Lauren Schleider

Lauren came to class dressed as a doll. -- A "sex doll". She wore a black sequent dress, bright pink pumps, and a china face full of make up. She left a note infront of her that said "Play with me," and then fell inatimate. We removed articles of her clothing, redid her hair, repositioned body parts, and stuck candy in her mouth. Her eyes were wide open, yet the rest of her seemed asleep.
Lauren had originally performed her piece the night before class. She wore the same outfit and had her friend tell random students in the common areas of the campus dorms to "Play with her." (This was a prime time for intoxicated crowds.) People redily took her up on the offer. -- In fact, one male participant put Lauren's mouth on his nipple.
This objectification of the doll figure seems to be the effect Lauren was aiming for. It was about the personification of the female figure as a sexualized being. Lauren also mentioned that her limbs were twisted in all directions, frequently exposing indecent amounts of her body. Even when she sat there, with no affect and no life, certain participants attributed a very sexual quality to her. Her sculpture was that of the sex doll.

Kristin Costin

Kristin tied herself up with crepe streamers of varying colours and stood inside a playground bound by the streamers and seemingly to the playground equipment as well. The position she chose to stand in, with head and hands inside a series of metal loops, is reminiscent of the stockades. She remained in this state for 20 minutes, as confused Rochestarians passed by and got an unexpected artistic treat.

"Your Mother Wears Combat Boots"

“Your Mother Wears Combat Boots”
Sefira Bell-Masterson

Sefira entered wearing military fatigues and boots. She removed the jacket and pulled the pants to her ankles and laid down on the floor on her back. She began doing sit ups. Each time she rose into sit up position she wrote “army strong” in black pen on her skin. She repeated this 1769 times – the number of days the United States had been engaged in the war in Iraq, ultimately covering her body with writing.

The United States has been engaged in combat operations in Iraq for longer than we were involved in World War II. Without a draft, our volunteers soldiers must serve longer tours of duty and face multiple redeployments, leaving them physically and psychologically exhausted. I chose to use the army’s motto “army strong” as a means of accessing and communicating this experience. As I did sit up after sit up and my body increasingly became covered in ink I became physically exhausted - I was barely able to raise my head or my hand. The physical breakdown of my body mirrored the literally and figurative deterioration of our military as well as the deterioration of morale in the United States as a whole.

Paige Berkovitz

Paige approached the human sculpture project with a very literal apporach. She and Kristin placed dry plaster over their feet as they sat in mirror image positions across from one another. The plaster was placed over both of their feet between their bodies. Kristin used a pick, while Paige used a chisel and a hammer. The two almost caused a few injuries to their feet, but made it out ok. After a while of hacking away, the feet were freed.
This piece was meant to display personal and public messages. Personally speaking, the two people involved are very close friends, who have absorbed and adapted the other's characteristcs over time. Publicly, anyone who's had a strong interpersonal connection could relate to the situation. The initial layer of plaster is used to identify the unity of the two into one, while chiseling away displays eventual disconnects and revelations of individuality, even after developing into similar personalities.

Lauren Schleider

Lauren dressed up as a doll -- black sequent dress, bright pink pumps, a colorful china face of make up. She requested with a sign that we come "Play" with her, however we wish. We removed articles of her outfit, rearranged her clothes, moved her limbs, stuck candy in her mouth, and redid her hair. She remained totally inaminate the entire time.
The performance was about the sexual portrayal of the female figure as the "sex doll." Lauren had originally performed the piece in the common areas of the resident halls on campus.--It was a prime time for drunken individuals to have there fun. Many people took the opportunity to rearrange the Lauren doll -- one of which had her lick his nipple. She was, the sex doll.

Jenny Viera

The class walked into the room to find Jenny lying on a pile of coffee beans on top of the table. Surrounding her were coffee cups with writing on them- "Drink Me, Don't Sleep." A few people poked her to try to rouse her from her sleep. Most people immediately starting preparing their coffee with sugar and cream. Once people had made their coffee to their liking, the class began to attempt an annoyance approach to awake her. This included resetting her alarm to wake her earlier, threatening to pour coffee beans down her clothes, and attempting to call her mom. She kept groaning and complaining that she needed more sleep, just five minutes more. She continued tossing and turning and the class continued to mercilessly harass her. Jenny only got up when her alarm went off and everyone was relieved! Ultimately Jenny wanted to show the class that us drinking coffee was affecting her. This is a testament to the busyness and constant stimulation that our culture holds so dear- and that affects each and every one of us.

Cindy Paauw

Cindy’s piece was setup by positioning a long mirror on a chair, with dim lighting, and an empty room. A line was formed outside the classroom and each person took a turn, standing in front of the mirror, and reflecting on the things they wanted to change about themselves. This was written on the surface of the mirror in black marker. The person after them, was instructed to write something positive about the person before them on a post-it note. The post-it note was then attached to the mirror. At the end of the performance, the whole group gathered in front of the mirror, and examined the writings of criticism and compliments.

Geoff-o-Phone Beta3/5XRV.004 Owner's Manual

Living Sculpture Project:

What is a "living sculpture"? How could you make your body into a sculpture using very simple props if any? You may use your own body as the medium or enlist others with your direction.

Upcoming Events! Jan 24th- Feb 7th

THURSDAY (the 24th)

• 4pm-- Denise Anderson's Gallery Reception, Gallery at the Art & Music Library, Lower level of Rush Rhees
• 5pm-- Dr. Stephen Kurtz lecture, "Crossing the Line: Interdisciplinary Work in a Society of Fear", Hawkins-Carlson Room, Rush Rhees
• 7-9pm-- Reception for Black Cube/White Horse, an ongoing performance http://sa.rochester.edu/hartnett/ I'm not sure if they will be performing AT the reception. To be sure that you see them, stop by the gallery sometime tomorrow morning or afternoon. The performance has been going on all week.

FRIDAY, the 25th:

• 8pm- "Strange Culture" films at the George Eastman House (Dryden Theatre)
  

MONDAY, the 28th:

• 12:30- Performance artists from Black Cube/White Horse will give artist(s) talks in the Hartnett Gallery
  

TUESDAY, the 29th:

• 5-6:30pm- Professor Janet Berlo's opening reception for her quilts, Art & Music Library, Rush Rhees
  

THURSDAY, February 7th:

• 6:30- Heather talks about her project, (sub)Urban Homicide, with Will Yurman and Juliana Muniz at the George Eastman House, Curtis Theatre
  

Project #1: The Living Sculpture Project

Come to class on Wednesday as a Living Sculpture. You may opt to perform this outside of class and bring in video or digital image documentation.

Happy Martin Luther King Day!
Looking forward to seeing you on Wednesday.

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First Day

Welcome to Performance Art!!!
We'll use this blog throughout the course of the semester to post images, video clips, narratives, reviews, critiques, directions, project descriptions, suggestions, and reminders. To start:

*Buy your book!!! Performance Art by Roselee Goldberg

Upcoming Schedule:
*Monday is Martin Luther King Day--No class.
*Wednesday: Be ready for The Living Sculpture Project.