I am reminded of the University of South Carolina production of Ionesco’s Rhinoceros a number of years ago. Like Milgram’s experiment, Rhinoceros was created in response to the atrocities in World War II. The set for the production was a streetscape painted on several spandex panels. As the play progressed and more and more people turned into rhinoceroses, the set stretched up and up, distorting the image and increasing the sense of tension. Another play that comes to mind is Sartre’s No Exit, where hell is other people.
I like your idea of the voltage increasing gradually over the fifteen minute performance (rather than quickly rising at the end.) I also like your ideas of sounds. I think that electric lights make the most sense. I can see fluorescent lights creating an underground lab sort of feel. It would be interesting if the rest of the environment were strangely realistic, as though they are trying to recreate the world in a lab. At first I was thinking it could be a restaurant, where the Learner is the waitress and the Teacher is a customer. Each could wear a big label around their neck, “Waitress” and “Customer.” The Researcher would still be a person in a white coat.
However, I remembered that a huge factor in the Milgram experiment was the physical distance between the Teacher and the Learner. The likelihood of the Teacher stopping greatly increased if the Learner were in closer proximity. This seems important. The experiment itself seems to prove the futility of getting people to question authority. Humans are social creatures, that’s part of what makes us function. But perhaps some good would come of getting people to stop and think more carefully about the people they are hurting, as though they were in the room with them. I guess it’s the same thing and still futile. I don’t know. Our need to respect authority trumps our need to respect our own morals unless the result of our actions is right there in front of us. Is this what you meant by pain=discipline?
We could make a scenario that gets repeated over and over with a single factor getting changed gradually (like proximity of the Learner). This would make it very experiment-like. (The Milgram experiment seems to necessitate three people. How do we get around this?)
I tried to imagine setting up some sort of test for the waitress to complete … such as carrying heavier and heavier stacks of dishes. But even if the Teacher were behind a window watching the Learner, I felt like this would be too close. Knowing whether the Learner completed the task or not would require visually watching her. I thought some more about cases in modern life where there is a real distance and disconnect which perhaps leads to dehumanization. Tech support people from other countries seem appropriate. I could see the Teacher and the Learner getting introduced initially, but then all the Teacher sees of the Learner at first is the response on the screen of a computer. Next level: the Teacher talks to the Learner on the phone. Then finally the Learner is sitting next to the Teacher at the same computer? Perhaps this is too literal. I do like the idea of making the piece more about movements and gestures.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
I did know about the book... I enjoyed reading it, so if you have time I'd recommend it - but I don't think we would need to reference it, necessarily.
Today I did a little scribbling at a coffee shop with some ideas. I wish I could just scan in my notes - not that they'd make sense, necessarily, but they aren't very linear, so it's hard to put them into a linear email message. I will attempt to do so anyway. Sorry it's sort of a mess, but maybe this can get some thoughts going:
** gradual increase to ridiculous/terrible extremes (movement and structure concept?)
(frog in boiling water concept... doesn't jump out if it goes up by increments)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiling_frog
- discipline = pain? pain = discipline?
- is the pain worse for the receiver or the giver of pain - particularly when the implementer isn't doing it completely voluntarily?
--> receiver of "pain"... we see kicking back, reading a newspaper, eating a sandwich, every once in awhile making the sounds of pain (obviously a performance, but sounds real)
--> giver of pain ... see this person in actual physical pain (anguish from having to inflict pain) but trying to behave calmly
--> receiver of shocks perhaps only feels actual pain when they realize that someone is capable of harming them this way
--> both giver and receiver - anger at researchers? anger at each other for their parts in the process? showdown in the debrief room?
(see previous article on debriefing - most recent replication of the experiment)
- kimi's statement "there was no tipping point" ... ?? (i find this intriguing, but not sure how to use it)
- sounds: buzzing, kachunk of "on"/shock, cries to stop, silence
- lights: flashing? one broken bulb? lamp going on and off? shadows? candles (no electricity)?
- slowly drowning a doll in sand (or water) (or something else)
- structure idea: 15 minutes broken down into 15 volts per minute - reaching 150 at the very end...
OR:
minute 1 = 10v
min 2 = 20v
... (stay relatively regular until...)
min 7 = 80v
min 8.5 = 100v
min 10 = 125v
min 12 = 150v
rapidly speed up to 650v by 15 minutes
(increasing multiples... graph...)
** represent the above visually, physically, aurally
- can we pull movement from graphs of voltage somehow? or from the equipment that was used?
- what was i supposed to do? say no? surely researchers (my boss, my mother, my friend, my teacher, my father, the president, the school system, the bank) wouldn't tell me to do something that would hurt someone else. they are responsible. they've got my back. i can trust them to set the parameters, and as long as i stay within them, everything will be fine. they have done their research. (they = food packing industry, our politicians, the people organizing this event, the guards, the lawyers, my therapist, my pastor...)
- "interviews" with the participants?
QUESTIONS:
- how to avoid the didactic/obvious? ... what is/are the question(s) we're asking?
- what is our environment?
- format: lecture, dialogue, scene, parallel monologues, movement/gesture?
- brianne and i could develop parts of this on our own and then put them together/overlap/interrupt... and/or we could all give each other assignments/directives...
- or we could each be responsible for certain minutes of the time (for example: kimi responsible for minutes 1-3, 5-6 and 11-13; michelle responsible for minutes 3-4, 8-11 and 14-15; brianne responsible for minutes 4-5, 6-8, and 13-14)... (or decide randomly)
thoughts? ideas? responses? nay-saying?
Today I did a little scribbling at a coffee shop with some ideas. I wish I could just scan in my notes - not that they'd make sense, necessarily, but they aren't very linear, so it's hard to put them into a linear email message. I will attempt to do so anyway. Sorry it's sort of a mess, but maybe this can get some thoughts going:
** gradual increase to ridiculous/terrible extremes (movement and structure concept?)
(frog in boiling water concept... doesn't jump out if it goes up by increments)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiling_frog
- discipline = pain? pain = discipline?
- is the pain worse for the receiver or the giver of pain - particularly when the implementer isn't doing it completely voluntarily?
--> receiver of "pain"... we see kicking back, reading a newspaper, eating a sandwich, every once in awhile making the sounds of pain (obviously a performance, but sounds real)
--> giver of pain ... see this person in actual physical pain (anguish from having to inflict pain) but trying to behave calmly
--> receiver of shocks perhaps only feels actual pain when they realize that someone is capable of harming them this way
--> both giver and receiver - anger at researchers? anger at each other for their parts in the process? showdown in the debrief room?
(see previous article on debriefing - most recent replication of the experiment)
- kimi's statement "there was no tipping point" ... ?? (i find this intriguing, but not sure how to use it)
- sounds: buzzing, kachunk of "on"/shock, cries to stop, silence
- lights: flashing? one broken bulb? lamp going on and off? shadows? candles (no electricity)?
- slowly drowning a doll in sand (or water) (or something else)
- structure idea: 15 minutes broken down into 15 volts per minute - reaching 150 at the very end...
OR:
minute 1 = 10v
min 2 = 20v
... (stay relatively regular until...)
min 7 = 80v
min 8.5 = 100v
min 10 = 125v
min 12 = 150v
rapidly speed up to 650v by 15 minutes
(increasing multiples... graph...)
** represent the above visually, physically, aurally
- can we pull movement from graphs of voltage somehow? or from the equipment that was used?
- what was i supposed to do? say no? surely researchers (my boss, my mother, my friend, my teacher, my father, the president, the school system, the bank) wouldn't tell me to do something that would hurt someone else. they are responsible. they've got my back. i can trust them to set the parameters, and as long as i stay within them, everything will be fine. they have done their research. (they = food packing industry, our politicians, the people organizing this event, the guards, the lawyers, my therapist, my pastor...)
- "interviews" with the participants?
QUESTIONS:
- how to avoid the didactic/obvious? ... what is/are the question(s) we're asking?
- what is our environment?
- format: lecture, dialogue, scene, parallel monologues, movement/gesture?
- brianne and i could develop parts of this on our own and then put them together/overlap/interrupt... and/or we could all give each other assignments/directives...
- or we could each be responsible for certain minutes of the time (for example: kimi responsible for minutes 1-3, 5-6 and 11-13; michelle responsible for minutes 3-4, 8-11 and 14-15; brianne responsible for minutes 4-5, 6-8, and 13-14)... (or decide randomly)
thoughts? ideas? responses? nay-saying?
150v: Milgram's Tip Final Proposal
Project Description
Milne, Maeda, Waychoff
"150v: Milgram’s Tip" (working title), a performance that will be created over the next month through the collaboration of artists in three different states (Louisiana, South Carolina and Indiana), is an inquiry into the recent replication of Stanley Milgram's obedience experiments.
Milgram's experiments in the 1960s, and Jerry M. Burger's replication of those experiments in 2006, asked research participants to administer what they believed to be electric shocks to others at varying levels, noting at which levels (tipping points) participants said "no" to the authority figures dictating these actions. Most participants never actually refused, despite the apparent pain they were causing another person from the shocks. For many of these participants, 150 volts was the “point of no return;” by this point they either stopped or were highly unlikely to ever stop.
Using these experiments as a starting point, we will ask questions and creatively reflect on obedience, pain, and willingness to inflict pain in a range of circumstances. From these questions and our reflections on them, we will create objects, writing, movement and other elements that will culminate in a 15-20 minute, two-person performance.
We share a belief that our collaborative process is inherently political. The geographic distance we are working across symbolizes the way any artists work at creative distances, whether acknowledged or not. Through embracing this distance (both geographic and artistic), we respect difference and find ways to bridge, but not erase, it. By embracing a process that is one of acceptance, respect and complexity rather than dictatorial predetermination and direction, the final structure of our performance will ultimately reflect these politics. Our process is thus one of embracing any potential tipping points as we go, making decisions that will carry us in unexpected directions that none of us would have discovered on our own.
Milne, Maeda, Waychoff
"150v: Milgram’s Tip" (working title), a performance that will be created over the next month through the collaboration of artists in three different states (Louisiana, South Carolina and Indiana), is an inquiry into the recent replication of Stanley Milgram's obedience experiments.
Milgram's experiments in the 1960s, and Jerry M. Burger's replication of those experiments in 2006, asked research participants to administer what they believed to be electric shocks to others at varying levels, noting at which levels (tipping points) participants said "no" to the authority figures dictating these actions. Most participants never actually refused, despite the apparent pain they were causing another person from the shocks. For many of these participants, 150 volts was the “point of no return;” by this point they either stopped or were highly unlikely to ever stop.
Using these experiments as a starting point, we will ask questions and creatively reflect on obedience, pain, and willingness to inflict pain in a range of circumstances. From these questions and our reflections on them, we will create objects, writing, movement and other elements that will culminate in a 15-20 minute, two-person performance.
We share a belief that our collaborative process is inherently political. The geographic distance we are working across symbolizes the way any artists work at creative distances, whether acknowledged or not. Through embracing this distance (both geographic and artistic), we respect difference and find ways to bridge, but not erase, it. By embracing a process that is one of acceptance, respect and complexity rather than dictatorial predetermination and direction, the final structure of our performance will ultimately reflect these politics. Our process is thus one of embracing any potential tipping points as we go, making decisions that will carry us in unexpected directions that none of us would have discovered on our own.
This talk of tipping points and the Milgram experiment make me think of
supercooled solutions in chemistry. These are liquids that are cooled
well below their melting points. When a seed crystal is introduced, they
suddenly solidify. Bear with me and I'll try to explain the relation in
my mind between thermodynamics and social dynamics.
The interesting and frightening thing about the Milgram experiment is that
there WAS NO tipping point. I'm sure that all of these people honestly
believed that it is wrong to hurt others. The conditions just didn't
exist for them to make that decision to stop pressing the button. While
this is somewhat disappointing, I don't believe it's completely damning.
The seed for change may not have to be a single strong individual who is
able to face down authority. Perhaps it is a community of people who are
able to communicate with one another and make decisions together. How
would the Milgram experiment change, I wonder, if you had such a group of
people making the decision whether or not to press the button? I am not
saying that the numbers would be perfect, but I have a feeling that the
odds would increase that they would stop.
I think that for many people the tipping point between healing and
depression is the same thing . human connection. Part of why Obama's
campaign worked so well is that he brought so many people together. Our
little group is a microcosm of the greater community. In an earlier
message I mentioned chaos theory in connection to how every decision, no
matter how small, leads to a whole host of other unexpected (large scale)
results. But I also seem to remember something from chaos theory that
dealt with this issue of scale and how small things are reflected in
larger things. A tiny grain of sand is in some way related to the
mountain on which it sits. But I think my knowledge of these things is
seriously out of date and was only cursory to begin with, so I might be
way off. Nevertheless, the thought is true: Every attempt at human
connection and communication can lead to great social change. All
collaborative art projects are therefore inherently political.
I think a 15 minute show sounds good.
I'm also terrible at coming up with titles. Here are a few:
The Missing Seed
An Experiment in Questioning
A Primer in Social Dynamics and Supercooling
supercooled solutions in chemistry. These are liquids that are cooled
well below their melting points. When a seed crystal is introduced, they
suddenly solidify. Bear with me and I'll try to explain the relation in
my mind between thermodynamics and social dynamics.
The interesting and frightening thing about the Milgram experiment is that
there WAS NO tipping point. I'm sure that all of these people honestly
believed that it is wrong to hurt others. The conditions just didn't
exist for them to make that decision to stop pressing the button. While
this is somewhat disappointing, I don't believe it's completely damning.
The seed for change may not have to be a single strong individual who is
able to face down authority. Perhaps it is a community of people who are
able to communicate with one another and make decisions together. How
would the Milgram experiment change, I wonder, if you had such a group of
people making the decision whether or not to press the button? I am not
saying that the numbers would be perfect, but I have a feeling that the
odds would increase that they would stop.
I think that for many people the tipping point between healing and
depression is the same thing . human connection. Part of why Obama's
campaign worked so well is that he brought so many people together. Our
little group is a microcosm of the greater community. In an earlier
message I mentioned chaos theory in connection to how every decision, no
matter how small, leads to a whole host of other unexpected (large scale)
results. But I also seem to remember something from chaos theory that
dealt with this issue of scale and how small things are reflected in
larger things. A tiny grain of sand is in some way related to the
mountain on which it sits. But I think my knowledge of these things is
seriously out of date and was only cursory to begin with, so I might be
way off. Nevertheless, the thought is true: Every attempt at human
connection and communication can lead to great social change. All
collaborative art projects are therefore inherently political.
I think a 15 minute show sounds good.
I'm also terrible at coming up with titles. Here are a few:
The Missing Seed
An Experiment in Questioning
A Primer in Social Dynamics and Supercooling
I'm attaching a more finalized version of the proposal. I tried to simplify and clean it up a bit, but then I also added a bit of information I thought might be important. I gave us the working title of "150v: Milgram's Tip" because 150 volts appears to have been the place by which most participants who were going to refuse at all had already done so. I found a report of Burger's that is pretty interesting to read (and gets into some of what Kimi was bringing up - ie, the effect of others on our decisions): www.apa.org/journals/releases/amp641-1.pdf
Let me know if you have any other comments... Brianne, I talked with Kimi briefly earlier this evening and decided to leave most of her thoughts (which I also really like) as subject matter for us to play with, rather than putting it directly into the proposal.
I'm having trouble deciding what, exactly to include as attachments, so if you have any thoughts let me know. From my own side, I would have a couple of script samples, photos of things I've directed and photos of myself performing. I'll try to do a balance of writing and visuals, and give maybe 3-4 things from each of us... does that sound good?
Let me know if you have any other comments... Brianne, I talked with Kimi briefly earlier this evening and decided to leave most of her thoughts (which I also really like) as subject matter for us to play with, rather than putting it directly into the proposal.
I'm having trouble deciding what, exactly to include as attachments, so if you have any thoughts let me know. From my own side, I would have a couple of script samples, photos of things I've directed and photos of myself performing. I'll try to do a balance of writing and visuals, and give maybe 3-4 things from each of us... does that sound good?
Just realized it sounds like we're going to replicate the experiments! :S
So, substitute
"x" will begin with the recent replication of Stanley Milgram's 1960's obedience experiments
with
"x" will be created by reflecting on and responding to the recent replication of Stanley Milgram's 1960's obedience experiments by Jerry M. Burger.
So, substitute
"x" will begin with the recent replication of Stanley Milgram's 1960's obedience experiments
with
"x" will be created by reflecting on and responding to the recent replication of Stanley Milgram's 1960's obedience experiments by Jerry M. Burger.
Hi Kimi and Brianne,
First, Kimi, your thoughts on working sound great. We can keep working on process as we go...
Below is a very rough outline of a project proposal. It is a little long, so let me know what could go. Also feel free to edit, change, supplement... this is coming out of the few emails we've had, but is synthesized by me - in light of the way we're talking about working, I think it is important to have your voices there too (although I don't want to make it more complicated than necessary... right now we just need to get it turned in).
I could also use:
- Brianne's bio
- any photos/images that you each feel represent your work so I can attach them to the proposal
- a TITLE!! (I'm terrible at coming up with titles) (currently the title is represented by "x" below) (and actually, I'm kind of liking the title being just "x" .... hmm... )
- opinions on length of performance (I'm thinking maybe 15-20 minutes, but I'm open to shorter or longer... they are looking for anything between 12 and 30 minutes)
"x" is a piece that will be created over the next month, across distance, between artists in three states (Louisiana, South Carolina and Indiana). "x" will begin with the recent replication of Stanley Milgram's 1960's obedience experiments. Milgram's experiments, and Jerry M. Burger's replication of those experiments, asked participants in the research to give what they believed to be electric shocks to others, and noted at what levels participants finally said "no" to the authority figures telling them to do so.
We will begin with these experiments as fodder for our work, and will examine questions around and reflections on obedience, pain, and willingness to inflict pain in certain circumstances - including relationship to authority, distancing ourselves from the recipient of the pain, and the role of increment (ie, if the pain is gradually increased, rather than heightened quickly).
We share a belief that our collaborative process is inherently political, in that we are making space for each other even as we bring our own ideas to the table, and that we are working across geographic distance (which can also symbolize the way any artists work at creative distances, whether ackknowledged or not) and will need to find ways to cross that distance. We hope that by embracing a process that is one of acceptance, respect and complexity, rather than dictating the final outcome/structure of our performance before we even begin the process, we will trust and allow connections to happen. We will be embracing tipping points as we go, making decisions that will carry us in unexpected directions that none of us would have discovered on our own.
First, Kimi, your thoughts on working sound great. We can keep working on process as we go...
Below is a very rough outline of a project proposal. It is a little long, so let me know what could go. Also feel free to edit, change, supplement... this is coming out of the few emails we've had, but is synthesized by me - in light of the way we're talking about working, I think it is important to have your voices there too (although I don't want to make it more complicated than necessary... right now we just need to get it turned in).
I could also use:
- Brianne's bio
- any photos/images that you each feel represent your work so I can attach them to the proposal
- a TITLE!! (I'm terrible at coming up with titles) (currently the title is represented by "x" below) (and actually, I'm kind of liking the title being just "x" .... hmm... )
- opinions on length of performance (I'm thinking maybe 15-20 minutes, but I'm open to shorter or longer... they are looking for anything between 12 and 30 minutes)
"x" is a piece that will be created over the next month, across distance, between artists in three states (Louisiana, South Carolina and Indiana). "x" will begin with the recent replication of Stanley Milgram's 1960's obedience experiments. Milgram's experiments, and Jerry M. Burger's replication of those experiments, asked participants in the research to give what they believed to be electric shocks to others, and noted at what levels participants finally said "no" to the authority figures telling them to do so.
We will begin with these experiments as fodder for our work, and will examine questions around and reflections on obedience, pain, and willingness to inflict pain in certain circumstances - including relationship to authority, distancing ourselves from the recipient of the pain, and the role of increment (ie, if the pain is gradually increased, rather than heightened quickly).
We share a belief that our collaborative process is inherently political, in that we are making space for each other even as we bring our own ideas to the table, and that we are working across geographic distance (which can also symbolize the way any artists work at creative distances, whether ackknowledged or not) and will need to find ways to cross that distance. We hope that by embracing a process that is one of acceptance, respect and complexity, rather than dictating the final outcome/structure of our performance before we even begin the process, we will trust and allow connections to happen. We will be embracing tipping points as we go, making decisions that will carry us in unexpected directions that none of us would have discovered on our own.
Kimi, Brianne and I talked the other morning (before I got your message) and decided to focus the proposal at least somewhat on Milgram, letting the project build out from there. I think some of your thoughts could work into that as well (I always like layers!). Brianne, I've included some of Kimi's thoughts below.
I'm having a hellish week within a hellish year, but I'll try to get a rough proposal out to you both in the next 24 hours so we can have some back and forth on it before the deadline (in two days! yikes!).
I am wanting to create material and perform, and that is my understanding of Brianne's interests as well. Kimi, what are you interested in doing for this? Are you interested in joining us in New Orleans for the actual performance, or interested in working at this from a distance only? Do you want to write, create objects and/or other designs, perform, and/or something else? Let me know...
thanks, and more later...
michelle
I'm having a hellish week within a hellish year, but I'll try to get a rough proposal out to you both in the next 24 hours so we can have some back and forth on it before the deadline (in two days! yikes!).
I am wanting to create material and perform, and that is my understanding of Brianne's interests as well. Kimi, what are you interested in doing for this? Are you interested in joining us in New Orleans for the actual performance, or interested in working at this from a distance only? Do you want to write, create objects and/or other designs, perform, and/or something else? Let me know...
thanks, and more later...
michelle
Interesting idea about "tipping." I like the idea of a waitress being the
main character. Have you heard of a book called "Waiting." I haven't
actually read it yet, but a friend of mine who is a waitress likes it ...
about people in service industry who are "waiting" to do something else
with their lives. Appropriate, I think, given the other ideas you had.
Brianne's idea reminded me a bit of chaos theory ... yup, something that
isn't talked about much these days. But the idea of decisions being made
that affect other decisions reminds me of the whole, drop of water on the
back of a person's hand moving in a different direction every time based
on wind, pulse, etc, etc. Is creation inherently political? How can
someone not be political ... by not making any decisions? Apathy.
Depression?
Okay, more later ...
Cheers,
Kimi
main character. Have you heard of a book called "Waiting." I haven't
actually read it yet, but a friend of mine who is a waitress likes it ...
about people in service industry who are "waiting" to do something else
with their lives. Appropriate, I think, given the other ideas you had.
Brianne's idea reminded me a bit of chaos theory ... yup, something that
isn't talked about much these days. But the idea of decisions being made
that affect other decisions reminds me of the whole, drop of water on the
back of a person's hand moving in a different direction every time based
on wind, pulse, etc, etc. Is creation inherently political? How can
someone not be political ... by not making any decisions? Apathy.
Depression?
Okay, more later ...
Cheers,
Kimi
Kimi,
Here is something I sent to Brianne (my friend in Louisiana - she is a performer/writer/scholar in performance studies who I met at the Goat Island Summer School this past summer) about possible ideas for State of the Nation:
I've been thinking about the festival's theme (of "tipping points") a bit, but don't have much solid right now. Some brief thoughts...
1) "Tipping" literally - as in, at a restaurant. For example, here's an inane quote in relation to tipping less: "If the rich reduce spending it will ripple through the economy and the people that supported Obama will be out of jobs." Quoted here: http://drhelen.blogspot.com/2008/10/should-you-tip-less-in-obama.html (by a woman who recommends "pulling a John Galt" in response to the recession and Obama's win... another source of potential inspiration)
Also:
http://www.usnews.com/blogs/alpha-consumer/2008/12/16/should-you-tip-less-in-a-recession.html
... and what tipped our country towards voting the way we did? In INDIANA, for example?! Amazing.
2) I've also had a difficult year, and have been thinking a lot about what "tips" us toward healing, or in coming together as a community - which can sometimes be the difficult times in life. But at the same time, we are alienated in difficult times - and can feel "tipped" towards desperation, depression, giving up... I don't know... something around this theme of loss/grief/difficulty and how we deal with it (and can tip one way or the other) is mulling around in my head.
Brianne responded:
I have been thinking about art and activism (the theme this year) and what I have been most interested in is in process. So the way that you put something together is inherently political…you don't have to do identity politics and write a show about an "issue" to be engaging political questions. I think this is something that the Goats talk about and it is also something I have been interested in through a lot of the philosophy I have been reading over the last year or so. By embracing a process that is one of acceptance, and respect, and becoming or not dictating what WILL come of the art you are making, but rather allowing the connections to happen, you are engaging in something political. I'm not sure how this would work. But in terms of tipping points there seems to be something here that I can't quite articulate. Something like if you trust this process you will encounter many tipping points to embrace that will allow you to go in new directions. I think this could be connected with your number 2 as well as number one somehow. What do you think?
I also mentioned to Brianne an idea about the Stanley Milgram experiments that were recently re-done, finding that people are still as willing as ever to hurt each other when authority tells them to. Here's a link to one article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/29/opinion/29mon3.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=milgram&st=cse
So... what do you think? Are you interested? We'd be creating something short (they are asking for 12-30 minute performances), and probably create much of it from a distance somehow. I just need to get the proposal in by Feb. 1.
Let me know if you are interested/have thoughts... If so, I'll get all three of us in touch and discussing ideas.
much love,
michelle
Here is something I sent to Brianne (my friend in Louisiana - she is a performer/writer/scholar in performance studies who I met at the Goat Island Summer School this past summer) about possible ideas for State of the Nation:
I've been thinking about the festival's theme (of "tipping points") a bit, but don't have much solid right now. Some brief thoughts...
1) "Tipping" literally - as in, at a restaurant. For example, here's an inane quote in relation to tipping less: "If the rich reduce spending it will ripple through the economy and the people that supported Obama will be out of jobs." Quoted here: http://drhelen.blogspot.com/2008/10/should-you-tip-less-in-obama.html (by a woman who recommends "pulling a John Galt" in response to the recession and Obama's win... another source of potential inspiration)
Also:
http://www.usnews.com/blogs/alpha-consumer/2008/12/16/should-you-tip-less-in-a-recession.html
... and what tipped our country towards voting the way we did? In INDIANA, for example?! Amazing.
2) I've also had a difficult year, and have been thinking a lot about what "tips" us toward healing, or in coming together as a community - which can sometimes be the difficult times in life. But at the same time, we are alienated in difficult times - and can feel "tipped" towards desperation, depression, giving up... I don't know... something around this theme of loss/grief/difficulty and how we deal with it (and can tip one way or the other) is mulling around in my head.
Brianne responded:
I have been thinking about art and activism (the theme this year) and what I have been most interested in is in process. So the way that you put something together is inherently political…you don't have to do identity politics and write a show about an "issue" to be engaging political questions. I think this is something that the Goats talk about and it is also something I have been interested in through a lot of the philosophy I have been reading over the last year or so. By embracing a process that is one of acceptance, and respect, and becoming or not dictating what WILL come of the art you are making, but rather allowing the connections to happen, you are engaging in something political. I'm not sure how this would work. But in terms of tipping points there seems to be something here that I can't quite articulate. Something like if you trust this process you will encounter many tipping points to embrace that will allow you to go in new directions. I think this could be connected with your number 2 as well as number one somehow. What do you think?
I also mentioned to Brianne an idea about the Stanley Milgram experiments that were recently re-done, finding that people are still as willing as ever to hurt each other when authority tells them to. Here's a link to one article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/29/opinion/29mon3.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=milgram&st=cse
So... what do you think? Are you interested? We'd be creating something short (they are asking for 12-30 minute performances), and probably create much of it from a distance somehow. I just need to get the proposal in by Feb. 1.
Let me know if you are interested/have thoughts... If so, I'll get all three of us in touch and discussing ideas.
much love,
michelle
STATE OF THE NATION V
Art and Performance Festival
New Orleans
March 18 - 23, 2009
A Partnership between Alternate ROOTS, ArtSpot Productions, Mondo Bizarro, MUGABEE, Junebug Productions, New Noise, 7th Ward Community Center, and the NOLA Human Rights Film Festival
--------------- Performance and Visual Art Proposal Form --------------
State of the Nation is an annual multidisciplinary arts festival and bi-monthly series that brings together student, emerging, and professional performing and visual artists from across the United States who are committed to addressing social, political, and economic issues facing the Gulf South. Co-Produced in New Orleans, LA and Jackson, MS annually since 2004, SON has presented the work of over two hundred and fifty dancers, musicians, theater artists, poets, painters, sculptors, filmmakers, activists and educators. Attended by thousands, this festival provides an opportunity to showcase projects and participate in workshops. At its best, it stands as a forum for democracy – a space for the free discussion of current affairs.
This year’s festival will explore the intersection of art and activism through the presentation of original performance, music, film, workshops, visual art installations and site-specific events. It will take place from March 18-23, 2009 at the 7th Ward Community Center, The Studio at Colton and various site-specific locations throughout New Orleans.
------------------------------ More About the Theme -----------------------------
Tipping points are "the levels at which the momentum for change becomes unstoppable" or "the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point.”
The theme for this year’s State of the Nation Festival is Tipping Point. For all artists who are proposing, we ask that you take this theme into account while envisioning your work. In discussions surrounding this theme, questions that have come up include:
How do we recognize when we’re at a tipping point? Is it possible to retreat from a tipping point? (ex. climate change, economic recession, privatization). When does a phenomenon tip over to become encoded in policy? How can art tip policy? How do we make art that tips people? Or pushes people toward a tipping point? How do we create tipping points that generate lasting positive social change?
Art and Performance Festival
New Orleans
March 18 - 23, 2009
A Partnership between Alternate ROOTS, ArtSpot Productions, Mondo Bizarro, MUGABEE, Junebug Productions, New Noise, 7th Ward Community Center, and the NOLA Human Rights Film Festival
--------------- Performance and Visual Art Proposal Form --------------
State of the Nation is an annual multidisciplinary arts festival and bi-monthly series that brings together student, emerging, and professional performing and visual artists from across the United States who are committed to addressing social, political, and economic issues facing the Gulf South. Co-Produced in New Orleans, LA and Jackson, MS annually since 2004, SON has presented the work of over two hundred and fifty dancers, musicians, theater artists, poets, painters, sculptors, filmmakers, activists and educators. Attended by thousands, this festival provides an opportunity to showcase projects and participate in workshops. At its best, it stands as a forum for democracy – a space for the free discussion of current affairs.
This year’s festival will explore the intersection of art and activism through the presentation of original performance, music, film, workshops, visual art installations and site-specific events. It will take place from March 18-23, 2009 at the 7th Ward Community Center, The Studio at Colton and various site-specific locations throughout New Orleans.
------------------------------ More About the Theme -----------------------------
Tipping points are "the levels at which the momentum for change becomes unstoppable" or "the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point.”
The theme for this year’s State of the Nation Festival is Tipping Point. For all artists who are proposing, we ask that you take this theme into account while envisioning your work. In discussions surrounding this theme, questions that have come up include:
How do we recognize when we’re at a tipping point? Is it possible to retreat from a tipping point? (ex. climate change, economic recession, privatization). When does a phenomenon tip over to become encoded in policy? How can art tip policy? How do we make art that tips people? Or pushes people toward a tipping point? How do we create tipping points that generate lasting positive social change?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)