The Untitled performance worked well to build off of Audience. As I mentioned before the objective of this performance was to show that the continuous give and take of communication in our everyday lives, seen in Audience, leaves its mark. Though it was a seemingly literal performance, there are a lot of details that became apparent as the performance progressed.
The first catch in this performance is that it was not untitled. It was titled "Untitled". The act of naming something defines it, at least in part. By naming the performance "Untitled" I gave a series of implications such as it representing, blank space, undetermined outcomes, and uncertainty. In deciding that the performers were unable to talk during the performance, it made them less defined. They could not introduce themselves or explain what was happening, it was up to the participants to decide how to fill in the blank.
What I enjoyed the most about the performance was seeing what people painted on the performers. The results surprised me. Every performer had at least one smiley face, many had hearts, a few had suns and a handful had words. I thought that this result was interesting because they are things that we often give to each other. We share happiness (smiles), love (hearts), comfort (sunshine) and communication (words). Flowers and human forms also made appearances on the performers - signs of life.
I was not expecting this response. To be completely honest, the first thing I expected were curses and inappropriate diagrams. It was a more than pleasant surprise to see how people both respected the performance and held that respect for each other to leave a positive mark rather than a negative one.
The first catch in this performance is that it was not untitled. It was titled "Untitled". The act of naming something defines it, at least in part. By naming the performance "Untitled" I gave a series of implications such as it representing, blank space, undetermined outcomes, and uncertainty. In deciding that the performers were unable to talk during the performance, it made them less defined. They could not introduce themselves or explain what was happening, it was up to the participants to decide how to fill in the blank.
What I enjoyed the most about the performance was seeing what people painted on the performers. The results surprised me. Every performer had at least one smiley face, many had hearts, a few had suns and a handful had words. I thought that this result was interesting because they are things that we often give to each other. We share happiness (smiles), love (hearts), comfort (sunshine) and communication (words). Flowers and human forms also made appearances on the performers - signs of life.
I was not expecting this response. To be completely honest, the first thing I expected were curses and inappropriate diagrams. It was a more than pleasant surprise to see how people both respected the performance and held that respect for each other to leave a positive mark rather than a negative one.