Task 34 - Unrelated Ideas
Marie writes:
Two unrelated ideas:
1.
I rediscovered an ‘assignment’ I did in 2016 for a module at Independent Dance as part of my MA studies in London as I was preparing to present my practices and my working methods for a potential PhD supervisor at Aarhus University last week. The assignment I created was about the ‘body as an archive’ and it was delivered partly in writing and partly as a short performance. I worked with newspaper for this performance: I used it to stuff under my top (see image from performance rehearsal below). The performance was an investigation into the newspaper as a trivial object and my physical connection with the feel/texture of newspaper, and the newspaper as an archive of more of less trivial information.
2.
You and Lisa are at the moment bonding over absurdist conversations and games: one bit of dialogue between the two of you is used in my response 33. I treasure witnessing this and seeing her develop a taste for Monty Python and The Ministry of Silly Walks or watching a fan video of clips from Beetlejuice (1988) featuring the song Jump In The Line sung by Harry Belafonte. The juxtaposition of text, dialogue and my body for the video I created for response 33 was intentionally nonsensical. Looking at the result now it is an absurd piece of work—at least in the everyday use of the word. I want to stick with this absurdist mode for this task.
Your task
Your task this week is to combine the two: the triviality of newspaper and the absurdist games/conversations you and Lisa invent! I have left you a stack of newspaper in your office space at home for you to use.
You may think of utilising the newspaper in the same way as I did (as a re-enactment of my performance piece). You may also think of a completely different way of employing it.
In your response reflect on the relationship between ‘the absurd’ and ‘the trivial’ either through film, photos, installation or performance.