Performance #1
January 29th, 2014
Duration: 12pm-8pm
“GIVE | LEAVE
Shedding the Surreal Body”
remnants:
600 post it notes in the shape of a left human hand
1 curved sewing needle
1 spool of crimson colored thread
1 pair of scissors
1 pair of shoes nailed to a wall (right shoe reads “Give,” left shoe reads “leave” in heat reactive ink)
2 microcassette recorders
8 microcassette tapes
1 glass water pitcher
1 realistic looking eyeball (the color of the artist’s own eye)
1 drinking glass
1 hammer
1 hanging light
1 timer with numbers removed
16 brown belts
actions:
Drink Water throughout the piece as needed
Hour 1- For Self
· Set timer for 1 hour
· sew neck of sweater above head, leaving right eye exposed
· Hold representation of eye in left hand
· Drop representation of eye
· plug into mp3 player
· Circle the space while singing a song that induces comfort
· Record this with a microcassette player hidden on the body
· Deposit 16 brown belts (2 at a time) onto the floor
· When timer sounds, go back and reset
Hour 2 – For Phil
· Set timer for 1 hour
· Rewind microcassette from Hour 1
· Play sound from Hour 1 while recording present hour with 2nd recorder hidden on the body
· plug into mp3 player
· Circle the space while singing a song that induces comfort
· Sit down in a corner when feet begin to grow tired
· When timer sounds, go back and reset
Hour 3 – For Dan and Kelly
· Set timer for 1 hour
· Rewind microcassettes from Hours 1 and 2
· Place Hour 1 cassette into case labeled 1
· Play sound from Hour 2 while recording present hour with 2nd recorder hidden on the body
· plug into mp3 player
· Circle the space while singing a song that induces comfort. When 2nd song plays, lie on the ground and sing
· When timer sounds, go back and reset
Hour 4- For Shannon
· Set timer for 1 hour
· Rewind microcassettes from Hours 2 and 3
· Place Hour 2 cassette into case labeled 2
· Play sound from Hour 3 while recording present hour with 2nd recorder hidden on the body
· Search for white noise in the space
· Stand near a vent to record the sound
· When legs grow tired, lay down
· Try to make body as silent as possible
· When timer sounds, go back and reset
Hour 5- For Márcio
· Set timer for 1 hour
· Rewind microcassettes from Hours 3 and 4
· Place Hour 3 cassette into case labeled 3
· Play sound from Hour 4 while recording present hour with 2nd recorder hidden on the body
· Discover that tape 4 didn’t record
· plug into mp3 player
· Circle the space while singing a song that induces comfort
· Find the sun in a doorway
· Serenade the sun until it sets
· When the sun disappears behind a building, sit down
· When timer sounds, go back and reset
Hour 6- For Medhi-Georges
· Set timer for 1 hour
· Rewind microcassettes from Hours 4 and 5
· Place Hour 4 cassette into case labeled 4
· Play sound from Hour 5 while recording present hour with 2nd recorder hidden on the body
· There is no song to sing, so engage in the action of waiting
· Wait in a corner
· Wait in front of a door
· When timer sounds, go back and reset
Hour 7- For Jeffrey
· Set timer for 1 hour
· Rewind microcassettes from Hours 5 and 6
· Place Hour 5 cassette into case labeled 5
· Play sound from Hour 6 while recording present hour with 2nd recorder hidden on the body
· plug into mp3 player
· Circle the space and attempt to sing a song that induces comfort in a foreign language
· Lay down and sing to the ceiling
· When the body becomes too cold, circle the space again
· Walk until the words that are understandable play
· Pause and sing them
· When timer sounds, go back and reset
Hour 8 – For Creighton
· Set timer for 1 hour
· Rewind microcassettes from Hours 6 and 7
· Discover that recorder died in the middle of Hour 7
· Place both cassettes into corresponding cases
· Record the final hour on the final tape with the functional recorder hidden on the body
· Circle the space and sing a song that induces comfort
· Cut the neck of sweater free
· Reveal face
· Break the performance space by making eye contact with everyone in the rom, offering a momentary serenade
· Switch direction of rotation.
· When timer sounds, go back and conclude piece
Conclusion- For all of us
· Rewind microcassette from Hour 8
· Place tape in case labeled 8
· Remove shoes
· As they lose body heat, the words “Give” and “Leave” appear in the soles of the shoes
· Nail the shoes to the wall underneath a light
· Hide the recorders inside
· Place representation of eye into a water pitcher
· Thank the audience
· Turn on the light
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Read Evan Smith's writing on “GIVE | LEAVE Shedding the Surreal Body”
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Using a site-sensitive approach, Sandrine Schaefer’s ephemeral artwork examines the experience of understanding the body in space, both corporally and conceptually. She believes that art lives in the body. Through the body’s symbolic actions we can re-imagine the potential of our relationship/s with our environment/s. Her work explores the navigation of both visible and invisible space. Utilizing the connection between cumulative action and endurance, Sandrine’s work attempts to manipulate perceptions of duration and challenge the parameters of real time. Her work playfully addresses the shared human experience of fitting in, offers pause for contemplation, and is inspired by the promise of collaborative imagination.
Schaefer is a Boston-based Artist, Writer, and Curator. She is a co-founder of The Present Tense, an art initiative that produces and archives live art events and exchanges in transient spaces. She has been actively showing her own work and the work of others internationally since 2003.
www.SandrineSchaefer.com