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Near Death Performance Art Experience, Boston, 2013, photo by Phil Fryer

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Near Death Performance Art Experience, Boston, 2013, photo by Phil Fryer

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Near Death Performance Art Experience, Boston, 2013, photo by Phil Fryer

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Near Death Performance Art Experience, Boston, 2013, photo by Phil Fryer

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Near Death Performance Art Experience, Boston, 2013, photo by Phil Fryer

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Near Death Performance Art Experience, Boston, 2013, photo by Phil Fryer

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Near Death Performance Art Experience, Boston, 2013, photo by Phil Fryer

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Near Death Performance Art Experience, Boston, 2013, photo by Phil Fryer

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Near Death Performance Art Experience, Boston, 2013, photo by Phil Fryer

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Near Death Performance Art Experience, Boston, 2013, photo by Phil Fryer

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Near Death Performance Art Experience, Boston, 2013, photo by Phil Fryer

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Near Death Performance Art Experience, Boston, 2013, photo by Phil Fryer

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Near Death Performance Art Experience, Boston, 2013, photo by Phil Fryer

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Near Death Performance Art Experience, Boston, 2013, photo by Phil Fryer

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Near Death Performance Art Experience, Boston, 2013, photo by Phil Fryer

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Near Death Performance Art Experience, Boston, 2013, photo by Phil Fryer

Near Death Performance Art Experience was dedicated to the memory of Bob Raymond, April 21, 1952 - February 27, 2012.

event:
Near Death Performance Art Experience
venue:
The Cyclorama at Boston Center for the Arts
location:
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
sponsor:
curated and produced by Vela Phelan
date:
April 2013

Project Notes:

I sat at a small square table, only as long as my arms, in the center of the Boston Cyclorama, lit by a bright white light. The space is so big, more than 12,000 square feet, that once daylight had faded I was surrounded by darkness.

I sat at the table from 4:00 pm until 11:00 pm. Throughout those seven hours, I very slowly pushed two clear glasses filled with water across the table. They sparkled in the light, and reflected the space and the people standing nearby. I started with the glasses at the edge of the table just in front of me, and began to push them, nearly imperceptibly, across the table. My hands, and my focus, rarely left the glasses. At 11:00 pm they teetered at the edge, tumbling one after another to the floor, crashing and breaking, the water slowly spreading. I stood up and left, walking into darkness.

The other performances took place throughout the seven hours. They were sited along the perimeter of the space, moving in a circle around me. Their sound was sometimes loud, but when there was a break between performances, you could hear again the ticking of a clock echo throughout the space, emanating from my site.

A five hour version of this work was performed in November of 2014 at the at 7th Zagrebi! Festival, in Zagreb, Croatia.

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