As Maddie and I wandered from building to building, I was most struck by our failure to make people stop and really pay attention to what we wanted to show them. This is not to say that we did not have successful performances--we were able to present our art to many people. Rather, I am commenting on the difficulty we, as artists, face in really forcing people to confront the art before them. At one point, both of us were out on the quad in the middle of the path that connects Buntrock to Regents, our hands turning blue as we turned our crankies for anyone who would give a moment of their time. Of the multitude that streamed by us, I believe only one stopped long enough to bend over and observe. We found the same thing in the Stav Hall; it was nearly impossible to get people to stop eating, talking to their friends, or put down their phone long enough to watch the show.
Some of us abhor the idea of the pushy performance artist. But isn't the aim to jolt through confrontation, even if the individual wants nothing to do with the art/performance? So how far does this idea go and what is the best method to achieve the end? The avant-garde gravitated to 'scandal' for a reason.
(pictures coming soon)
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