#10: Removing 7 items
I am an only child and have been entertaining myself my entire life. The trip to the Cloisters was no different.
Much of my artistic inspiration comes from historic works found in Museums. The Parallelshow brought inspiration found from the environment and those occupying it.
After the initial gathering as a group we split up for the day to perform/investigate/exist consecutively with the public without their knowledge that a performance was occurring. My first action was to take self portraits via the self timer option on my phone in the arcade while removing an object of clothing per image.
Many times before I have done similar actions and performances for my camera (and whomever may be watching) with the intention of questioning the acceptability and inclusion in an Art establishment as both a living and breathing nude female and artist making work, or if my and/or the nude female cisgender body is only acceptable if portrayed by another (often male artist) as a 2 dimensional object becoming palatable and thereby acceptable to the art goer at large.
The plan was to remove everything but the sweater and hat, which would result in a nude with an ode to my ancestry.
Until now, no one in The Parallel Show has had any knowledge of my experiment.
I was able to remove 7 items before a female security guard asked me to put on my shoes, to protect the grounds.
After watching me try and take a self portrait, she decided that I needed some directorial assistance and became part of the process. Her suggestion was to zoom in and it worked!
After we created the above shot that we both liked, I decided to move on to a new space. At this time I had noticed a creepy male guard not only observing me but circling me more than his peers.
So I headed to the bathroom:
The rest of the time before lunch was spent following other performers and watching the guests interact within the Museum.
We had a tasty lunch full of conversation and shared ideas of actions to create during the rest of the day.
I shared my enjoyment in mimicking people often without their knowledge, and unexpectedly discovered that I prefer for my intentions to remain unknown for when I encountered my fellow performers there was an expectation that the game would be played.