what would I do if I walked into that room lined with I AM cards, and the one I felt I most identified with was already taken? what would that card even say in the first place? do I think of myself instinctually in terms of my relationship to other people, or do I have an ego-centric perception of myself? am I the roulettista, gambling bits and pieces of myself away each and every day? at what point will there be nothing left to give away? so many questions raised by this film/performance/magic act/identity crisis. I don't think I had as visceral a reaction as those in the live audience, but it was definitely a thought-provoking experience. "IDENTITY IS AN ILLUSION" - a thought I've often had, certainly not an original one, but it haunts me and inspires me daily. I enjoyed watching Derek DelGaudio's interpretation of un/reality, but I'm actually most intrigued by the book he sent home with an audience member each night. such trust he placed in them, and such trust they placed in him to share their own interpretation of his work.
when I was a junior in high school, I was in an advanced art class. our last assignment was to create a piece in any medium we wanted for the school-wide art show at the end of the year. I could not remember the last time I had picked up a hammer, nor the last time any clay sculpture of mine had made it out of the kiln alive, but, alas, I decided to design and build an interactive art installation. it was to be a room within the school library. the frame would be made of PVC piping, and I would drape black fabric over it to act as the walls and ceiling. easy.. ----
the structure collapsed before my I even had the chance to start hanging the fabric. of course it did. it was a bunch of flimsy plastic pipes barely held together by plastic tee fittings. the art show was only one day away (I'm the queen of last minute endeavors) but I really did not have the time to rethink the entire structural aspect of my project; I hadn't even gotten to work on the creative elements yet. so the time had come to hold my shit together with duct tape - literally, and lots of it. I duct taped one side of the pipe frame to the wall, used string to pull the sagging other side of the frame upright, and even used nails in a few places. the librarian was not happy about that. It honestly looked like shit, but it held up alright and didn't collapse again. the project ended up winning first place at the art show.
