joe + 10/22

I saw the acts that took place 10/22 as more of an installation than a performance. The entertainment from that evening was more in the idea of the performance and the conflicting emotions it created than actually enduring the entire thing. In regards to Devin’s performance, I thought he did a phenomenal job of sticking to his guns and completing a goal by any means necessary. The real fun of his piece was the process in which we learned what that particular goal was. As always, fear played a big part of the night, and questions filled my mind. What makes the horn sound? What did these words mean? What if he doesn’t use the horn? Am I allowed to move? What if the horn makes a really dinky noise, and I’m fretting over nothing? At first I thought Devin was only reading single syllable words, but about thirty minutes in I heard the word “besides”, and thought that he was going to add syllables a time progressed. This reminded me of gradual processes in the arts. Devin’s research topic involves an artist whose work was primarily based over long stretches of time, so I knew that his piece was going to take the entire class/book/patience of the class, and inferring that from early on really let me focus on the reactions of everyone else. It seemed that those who knew Devin the closest felt the least need to stay in their seats. I left after both Daryl and Jason exited. It seemed to me (at the time) that Gene was staying because he was either giddily entertained (or was simply “being the teacher”), Seth was staying out of courtesy, and Corinne was next in line to do her piece. I thought it strange that those who interact with him on a more regular basis were the most comfortable leaving the room.
The simultaneity of performance was a treat, and reminded me of a Cage musiccircus, where many Cage pieces are performed in the same space at the same time. I really liked that Devin’s piece affected mostly my mind (focusing on when that horn was coming), Daryl’s piece was affecting my ears (with describing her dreams and nightmares), and Corinne’s piece was affecting mostly my vision (the brightly colored pumpkin gunk going everywhere) This all created its own unique environment, and is where I started viewing it more as an installation. A room where lots of stuff was happening, but it was easy to pay attention to all of it, due to the nature of each of the respective performances. I think Daryl’s and Corinne’s performances also amplified Devin’s steadfast commitment to see his piece through, and it was good that he didn’t view them as interruptions, but rather as inevitabilities.
I really like how Devin’s performance was even more effective once no one was left in the audience. It’s one thing to do what he did to the end of the class time, but from what I heard, he did it until he couldn’t physically do it any longer. Hitting the hay that night was made much more interesting thinking about whether Devin was still reading that book aloud in a dark art school, with his airhorn by his side. It’s not every day that we get to experience a piece that continues being an experience until the next day or some days after that. I think that the situation caused some interesting reactions from those involved, and I hope that more classes can have the story arc this one did.