Six Events [miriam karraker]
Event Score: Residual
Materials: black silk gloves, assorted cacti (but preferably the snowy looking kind, or the kind with dense,
thinner more needle-like spines, for example: cephalocereus senilis, cleistocactus winteri, echinopsis pachanoi, etc.)
Instructions:
1) Collect various cacti of varying heights and arrange them on a table.
2) Invite an audience to sit or stand before you
3) Gently, slowly caress each cactus, as to allow needles to collect. (this may or may not cause pain).
4) After caressing each cactus individually, step out in front of the table.
5) Extend your hand to a random audience member, as in a handshake.
6) They may or may not shake your hand.
Event Score: sift/silt
For performance in white cube gallery.
Materials:
-a large piece of cheesecloth (ideally three feet by six feet)
-roughly 10 bags of bleached white flour
-four people of any age, race, gender wearing black
-two blindfolds
-two iPods with a pop music playlist (Top 40 hits ONLY)
-small inconspicuous timer that beeps every 15 minutes
Instructions:
-Before audience arrives, open the bags of flour and dump their contents onto the floor in a pile roughly measuring three feet by six feet. Pile shouldn’t be too thick or too thin, should look substantive. If pile doesn’t look substantive, get more bags of flour. Pile all empty flour bags, except for two near the flour pile, maybe a 6 feet away.
-Two of the people are blindfolded and on either side of the short end of the cheesecloth, holding a corner in each hand. They sift the flour through the cheesecloth at whatever pace they choose.
-The other two people wear headphones and use empty flour bags to pour the floor flour into the cheesecloth as it oscillates/sifts.
-Every 15 minutes, sifters will trade roles with the pourers and vice versa.
-Action of the performance should begin prior to the arrival of audience.
Event Score: Sonneted
Materials:
-two people wearing white
-a large portion of black netting (ideally aviary netting, as it is clearly gridded)
-sandbags
Instructions:
-One person lies face up on the floor, arms at their sides, legs comfortably loose.
-The second person should lie facedown on the other person, so that the two are stomach to stomach (or pelvis to pelvis, whatever they’re comfortable with); their two bodies should make an X.
-Lay the net on top of the people, keep the edges in place with sandbags. The room should be large enough to provide space for the audience to walk the perimeter of the netting. The X made of people should be placed somewhere off-center.
-The two people should breathe at roughly the same pace but may shift their bodies around as needed to fit their individual comfort levels.
Event Score: When Waiting for Someone
Put on your shoes, like usual. These should be good shoes for walking, you need the distraction of motion, of kneebend and pavement. Walk to the nearest body of water, do not put headphones in, you need to hear where you are. Focus on what birds you can or cannot hear, move with them, consider their pace and timbre, consider the pace and timbre of their absence. If you see other people on your walk, nod at them, but do not say hello or exchange pleasantries. You may not stop, only take note of the vegetation, and rocks— pick two or three up, but swiftly. When you reach the water, say your own name three times. Throw rocks if you have them, consider your lover on another shore, perhaps also throwing rocks. Know that this is enough.
Event Score: Conditional
1. Ask people to fill in the following blanks anonymously.
When people don’t have time then __________________________________.
When you end the day you ________________________________________.
When you are feeling pressure then __________________________________.
If you didn’t want to be here you’d be ________________________________.
You are really You when __________________________________________.
If this room were empty then _______________________________________.
2. Give them $5 for sharing their thoughts, shake their hand if they are willing.
Event Score: Pilgrimage
Put a stone in your left shoe every day for the rest of your working life, but do not tell anyone about what you are doing. On your deathbed, reveal all, call it a durational performance.
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