Ali Prosch
May 28, 2009
Polyphony “Polyphony”, staged in an abandoned theatre, traces the path of a performer endlessly traversing on and off the stage. Her “act” consists solely of an encore, and her song is in fact a rising high-pitched scream. A call to arms, as the flowers thrown in admiration seem to rise up in the air in unison with her cry.
Untitled (Fall)
Performance Still
Performance Still
Performance Still
Performance Still
Performance Still
Hi Ali,
Thanks for posting. I’d love to hear about the performance that’s documented above in the series of photos. What did it entail? How did the audience interact with the piece?
At the risk of glossing over significant cultural differences, Polyphony brought to mind Shirin Neshat’s powerful film Turbulent.
Cheers,
Susan
Hi Susan,
“Polyphony and the Green Room” was the title of the site-specific project for Fredric Snitzer Gallery’s exterior space. Consisting of multiple video projections and a one night only performance work. The usually barren plot of land was transformed utililyzing large-scale projections to expand the horizon of the existing plot into a lush garden.
The trailer itself has undergone a reworking to make it into just what it is, a trailer. Upon approaching the trailer, the viewer realizes that admittance is not permitted, as what awaits them is myself partially shielded behind a bead curtain entrance wielding a shotgun. For the purpose of this performance the trailer is my green room, a private space. The interior is off limits; it’s contents known only to me. While my actions are a performance the real stage is seen in the form of a video work titled “Polyphony” projected in the alleyway to the rear of the trailer.
The responses of the viewers was quite fascinating. Many visitors became incredibly irritated by the denial of admittance (mostly men). Some were very aggressive in their attempts to get into the trailer in which I would proceed to cock the gun and repeat “This is a private space, please do not enter” In some cases I had to dig my gun into their chest to get them to walk away.
“Polyphony and the Green Room” questions notions of the interior and exterior as well as Jacques Lacan’s definition of the lack and how it generates desire.