More documentation

The endless documentation and taking notes has perhaps made me think that I should be meticulous about my documentation and select the best bits as I go rather than doing it in one huge bite. It has taken me two days to go through, import and notate the timings of the videos and yet I am still not finished cataloguing or making notes on why I like the bits I have selected. I am now caught between balancing my 'work' and time to myself; a skill we all have to master. I am meeting Alexis later to hand over all the documentation.

After knowing and speaking to Alexis more, it becomes more and more apparent when I review the documentation exactly where she is improvising; something I know the audience would not suspect or catch on to. It's both a skill and a dangerous area. I think the real lesson to learn here is how to get up on stage with just a vague plan to improvise around without freaking out, feeling weird or nervous. I guess it's more to do with being comfortable on stage; being 100% 'okay' with the people there and just performing. I can learn that this may be one of the ways in which I could improve... To 'spill my guts' as I mentioned before I have to be comfortable with this almost Freudian freefall of words, actions, movements and noises onstage and that is totally valid. Perhaps this is more something I have to be comfortable with as a rehearsal technique. Anyway, this is definitely something to think about incorporating in my practice. 

I went out to see a student organised night called 'Art Matters' which was music and contemporary art by the students of Concordia University. I managed to meet a few visual artists as well as bumping into Alexis completely by accident. Still, it was nice to get out and 'mingle with the locals'. It never fails to amuse me when they try and imitate my accent. Someone in the street passed me and said 'Vous avez la classe!'.

I was very impressed...

I also went to La Musee D'Art Contemporanien (or the contemporary art museum) and I was lucky enough to see a 'Sound and Vision' exhibit they had on. I was most intrigued by a piano modified by Jean Paul Gauthier in which the piano began to play as soon as someone entered the room. The funny thing is, I managed to navigate my way around the piano and didn't find out until I was about to leave the room when there was an almighty clang! But still, it was anther example of performance in art; the piano requires a presence to work. I mention it as I keep thinking about installations and this is another example that could easily be worked in to something. I also got to see Christian Marclay's 'Telephones'; something I have read about about never seen., so it was worth it for that alone.

The woman on the door of the art museum said

"Etes-vous un etudiant?"

"Err... Oui. J'etude en Grande Bretagne"

"Ooo... Internationale!" she exclaimed excitedly... 

I think I'm starting to find everything slightly endearing.