1979.04.29-05.07 FDA (Festival of Disappearing Art(s)) - Baltimore
- tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE
This was probably the 1st festival, that self-identified as such, that I ever participated in & it was a great place to start. It wasn't the 1st somewhat large-scale comunal public event I was part of, just the 1st FESTIVAL. My action was called "T he Phantom of t he Opera" & was originally slated to be presented at the Red Door Hall in Baltimore & then in DC. The DC presentation was cancelled, by me, because there was a protest happening & the cameraman for t he Phantom wanted to attend that. I only remember one person coming for the DC performance, Douglas Messerli, & he came after the decision had been made & John had left. The poster for this festival was designed by Ro Malone. She had wanted to make all the participants' names in all UPPER CASE but I explained that "tentatively, a convenience" was intended to be all lower case so that the name would fit into the flow of whatever language surrounded it. We compromised, at Ro's suggestion, on tOGGLE cASE - which really defeated my purpose but which I liked anyway - thusly leading to my using it more often than the original.
Here's my "Mere Outline 1979" description of the Baltimore presentation:
024. t he phantom of t he opera
- Festival of Disappearing Art(s), Red Door Hall, Baltimore, us@
- Sunday, April 29, 1979, 10PM
- The chairs were arranged very close together so that the audience was seated in uncomfortable proximity. The audience faced a hanging blanket which functioned as a "theater curtain" to hide "where the show would be".
The recessed window nooks were covered with billboard paper with rips in them. Each nook had a sign labelling it "John Wilkes' Booth". Unknown to the audience, John Ellsberry (who was "obsessed" at the time with the Lincoln assassination) was hidden in 1 of the nooks with a black & white reel-to-reel video camera & deck. While Marshall Reese introduced me, I navigated thru the cramped audience - increasing their discomfort & forcing them to interact with me - while John videoed my actions & their reactions. The curtain was then removed, John ripped his way out of his hiding place, & the "real show" of the audience watching themselves on video began. After the audience had watched the tape & realized that they were the "performers", John returned to his no longer secret camera position & the intitial process of me moving thru the crowd while John videoed was repeated. This 2nd time, the audience's participation was more enthusiastic as they tried to remove my clothes & otherwise impeded my progress.
my poster for the event
idioideo at gmail dot com
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