My Thought Process Part VIII – Look Back In Intimacy

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We have finished our performance of Intimacy now. I really enjoyed performing in the durational one-to-one medium and I truly believe that this medium was the only way Intimacy could have been performed. Looking back at our performance, I very much agree with the points made in the following video.

The performance was never about the piece being liked or understood by those who participated in it as non-performers. The piece was only meant to be a gateway into exploring the journey of intimacy between two people in an interaction. Has this journey been completed? No. Not in the slightest. To finish exploring intimacy between to people would take you a lifetime. However, I do believe that Intimacy opened the door for a sense of genuine intimacy between performer and non-performer during the performance and for me, the way I view intimacy will be forever changed.

I do not see Intimacy as a success or as a failure. It was an exploration of a subject that spans humanity. Intimacy is something we all desire and wish to receive, be it from friends, families, lovers, pets or even ourselves. Because this exploration has only just begun, and it will take a lifetime to complete, all I can say about Intimacy is that it is In Progress.

Post performance

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Photo on 2013-12-11 at 10.29 #2

This was out final set up for our performance. I believed we achieved what we set out to do. As performers (thought can we call it that when we are being ourselves?) we stayed true to our objective, of creating an intimate setting with our participants.

If I could change one thing I would like to take more from Marina Abramovic and her use of duration, If I had the capability of doing the piece for as long as it should run, I would enjoy that the participant be the one who decides when my station has run it’s course.

Otherwise I believed we did everything we could, I merely felt that a lot of my conversations in my station were unfinished, which was not our fault, we just did not have the means to do it all day.

I felt while watching parts of the live stream, I would have made the quality better and sound pitch clear, it would have been interesting to watching even the most tiniest of response. I like that we did not record it, every moment for something either to be seen or missed. You never knew while sitting there if your intimate moment was being seen by anyone.

I feel this is not the end of this performance, we are merely at the beginning.

Live Stream of Intimacy!

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Hello everyone! Please find below a live stream of a section of our performance Intimacy!!!

This live stream is also being aired in the Lincoln Performing Arts Centre so if you have not been able to book a time slot for the performance but are in the area please feel free to come and check out the live stream. Otherwise, enjoy viewing it here!

Live streaming video by Ustream

My Station

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After working out what everyone else’s stations were, mine was the last to be found. With having a computer conversation with an anonymous person as the station after mine it need to be something light hearted and easy going because the rest of the journey might prove difficult for some participants because they delved deeper into human bodies, touching, hugging and anonymous conversations.

It was decided that I would be the first person the participant would meet when they first entered the studio, leaving me with the opportunity to welcome them in and have a normal chat with whatever that came up in a conversation.

After showing my station in the tech rehearsal, the feedback I was given meant that I had to be so much more over the top to get the participant to feel welcomed and comforted. The feedback was to have more things laid out on the table like tea, drinks, cake biscuits, flowers and a table cloth to make it look welcoming. Also with the way I had to be dressed was in important to being the first person in the performance. It really made me think about what I could do to improve my station and make it as good as the rest of the performance.

Are you telling me the truth?

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Throughout this process it seems that Adrian Howells has been a key influence to our development and has directed the path that our performance has taken. Researching into Howells’ own work I can see clear connections between his own work and our work. Howells has been a big influence on our piece ever since we explored him in one of the Contemporary workshops. The next group meeting we looked further into his work which then inspired our ‘hug’ station and this idea of intimacy throughout our performance.

Adrian’s work is based on Autobiographical performance which ‘engages in complex negotiations with reality and fiction’ (Govan, E 2007 p. 71). This is because as a person you choose what information it is that you wish to share with the individual or individuals that you are with. I can relate this to my station because it is up to the participant what information they are willing to share with me, there isn’t anything to clarify what they are saying is true. The issue with not being able to see the participant means that I have to rely on what they are saying to be the truth, I can’t see their reactions or thought process.
Another thing that I can relate to our piece when looking into Adrian’s work is the fact that he was ‘interested in giving the people the opportunity to alleviate shame and guilt, release it and to lift it from themselves.’ (Howells A, (2010)) I can again link this to my station in which I am going to offer the participant the chance to confess if they feel the need to. This is interesting to me because it is going to allow them the chance to have a chat with a complete stranger; it is offering them the chance to share whatever they feel comfortable sharing.

Adrian Howell’s practices can be linked to other stations. His notion of ‘learning through touch’ (Howells, A (2010)) is similar to that of our ‘hug’ station in which the participant is held for an excess amount of time. It is designed for them to possibly learn something about themselves through this process such as the participants in Howell’s Foot washing for the sole would have learnt about themselves through Howells touching their feet.  We have also taken his idea of the audience having agency and showing this through our ‘greet’ station in which we tell them that they have the right to say no at any moment if they feel uncomfortable in a situation.

Works Cited:
Govan, E., Nicholas, H. and Normington, K. (2007) Making a performance: Devising Histories and Contemporary Practices. London: Routledge

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLwD3APw2F8 Interview with Adrian Howells part two

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7btf8Tdg_s Interview with Adrian Howells