[Realism Now!]  [Perf Art MAIN page]
The Performance Art Technology

Note: For things like lighting and such, refer to:

         -['Lighting']-
                 in film (A/H - as art element/technique

See also:  [(art) concepts]
                  [Art MovementsPerformed Text]
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               [Dadaism]  (an art "ism")
               [Performance frank:  Realism Now!]
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                                                    (Hakim Bey, chief janitor)               
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               [Sampler: Art X Science] 

Performance Art Technology

On this page:  {Intro}
               {Elements}
               
 
               {stuff}




Intro

And important thing to remember is that sometimes simple
is better. In one episode of "Saturday Night Live", comic
genius ??name?? came onto stage and stood next to a pedistal
where there was a child's record player. He picked up the
tone arm and put it play a song - a child's melody complete
with cheap band accompaniment - and he'd sort of sway back
and forth like a child might. He then lrtifted the tone arm
set it to the resting post and then took a book an addressed
the audience: "I've always liked this author and so i'd like
to read to you from ??title?? by Ernest Hemingway." And he
began to read - on and on, and then a few people would cough.
And he'd look up: "Now if you don't behave you wont' get to
hear the record." The audience "got it", as soon as he'd
start reading again, they'd interrupt. He'd threaten. So,
finally he gave up. "Ok, we'll listen to the record." He
picked up the tone arm, put it on the record, and after
a few seconds:  It was a recording of him reading the
Hemingway Book.  - genius! Or as we in physics say:

   Beauty. 
           Beauty squared.

Technology as Such

As Picasso reminds us: I've been trying my whole life
to remember what it's like to be a child. My mother
relates the story (that i don't remember) as to when
i came back from school one day and excitedly told
her, "Today we painted as the weasle!".

So, a pack of 3x5 cards is TECHNOLOGY to a child who
has never seen or experienced them. As John Cage and
Naim Jun Paik has shown us, a piano is a hundred kinds
of technology. So, let us begin.

In the same way that we use colour, line, volume, and
other such things (as thickness, blank-canvas, etc) to
form a painting - we can search for new ways to bring
technology into a work. The absurdist philosopher/comedian
"Galliger" has shown: A watermellon and a large smash
hammer are the most elegant of punch lines to ANY 
philosophical argument. 

Thus - setting the aburd aside for a moment (don't worry
this time, we got a very nice dressing room)...

The main thing is that technology should work like it should.
But, of course we (like Jimmy Hendricks) should always be
open to chanse - or was it pre-planned?

So, let us take as read: The technology IS to work as it
is designed or intended - otherwise, we are experimenting
BEFORE the intended performance.


Elements

In this section:  {Technology as THING}
                  {Technology Intrusions}


 

Technology as THING

This is the idea is that we use technology of one
type and it (the technology or the technological
thing) becomes the FOCUS of an gesture, plot-element,
or act, etc.

Technologies have an intended usage. As such, that
aspect is "the expected". 

A broom: (not a push broom, but one of those that
looks like bunch of straw bound at the end of a 
handle, and parallel to that handle).  We sweep
with it, brush way cob webs from the top of a wall,
we bat at flying insects with it.

Or...

Hit someone over the head with it, 
Or of course ride it around the room like a witch. 
We can danse with it 
Parry and thrust like a sword
etc.

Thus, anything that even resembles a broom can be 
by *association of form* be transfered to the form. 

Thus, if it looks or acts "broom-like" then this 
would be a way to use the "technology" in a parallel
way. 

But, this brings up the point if we are going to use
the technology in the "expected" way -- or in some
unusual way. Again, we need to weigh the +/-'s of
such a decision. This is not to say, that this can't
be used to show the failure of technology, or its
potential use/abuse. 


 

Technology Intrusions

Since technology IS so intrusive, we can mix
and match them as elements to create supporting
and/or conflicting aspects. 

To do this, we have to select the attributes that
we are going to use; eg, a newspaper has all of
those pieces of paper, a tv is loud intrusive
and can suddenly interrupt, etc.

Thus, we should brainstorm to get to the aspects
of each technology (or other element) and how we
plan to integrate it. We can see how this works
in traditional drama: Papa is reading the paper,
and Mama comes in and turns on the radio, and
the article on the radio startles Papa who 
progressively hold the paper down so he can peer 
over it at the radio, and then it slips from his 
hands onto the floor as the DRAMATIC bit comes 
across the radio.

Thus, the intrusive nature of the TV is used in
the way that we put messages out into the perf
space. But, the news paper has a tactle feel and
can be thrown around a lot easier than a TV.

In the same way, we analyse the elements and what
attributes we want to "pull out" and set against
or support other elements. Of course, we have
to bear in mind the "normal" aspects that the
viewers/participants assoicate with a given
technology. 

At this point, since the technology element or
the entire technology deployment (eg, imagine
an array of TV's or radios or tables with news
papers on them, etc) are simply elements in 
the perf space - we should consider if the
techno thing might have a "role" or a "persona".

In this case, they can be treated as other 
characters and thus have scripts, etc. This
of course that character pairings and relations
can extend to technology elements, etc. This is
of course, the "norm" in TV sit-coms where the
father hates all of that TV noise, but sits
down to read the paper - or only listens to
the news. 

Again, these are stereotypes (well known back
drops) against which we can play off of - or of
course alterin 180-degrees. But even this "flip
it around" kind of thing becomes predictable 
-- which can be to set a pattern that is then
broken. The Python was well aware of this; natch.