Tag Archives: abyss

Three Things That Have Caught My Imagination…

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An Abyss To Fall In

ABYSS

On Monday 26th January we were set the challenge to perform a subtlemob. We were given a list of instructions and included in this was to find ‘an abyss to fall in’. My interpretation of the caption is the photograph that I captured. An abyss can be perceived as an unknown quantity of space. I believe the photograph also has the power to portray this. The picture captures what is above the hole yet the space or what is behind it is left to our imagination.

Adrian Howells

During Wednesday’s seminar we briefly looked upon Adrian Howells work. Instantly, his work grasped my full, undivided attention. After the session I decided to investigate further into his work to gain a clearer knowledge and understanding of the performance techniques pursued. I discovered that Howells usually worked extremely close with the audience. The performance methods used present the audience making a show of themselves, urging for self-reflection by leaving them to question how they present themselves to the world. The aesthetics of the piece would derive from a personal one to one therapeutic session with the spectator; carefully enabling them to open up. Howells’ practice represents and demonstrates that “theatre is not just something to be consumed but a shared act” (Gardner, 2014) leaving us to appreciate the artistic value as a joint effort on equal parts.

An example of Howells’ most famous work would be Foot-Washing for the Sole, which he performed in multiple places around the world, exploring different cultures.

Link 1 (Foot-Washing for the Sole interview with Adrian): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9PPEbAU5z8

Link 2 (Foot-Washing for the Sole Mini clip): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_a8PDfErtA

 

Site Specific!

As opposed to Howells’ work Foot-Washing for the Sole which categorizes under site generic work, site specific work is designed and created with one place in mind. Site specific performance links a close relationship between art and site, the particular location is completely necessary for the structure of the piece. “site-specific performance engages with site as symbol, site as story-teller, site as structure” (Pearson, 2010, 8)

After my first week and a half of being introduced to Site Specific performance I now feel more eased into the subject and have grasped more of a clearer understanding of it. I believe that keeping an open mind to the subject will allow me to appreciate the full beauty of it.

Pearson, M (2010) Introduction in Site Specific Performance. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Kilkenny Arts Festival (2010) Adrian Howells Interview | Footwashing For The Sole | Kilkenny Arts Festival. [online video] Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9PPEbAU5z8 [Accessed 2 February 2015].

 

TPAM (2012) TPAM 2010 (15 of 17) Adrian Howells. [online video] Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_a8PDfErtA [Accessed 2 February 2015].

Perspectives, The Abyss and Uncertainty

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Perspectives change the way people view things. Each person has their own perspective which can be moulded by nature, nurture, situation and maybe just how they were feeling in that moment. A perspective could differ from one person to the other, but on the other hand they could overlap and have interlocking themes but without being the same. For example, someone could look at a tree and see a home for birds and another person could see a place to shade themselves from the sun. Two opposite perspectives are linked through the tree being used as protection.

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Using this thought and the instructions I was given, ‘A place where you can stare at an endless horizon’ and ‘An abyss to fall in’, I took this picture. The picture shows a seemingly endless overcast sky. The horizon stretches across buildings and beyond, and once I took this picture I could see an abyss, a vast open space where anyone could easily fall into. I tied in perspectives by taking the photo at an angle, this makes it seem like the buildings were further away than they actually were. By flipping the image,

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the idea of an abyss is more prominent than in the original. The black ledge, now at the bottom of the photo, could be viewed as a platform to jump from into the unknown mass of cloud; again it is down to how a person chooses to view the image.

Coming from a ‘straight acting’ background, the idea of site specific performance is daunting and challenging. Overcoming the fear and unease of the unfamiliar will be the major obstacle for myself over the coming months, but by opening my mind to view my surroundings and course with different perspectives will allow me to become more open minded as an actress.