• assemblage_catastrophique_ppayen_2013_agora_01
  • assemblage_catastrophique_ppayen_2013_agora_02
  • assemblage_catastrophique_ppayen_2013_agora_03
  • assemblage_catastrophique_ppayen_2013_agora_04
  • assemblage_catastrophique_ppayen_2013_agora_05

Performance participative pour The Performative Curatorial Studio

Agora, Berlin 2013.

Invitée par les curatrices Judith Lavagna et Lara Merrington à un colloque sur la performativité du curatoriat, on me demande de réaliser une performance qui jouerait le rôle de compte-rendu de la journée. J’improvise donc, pendant le colloque, l’écriture d’une pièce de théâtre comprenant quatre personnages, un chœur et un public. A la fin de la journée je présente le projet à l’assemblée et demande des participants, prenant la position de metteur en scène. Je prépare a l’avance un bouton PLAY sur un ordinateur, qui lance le clip vidéo de la chanson de Queen, Show must go on.

Voir le texte de la performance ci-dessous.

Participative performance for The Performative Curatorial Studio

Agora, Berlin 2013.

Invited by the curators Judith Lavagna and Lara Merrington to a a symposium on the performativity of curatorial, I was asked to produce a performance which would play the role of a review of the day. Forced to improvised during the symposium, I decide to write a theater play with four characters, a choir and an audience. At the end of the day I present the project to the participants, asking for people to take a role in the play and taking myself the position of director. One had the possibility to remain in the role of being part of the public. I prepared in advance a PLAY button on a computer, which starts the video clip of the song Show must go on by Queen.

See the performance’s text under.

Characters:
The Judge
A Chorus of curators
A Public
A, a child
B, a nihilist
C, a shaman
In the play, the Judge can stop and give a new direction
or make a change to the story at any time
A- I want to talk!
B- Why? There is nothing to be said.
A- Because I want to feel that „I“ exists
B- Nothing exists. Say something performative
A- …
(you can say something or press PLAY)
B- That´s a lot of noise for nothing.
The Chorus of curators can discuss a little bit and give
a common critique or commentary
A- I miss the problem, I need something dramatic
C- Ok, Im gonna tell you a story.
Once upon a tme there was someone who took a boat and got
lost in the void of the ocean.
Unfortunately no one gave him a voice to call for help,
so he started to give a little dance.
B executes a little dance
C- This is not the end of the story, but in fact what I
wanted to tell you is that we are linked and we communicate.
A very long time ago, we started to engrave signs
in the earth, our planet.
At this particular time „the beginning“, writting and
drawing were exactly the same thing.
Words and Images come from the same place: leaving signs
of our presence. Coping with catastrophies;
I explain, a catastrophy being in language the end of
the stanza, in our bodies meaning death. So those signs
are erotic, a desire of continuity.
B- Come on teacher, and now i bet you gonna throw water
in the air and turn it into fire.
Tell me something new
A- I have a question: Does it mean that „telling“ is
somehow always performative, as it transforms the Real into Reality?
The chorus of curators, the Public, the Actors and the
Judge are invited to give their point of vue on the
question, or to find a catastrophy to end the play.