The readings for my Rhetoric and Citizenship class this week were very connected to the upcoming performance "Untitled". Judith Butler in Violence, Mourning, Politics discusses how loss exposes “fundamental human ties” (Butler 9). Lasar then takes Butler’s concepts to a national level when she writes “To Avoid Another September 11, U.S. Must Join the World”. In this commentary we see how we cannot exclude ourselves from the other countries. Similar to Butler, it is not us and the Other rather “we” all form a part of the world. This “we” is vulnerable and dependent. Everyone has common needs, which implore us to form communities. Loss forces us to see the connections we have to other people. These connections are so intrinsic to our existence that we are partially defined by them, “part of what I am is the enigmatic traces of others” (32). The idea that our connections and communication with others defines us is exactly the focus of our upcoming performance: "Untitled".
For the performance, we hope to make the connection visible by having passerbys paint on the performers. This interaction leaves its mark on the performers and therefore defines them. The performers start off as blank slates, literally wearing all white clothing, and are then filled in by the interactions of other people. This interaction transforms “I” and “You” into “we”. Together we build each other.
While I focus on how interactions between people help define who they are. Butler focuses on loss and vulnerability. Similar to my use of paint, Butler explores loss as a more tangible way of materializing these connections. The idea of vulnerability shows that we are impressionable due to the fact that we have a body. In my performance I will actually have physical bodies that are tangibly being altered by other people.
For the performance, we hope to make the connection visible by having passerbys paint on the performers. This interaction leaves its mark on the performers and therefore defines them. The performers start off as blank slates, literally wearing all white clothing, and are then filled in by the interactions of other people. This interaction transforms “I” and “You” into “we”. Together we build each other.
While I focus on how interactions between people help define who they are. Butler focuses on loss and vulnerability. Similar to my use of paint, Butler explores loss as a more tangible way of materializing these connections. The idea of vulnerability shows that we are impressionable due to the fact that we have a body. In my performance I will actually have physical bodies that are tangibly being altered by other people.