This week, Batya spent time with containers, Lexi created performances inspired by her lovers and the work of Alejandro Jodorowsky, and Sean prayed his ass off for 15 minutes.
"talk about.......... the sticky note thing...." I wrote this statement above before the mayhem of Week 14 and the Adams Ave. Street Fair prep. I have no idea what I was talking about. Sticky notes....hmm...Makes me think of one of the earlier 10AM's to think and write that which is sticky on sticky notes, or of the Soul Challenge 29th Birthday Plant Bug Party, where sticky notes had written on them the greatest wisdoms of those dressed as plants. It could relate to the sticky notes on which Katie Berns had me write manifestations that one summer evening. It may be the way I have sought to get off the cell phone and computer screens by jotting Tenam ideas onto sticky notes rather than opening one of the many google docs. Who knows.
Monday September 12
Title:“Containers”
Who are we? Where do we belong? What contains us? These are some of the questions that arise from Batya's introspective performance. She mentioned wanting to eventually play her violin, and it's so interesting she didn't have time and what that says about containers. What that says about materials. There's even so much we put into containers, she could easily have done a performance with just one of those containers. I did one like that in Week 10 with a singular Altoid box full of items. Physical objects slow us down. We spend so many hours organizing and containing them. Sean shares a bit of this sentiment in his "sweeping piece."
A main emphasis I have with this project and "Everything is Art" creed is to experience how looking through the lens of performance changes our observation of the same event. We ask questions. We find metaphors of design and ponder the intentions behind containers? Batya had a jar with the written statement, "What I want." How do we feel when we see the hopes and dreams of another? Lea, a regular of Tenam, commented on Batya's ripped bag and mentioned how it sparked her imagination for adventure. There's also so much to wonder about when we know the container belongs to Batya. There is commentary on what it means to own. Then, there's the spatial container, the world, in which we interact. Batya has mentioned to me her relationship with the Tenam Studio space as a place to "figure out next steps." Communities need containers to support and hold them. Batya has spoken to me about how in lesser affluent communities, circulating the money can be a financially solidifying force for the group. Dr. Somer mentions this article she was turned onto by Natasha Kozaily.
View on Youtube ---------> https://youtu.be/9mMrARUvXrs
Tuesday September 6
Title:“Everyone Cares”
Instructions: Make tea. Wait for it to steep. Pour tea into 5 cups.
cup 1 is my family.
cup 2 is friends near and far.
cup 3 is lovers near and far.
cup 4 lovers of lovers near and far
cup 5 the community of artists.
Answer the question, Of what actions is their love language made?
Why? An ideal space to relate is achievable.
Rehearsal discoveries: No time to rehearse. Had just purchased some kind of electric cooker and kettle, and got to use it for the first time to boil water. I love tea.
Performance write up: Another wonderful concept bestowed upon me from Dr. Batya Macadam Somer's catalogue of readings is the notion of cold and hot art. Cold art is that which asks you to step closer and gives space for the observer's inner dialogue. Hot art is engaging with complexity and/or intensity of experience. I would say this performance wasn't frigid but in the realm of cold, given the aesthetic value of a tea set and the audio experience of my processing aloud.
Knowing about these ideas of hot and cold helps define intentionality for both performer and observer. It's a lot to ask anyone without the conceptual art lens to join in on the experience and dialogue. It's a lot to ask the observers outside, the three people who came to this performance, for them to sit down and hold space for my inner experience, and to hope that they are gaining and processing something and not just losing 15 minutes of their lives.
Speaking on how everyone cares brought me to ponder the differences of personal and shared truths. The experience as a whole was much like a dialogue where the question and answer became a dance around the point.
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Wednesday September 7
Title:“49-29”
Instructions: Write the year and numbers 49-29. Subtract 1 from each number to create columns down and right. Once reaching 0 from 29, add 1 to each number, creating columns up and left.
Why? a ritual to ponder time and difference of age.
Rehearsal discoveries: I wrapped with plain paper the screen door hanging out in the back corner of the studio. It was removed for these performances, so glad to be using it for something now. Miss Berns also got black paint all over it when we were painting the door frame. It's pretty janked up. I almost threw it away, but figured I might fix it and put it back when I leave this place. I wanted plainness, so I wore my most plain feeling dress.
Couldn't help but put the slightest bit of makeup on. I could've helped it, but figured, if I could just be a little more beautiful while doing the same activity, why not? This sentiment arises daily. Who cares?
Performance write up: In an effort to connect with the concept of age difference and life experience in my personal relationship with someone, I wanted to spend time with these numbers. I decided for each year going back in time, I would think of a memory from that year of my life and compare it to the age of my friend.
From a personal perspective, I don't know enough about his timeline, so much of this concept was purely self-reflective. I have been trying to figure out what to do about relationships and the future and the deadline of my own age and capacity to bear children. Many women my age are facing these questions. At the same time, I'm reading books like "the ethical slut," and trying to figure out for what is love good. Yet again, an exercise of thought as performance art.
All performances involve a degree of inner dialogue. When one actively designs a performance to be framed through thought, a direct line is cut to utilizing it for transformation. Whether we mean to or not, every performance is transformative. Some are just given the explicit directions, so we make a straight shot to riding that line.
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Thursday September 8
Title: “You are the clay”
Instructions: Mold Katie.
Why? Connection with a ceramicist. Also, was in a jacuzzi, rotating within the flow of the water and adjusting my friend's posture. Felt the title come to mind.
Rehearsal discoveries: We realized the need for cueing the difference between limp motion and holding a pose, so Katie had the idea of tapping. I tapped Katie whenever I wanted her to hold a position, then simply moved her when I wanted her to flow. Katie had the idea to play JAZZ 88.3.
Performance write up: Thank goodness for JAZZ 88.3. This piece was both comfortable and intimidating, given my long history with Katie (since 2004/5) and my own relationship with physical touch. I had a student, James who showed me Louis Prima. When "Buona Sera" came on, the most fun essence of swing style jazz cascaded through the air.
I set up the camera a little too low for the entire performance to be captured. I realized a lovely ending would be to position Katie with a smile on her face and open eyes. When Katie and I were standing, our faces were out of the shot. There is art in the error of missing out on the facial expressions. Reminds me of some of the cartoons for kids where the parents' faces aren't shown, as they tower over the youth characters.
Katie speaking to me on the phone 2 weeks later: "It was a meditative challenge for me to keep as malleable and present as possible. I had to keep telling myself, "I am inanimate" and let myself fall into my body. It was nice having my eyes closed because it felt like I could fall more deeply into the present moment. I could feel [Lexi's] hesitation, too and I thought that was interesting. It's an interesting practice to do with [her] because of our relationship. It was cool to be able to open that door knowingly and [cool to be] giving an opportunity to change through this small action, like be a little bit more vulnerable through doing something like this together. JAZZ 88.3 is the music of all art studios in San Diego, so yeah, it was fitting."
Lexi: What do you mean? Do they play that at Revision? (an inclusive art studio where Katie works on weekends)
Katie: "Yeah, they play it there. They would play it at all the studios in SDSU. If there's an open studio, like if people come and work at night, they play it."
View on Youtube ------> https://youtu.be/0Nzx5AO56BY
Friday September 16
Title: “rosary"
Feat. Sean Francis Conway Listen to the audio from the day ------> https://www.patreon.com/posts/rosary-notes-72250447?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator
View on Youtube