that I thought would represent warmth (sugar, cloves, thyme, etc.) and have each person give me the word that came to mind upon smelling it. Those words are: spicy, pumpkin pie, warm, winter, orange balls (and by this they meant Pomander Balls), cooking, pepper, and Havdalah (the ceremony marking the conclusion of Shabbat). 
          The next part of the performance included a new addition of word sensory. Each participant grabbed a word out of a bag and picked a scent that they felt represented that word. They were combined (although some people poured in more of their scent than others), and another warm scent was created. However, this smell was quickly identified as "tacos" due to the obscene amount of cumin. Overall I would say it was a successful project, but if repeated there would need to be a removal of spice labels so people relied on scent alone. There is also my own presence as the artist and documenter, which can interrupt the project. The lesson: You are accountable for all aspects of your project. 

- Noah 
Open your mind, be brave, and be kind.