These performances were made in response to each person who sat with me. Silent and nearly still, they were visual readings.
This performance was created for Vogetfrei V, TransitARTen, which took place in September, 2003. My site was a narrow corner plot, running along two sides of a house located on a corner. Surrounded by a low fence, the location was visible from the sidewalk.
I constructed a kind of small pavilion, just large enough for a table and two chairs. It was covered in sheer gray fabric, which created the feeling of a private space while at the same time allowing everything that was taking place inside to be visible from the sidewalk.
Every morning, I went for a walk in the woods with my friend, and gathered materials to use in the performance. I found leaves and sticks and moss-covered rocks, feathers and seeds, flowers and pine cones. Whatever caught my eye, I collected. The only other addition to my basket of materials was a bottle of water, several clear glass dishes, needle and thread.
Each day of the festival, I sat in the pavilion, awaiting visitors. A sign at the gate to the site provided simple instructions:
– These performances are for one person at a time.
– Please enter quietly.
– These performances are created in response to each person who sits with me.
– Silent and nearly still; they are visual readings.
On entering, the audience sat in the chair at the empty table. It was covered with a white cloth. I was dressed in white, silent. On the ground next to the table was the basket of materials gathered in the forest. In that initial exchange of looks I located a starting point, trying to keep my mind open to the first image that rose to the surface.
From that impulse, I began the performance. Selecting an object from the basket, I began by placing it on the table. From there an action would evolve. Sometimes the objects told a story, sometimes they were made to do impossible feats, sometimes they were simply admired for their beauty. A rock floated, leaves danced, sticks were dismantled layer by layer. The light and the wind became active participants.
Sometimes the audience assisted, sometimes they simply watched. For some it was a chance to play, for many it was a welcome moment of reflection and meditation, and for others it was a kind of psychic reading or premonition of their future.
The challenge for myself was to remain open, alert, and responsive to whatever energy occurred be-tween myself and the sitter. Working daily with new materials, no two readings were alike.
