success and such

I will consider this event a success if even one person comes to the screening/happening. I think it is already a success in the sense that we have collaborated and created not only a film, but also a series of events surrounding the film. We've proven that students can collaborate and create something together, even if that something we've created doesn't necessarily make the viewer "happy". It feels like we have actually created something with a very strong statement, and we haven't been caught up in what the general acceptance level will be for the piece. As an artist, I believe in developing ideas and letting those ideas grow into a project that will create discussion. Based upon this definition, I think that our project has been successful. we haven't limited it, and we've followed every seemingly crazy idea we've had about it. These ideas have produced discussion about things we didn't even know we were addressing when we began the project. (the entire debate about motives behind viewing art)

In order to create discussion about our "wine stunt" we will need to have another event, this time, an event to discuss what happened and our motives behind it.

This is the outline for our artist presentation so far:
we will serve "real food"-$75 of pizza
we will sit at a table and hold a discussion/presentation of the film for anyone who would like to come
this will probably need to take place in callicot or myers during the evening. or maybe lunch again.
it will be relatively quick-probably no more than 30 min.

film presentation-both film and documentation of wine stunt
discussion of concept of film, of concept for wine stunt, community dinner,importance of collaboration to our concept.
questions from the audience.

a more detailed outline-
1.film presentation
discussion of concept/process-four different perspectives on the idea of "absurdity", we each wrote our own character and had a different person direct our scene.
dinner scene-questions of American "normality" how we should act a certain way in certain situations, even if this way is completely against how we would feel most comfortable acting.

2. stunt documentation
show documentation, discuss concept behind deliberately lying about "free wine"
why does it take a "reward" for people to view art?
what happens when this reward turns into a problem?
who do we let define reality? authority figures? (reference ideas of different perspectives present in our film)
what does it take to make us believe something is real?


I think that we should all talk about a specific portion of it, maybe whichever portion we feel most comfortable speaking on. and maybe if one of us is absolutely not into the idea of talking in front of a bunch of people, then that person could be in charge of all the technical-getting the film to screen, etc.

list of stuff we need for screening
1. laptop
2. projector
3. 4 casseroles
4. turkey
5. plates
6. napkins
7. cups
8. utensils
9. serving utensils
10. tablecloth
11. table
12. red chairs
13. candles
14. portrait
15. cups
16. napkins
17. rolls?
18. grape juice
19. mint extract
20. wine bottles
21. leaves
22. microwave

also
2 video cameras and 1 stills camera for documentation

performance review

Overall, I felt that the performance went according to plan. I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of people who attempted to interact with us and with the guesses people were making about what we were doing. Generally, people seemed a bit confused/surprised by what we were doing, but they made guesses about us commenting on Thanksgiving, or the idea of a family dinner. Something I think we could further exploit/explore was this idea of "privileged" that we set up. We sat at a fancy "reserved" table, we could get our food first, and we didn't bother interacting or even acknowledging anyone else. This seems like it could lead to further performance/commentary on the way that certain people in society are given special rights compared to the general public. As far as my individual performance goes, I felt that I did alright. I almost broke character after Wesley screamed, but aside from that I felt that my character's general annoyance with the rest of the "family" was well portrayed throughout the dinner, and the interactions between me and the rest of the table seemed appropriate for the characters we set up. We documented the performance with stills, but in hindsight, it would have been a good idea to have it filmed as well. Especially for the scream portion, and the reactions to it. In the future I would like to incorporate performance, especially performance that interrupts people's "normal" routines. I thought that the timing was the most successful part of our performance, and I'd like to continue to explore ways to create work that goes outside of traditional art gallery boundaries.

what monday means

We will sit in between the two buffet tables facing the guests of the community dinner. They will have to walk by us in order to get to the food. They will have to notice us, to confront us, and possibly interact with us, ultimately realizing that we will not speak to them or acknowledge them. In a sense, we are like an advertisement. Since this action is out of the ordinary for the community dinner, it will hopefully cause the people at the dinner to question and discuss what is going on/why it is going on. They will more than likely question the more obvious absurd things about us first-why we are dressed the way that we are, why there is a microwave at the table, etc. Hopefully these questions will lead them to discuss what these different costumes and our actions mean. Our act of eating on display will create a sort of small commotion; it will interrupt the normal routine of the people who come expecting a “normal” dinner. The dinner that we eat is symbolic for our piece, as it represents the idea of a “normal” family and all of the fronts that acting like what we are told is “normal” comes with. The performance comments upon the ideas of reasonable versus absurd. Where do these ideas come from? What officials/voices in society do we let determine our ideas of normalcy? For example, reality shows seem to be gaining popularity over sitcoms because they claim to show us what people are “really like.” They show us a side of “reality” that we cannot normally see, and this further influences our opinion of what is real and what is staged. Since our “family” will be on display and undoubtedly looked at, we will be commenting upon this idea of privacy and reality. What is real and what is staged? What does this mass marketed idea of a normal family mean, and what happens when that idea is exposed and deconstructed?

oh, just, you know.

some more performance stuff i've been lookin' at





Chris Burden
http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/artworld/2007/05/14/070514craw_artworld_schjeldahl

storyboards, rehearsal notes

Rehearsal Notes-
for Wesley's scene (the scene I'm directing)
maybe one extra light for the bathroom-most lights will come from the mirror
a bit cramped, so higher camera angles will probably work better
use sink to ice beer, dye tub blue, put fishing pole in tub
get tons of shots to use for montage. multiple angles.
maybe an handheld shot for the telephone scene-contrast the rest of the shots which are from a tripod

for the dinner scene
all of us on the same side of the table, centered under portrait
microwave in the middle of the table
film will end with wesley passed out and crawling, credits roll over this, then my character will walk into the screen (clicky shoes) and shut the microwave, this will be when the film cuts to black.
we might need a sheet to make the wall the table will be situated against a better color/look longer. the other doorways and such might be distracting.