If you read my post in March about my fledgling endurance piece Lady Godiva Sucks Oranges, here is a continuation of that performance in a more public setting, with a few other changes. To my initial dismay my classmates and professor were against the idea of using fruit for the reworking of my performance, as strangers could cause far more damage once the barrier of friendship was removed. Thus I came to the solution to use balloons filled with orange juice. However, I accidentally purchased what I can only call "industrial strength balloons" as they took several throws to burst. Some small welts were left that disappeared within an hour, but in retrospect I am glad that the fruit was not an option this time. Being a public spectacle and having objects thrown at you for an hour and a half is not very pleasant, but then again queer people face worser things than water balloons on a regular basis.
It was interesting how even when people didn't know me they were still hesitant to throw the balloons at me (even the pitcher for the baseball team had his reservations). To me a balloon didn't seem like a threatening object, but many were worried that they would hurt me, and even took pity after realizing how the juice and water would make me even colder on a cloudy day in May. "I don't want to hurt you", "I'm sorry" "Please don't hate me for this" were some of the more common responses I received. In order to encourage agency on part of the audience I tried to remain silent and unresponsive as possible, mostly shrugging when people asked me questions. It surprised me how many of them took the shrug as a sign that they were not allowed to participate, as if I needed to ask them to assault me. Others took it as a means of stress relief during finals week, but overall there was an overwhelming concern for my wellbeing. If I am truly to experience vulnerability then this performance either needs to be done in a gallery space or in a city. There can be no collegiate or friendly barriers hindering the audience, although I suspect that many will still fear for my safety and be unwilling to participate. Perhaps I need to provoke people or put up a sign. But then again, queer people don't ask to be assaulted, they just are by people who deem them to be things that shouldn't exist. Well, only time and opportunity will tell when Lady Godiva will perform again, but next time I guarantee to not stop until either silence or utter chaos is attained. This project needs to be done in a way that has the same power as Yoko Ono or Marina Abramovic, and the audience must lose control. Although, this might just become a piece where the audience created the performance and I am the spectator. We'll see. - Noah Open your mind, be brave, and be kind.
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Paranoia. #36. You can't see them but they can see you. Here are the documented sensations of me feeling that I am being watched.
1. The space between the blinds and my window when I sit at my desk. All the time. 2. The crack in my closet door. 3. Walking along Louther Street at night. 4. My studio when the rest of the lights in the building are off. 5. Whenever it's quiet...too quiet. 6. Sitting in the caf. 7. Everywhere the moment I turn out the lights. Are we paranoid, or is there really something there? - Noah Open your mind, be brave, and be kind. One of the latest assignments for my Post Studio Projects class was a text based project. We had already done presentations on certain textual artists and were then given the task of creating and enacting our own work. My artist was Mel Bochner, who works in Yiddish and expletives, using them to reclaim spaces. Thus I decided to expand my exploration of queer art and take a look at Polari, the coded language used by queer men in the 19th and 20th centuries as a means of communicating with each other without being noticed and facing the consequences put in place by society.
I had each participant select a word to wear and then gave them a response to use should they be questioned about their shirt. Most of the responses from outsiders have been a mix of confusion and intrigue, with a few unexpected and hilarious results. If you wish to take a further look at the individual participants and their words The Polari Gang (The Code) project can be found in my portfolio in the navigation bar at the top of the screen or by clicking the project title. Please feel free to also learn more about Polari online. While it is not entirely necessary in order to survive (at least in the U.S.) it is a language that is a part of queer history and should be preserved. - Noah Open your mind, be brave, and be kind. What do we make of the objects that are no longer useful? In a culture that demand constant consumption , but also sustainability, how do we view the broken and unusable things in our lives? For one of my conceptual art assignments, #48: "Imagine an object as an orphan, create an orphanage," I kept an eye out for the things that are lost or thrown away. Some of these are objects that I have used or thrown away. It is strange to view them in this way. We often gain personal attachment to items because of sentimentality or nostalgia, but what happens when you are responsible for these objects that others deemed to be garbage? Perhaps this is borderline hoarding, but I can begin to understand why some people never throw anything away.
There is also another life behind this object. A person (whether physically or by operating a machine) made this thing we take for granted. It was their job to maintain production and create so we can consume. Thus there needs to be respect not only for the object, but for the person who to some extent made it. If we were to treat all objects with respect, perhaps it would be easier to recycle, more natural to us to try and sustain the environment. Of course, there will need to be some form of restraint, for if we all become hoarders then that impedes recycling. So the next time you see an object on the ground (and this is not an invitation or obligation to pick up the grossest thing you come across), take a moment to think about how and where it came from. - Noah Open your mind, be brave, and be kind. In addition to the 100 assignments created in the tradition of John Baldessari we were instructed to create an additional 59 and then tailor the list down to the (almost) perfected 109. Remember, these creations are both questions and assignments.
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To See With One's Body and SoulThis blog documents all of my adventures, as well as my development into an artist, writer, and a better person. Archives
May 2019
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