Seminar Group

Someone suggested that I look at Gillian Wearing’s work, because my videos of people’s reactions reminded them of a video called “sixty minute silence.” Wearing’s video is a 60 minute film of team of policemen and women getting their photograph taken. Its completely in silence, and they simply just try to hold their position for 60 minutes, with the occassional cough, fidget and many blinks. Its got that similar element of awkwardness, holding a position/pose for that amount of time.

This piece of work reminded me of another film I found on vimeo called “smile for the camera.” The subject is left alone in front of a camera for 30 minutes with a single instruction to smile for the camera. She holds this smile, but becomes increasingly more and more uncomfortable and awkward. The smile is so forced, and very unnatural for the entire 30 minutes.

http://vimeo.com/31686707

SEMINAR GROUP

I pitched this idea of embarrassing my audience in an interactive piece for my final work, and it went down well, but it was more of a vague idea.

Then one of my peers came up with this awesome suggestion that I publicly display my viewers doing embarrassing stuff to another audience. So for example whilst the viewer is interacting with my piece of work… something like smiling awkwardly, sitting on a whoopee cushion, touching their nose with their tongue, making silly faces..etc, they are secretly being filmed, and publicly humiliated to the another room full of people. This would involve two different computers in different rooms, and the only way it could work would be on some sort of skype conversation.

On skype you can have a 2 way conversation, but can also only display one person. (opt out of showing the other person)

So in the main room, the person would sit in front of the computer, only see themselves, do whatever in front of the screen, and the whole time they would be being filmed, and displayed to the other room.

THEN when they enter the other room, they will see other people going through this humiliation, and realise that this was them not that long ago… and the best part, is that the person who has been humiliated will not know exactly who has seen them! Which makes it even more awkward, because they will be suspicious of everyone!

All I need to think of now, is what I am going to get my audience to do when they interact with my piece of work. Has to be relevant, entertaining, and realistic. Nothing rediculous that people just won’t do…