Performance Art

For the performance art project I was inspired originally inspired by Tatsumi Hijikata for the creepiness of his animation, but I soon discovered Benjamin Bennet, who had also managed to create an air of creepy by sitting motionless for hours. I wanted my performance to be a contradiction, in that I am lit up to symbolize the light of life, but remain motionless to create this kind of unnatural feeling to see if that contradiction would unsettle people. That response of being unsettled was what I mainly got from people, especially kids. I was mistaken as a statue until people walked past and I could see them kinda jump and stare at me as they walked past, most people were afraid to get close to me which I found interesting because I was essentially just sitting still, nothing that people would say they get creeped out by, but upon being faced with it they would keep about 10 feet away.

For the technology aspect, I wrapped myself in battery powered string lights, which made people really think I am a statue, more so than just sitting still, it made the stillness more apparent and therefore more intentional to others. I also inadvertently chose a location with a lot of technology around it, with the lit up palm trees and apartment buildings which made me fit into the landscape in a way.

My favorite performing artists would be Benjamin Bennet, Tatsumi Hijikata, and Sankai Juku. All three have an unsettling feeling to their performances and really make people question why they find some movements or lack of any movement unsettling.