Category: Studio 2

Final full edited version of the performance, taken from two cameras in two corners of the room. No sound editing.

Final full edited  version of the performance, taken from two cameras in two corners of the room, edited to view both angles at the same time with a focus on the projections rather than my bodily movements.

Full, unedited videos from the two individual cameras, showing the whole performance.


Full, edited videos from the two individual cameras, showing the whole performance.


These screenshots are demonstrating the skill taken to perform on the pole, and shows the projections and shadows created during the performance. I enjoyed this performance, and felt confident with the way that it was presented.

Much of the work presented looks at the manipulation of space and the movement of those within it. The Start Project concentrated on the traditional architecture of Yemen, a country that many fled from with their lives. The Forgotten War video highlights the elements of movement, while crushing and destroying the space. Following on from this, I studied my own life, focusing on the manipulation of space and movement. Pole Fitness allowed this manipulation, whilst bringing forth the idea of reactions and sensations for the viewer. The use of multiple screen while displaying Pole GoPro Experiments was inspired by John Akomfrah’s, The Unfinished Conversation (Akomfrah, 2012).
A larger manipulation of space led me to the work of Matthew Barney (Barney, 1992), who performs by mark-making an entire room, and the making of my own pole in the studio, along with Untitled Collection. Untitled Collection showcased the manipulation of space better within a small room, with three separate cameras capturing my body throughout the space.
Feminism and returning the male gaze, raised by Laura Mulvey (Mulvey, 1999) and Jacques Lacan (Lacan and Sheridan, 1977), were a heavy influence from here, as pole is associated with eroticism, strippers and impurity. Valie Export (Export, 1968) and her somewhat crude displays of returning the gaze inspired me to become more daring with my own body, movement and space to communicate ideas more clearly. Performances were produced with accompanying projections and audio. Immersing yourself into the environment of Pole Performance allowed the artwork to say something beyond the walls and created an overpowering space, much like No Crying in the Barbershop, by Pepón Osorio (Osorio, 1994).
Sound and voice were key aspects of Pole Performance; however, it was drowned out by other elements. By stripping the work down to audio, something more personal and powerful was created. Invisible sculptures were created when using two, three and four different speakers in both Feminist Poems and This Is What We Did Exhibition. The manipulation of space, and the movement of sound was inspired by Paul Purgas (Purgas, 2017) and Evan Ifekoya (Ifekoya, 2015). The theme of feminism was further highlighted when displaying with other feminist and identity-themed artworks in the exhibition.
During the progression of Feminist Poems, there was a need for further manipulation of the physical space using light and the pole. Heather Cassils in Becoming an Image, (Cassils, 2012) uses the camera flash to create an intense environment. Using strobe and UV lights on the pole, the audience are only able to gain small pieces of information, recreating intimacy and a physically overpowering space.
A glimpse of the performance creates moments of statuesque provocation, while also highlighting equality and allowing the return of the male gaze.

Blog: www.charlotteabrahamart.wordpress.com

References
Akomfrah, J. (2012). The Unfinished Conversation. [Video] London: Tate Modern.
Barney, M. (1992). drawing restraint. [Performance and Video].
Cassils, H. (2012). Becoming an Image. [Performance].
Export, V. (1968). TAP and TOUCH Cinema. [Video (black and white, sound)] New York: Museum of Modern Art.
Ifekoya, E. (2015). Ebi Flo. [Video].
Lacan, J. and Sheridan, A. (1977). Écrits. 1st ed. London: Tavistock Publications Limited.
Mulvey, L. (1999). Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. In: L. Braudy and M. Cohen, ed., Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings. [online] New York: Oxford UP, pp.833-844. Available at: http://www.composingdigitalmedia.org/f15_mca/mca_reads/mulvey.pdf [Accessed 17 Apr. 2018].
Osorio, P. (1994). No Crying in the Barbershop. [Mixed media installation with barber’s chair, photographs, objects, and videos] Puerto Rico: Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico Collection.
Purgas, P. (2017). Boiler Room. [Sound] London: Art Night.

Because there were several elements that I did not enjoy within Pole Performance Videos, I decided to take action and change them. I wanted more dark spaces within the video, and better clarification of modern feminist marches and speeches. I also needed to add the black at the beginning of the end, to give myself time to enter and exit from the performance area. This was completed in the videos below, where I took the full audio that I were to use in the clip. I found that changing these elements allowed the clips to be more successful. When projecting them, I did notice that the UV clips were still very dark, however I enjoyed working in this slight illumination of the space – it continued the theme of having a glimpse of the performance, creating moments of statuesque provocation, while also highlighting equality and allowing the return of the male gaze.


I then layered these on top of each other, to highlight further the elements used within the two videos, and how they interact with each other. By using this technique, I was able to determine that there was an even spread of different types of clips, including UV pole, spoken poem, and both old and new feminist clips, throughout the videos. It also allowed me to determine when the dark spaces were, allowing me to be prepared during the performance.

I then lastly added the audio that was to be used across four separate speakers. I preferred this outcome to the earlier videos that I rushed through while editing. I did notice, however, that the audio did not go across four speakers when setting up for the performance, but rather two. I found that this was for the better as four speakers may have been too overwhelming, but the two sets of speakers across from the room from each other still allowed for the interaction of audio.

The Spring Exhibition was a little controversial, as some believed that we should have not had this because of the minimal support we had over spring term, due to lecturers striking. The exhibition, however, went ahead. The poster we used [below] was created using the top titles the year group voted for, as many of them had the same number of votes, and was created by Clémence Muller.

I placed my sound piece in a room with several other pieces that looked at feminism, the body and identity. Instead of clashing with the artworks that were already in the room, I felt as though my sound piece enhanced them, and created an invisible sculpture in the spare space around the works. Although this connected the pieces within the room, I also felt that the room wasn’t particularly inviting. There was a piece that covered much of the door, and although there was a sign saying for people to duck in, many peered in and then moved on. This barrier meant that they were unable to listen to my piece and the impact it had on travelling around the room.
Within these, I also uploaded them to YouTube with images of my Pole Performance. I did this, as I found it links the movement that you can hear in the audio pieces, with that of the movement in the performance and in the accompanying videos. I also put these on for ease, as I wanted someone to listen to them, and to associate my previous feminist work with this audio. When showing these, however, I did not show the videos, but rather audio only, meaning that many people would not have this association, but they would still be able to grasp the concept.

Even though this had occurred, I still felt that the piece, and the curation of the room, as well as the exhibition as a whole, went very well. I was able to stand in the room for quite a while to listen to the piece. There was some unintended overlap of speech, however instead of sounding weird, it just sounded like an echo. This echo gave the perception that the space was louder than it was. The use of smaller speakers in the corners of the room gave the effect that no one was there, even though there was always a sound.

I have to admit, I’d never imagined myself being a performer, let alone using projections, videos and performance on a pole. Setting up this room was a little annoying, as the pole itself took two weeks, and then there were difficulties with equipment. I did, however, enjoy performing to the studio group, and receiving their feedback for the presentation of the performance.
It was said that the set up of the performance worked well, in that you are always looking at something. This included the projections, myself performing and also the shadows that were created. There was also a drawback of this; even when it said ‘look at me’, some people found that they were too busy watching the videos to watch me, even if they wanted to.
The use of the blacked out room also made the performance more powerful, along with the spoken word. I did find, however that the black blackout material did not work as powerfully as the white walls, and thus people did not often see that there was a video on this wall. For my next performance, I may try out some of the different techniques of projecting that I tried in Untitled Collection Projections, in order to determine the consensus and the power of this.
My costume choice was also mentioned, as this was something that was rushed and a last minute decision. In my next performance, I would like to explore more my costume choice and how this may affect the power and speech of the performance itself. The power of the speech will also be improved through louder and more empowering speakers.
Overall, I really enjoyed this performance and the ideas and points of view that I was able to present within this performance. Below is two versions of the performance; one that I showed to my studio group and another that I created afterwards, in order to get a full edit from different angles. Below is also several film stills from the performance, used as documentation.