Lab 2 Documentation

‘This work is a document of the processes leading to it- a body that bares traces of its past.’ Tim Ettchells

So Monday comes around and if I’m honest I haven’t got a clue what I’m doing for this lab. If I’m really honest I still don’t. I decide to go about it by blogging and therefore validating my thinking. It reads as follows -

“I’m not going to lie; god knows what I’m going to do for this lab. Of course I am aware of what issues I am dealing with at the moment steaming from personal endeavor and knowledge through to documentation and validation but I’m worried that in dealing with certain parts of this I am beginning to loose others. In particular due to the nature of my research question ‘To what extent in documentation validation’ this strand of my practice seams to be taking over. Not that I am opposed to this organic development seeing as the 3000 word essay deadline is approaching but in terms of the lab situation theses ideas have there difficulties. I am beginning to contradict myself. Bollocks.

I wish to show my opposition to documentation but within a lab situation the problem occurs that I can either show a piece of work or show the documentation neither of which helps highlight my point.

I also find myself increasing being pulled away from my usual simplistic way of working in order to fill requirements or play to a specific audience. This is stupid. The pointless endeavor part of my practice screams for spontaneity and simplicity why should the necessity of validation spoil this?”

With this in mind and with the weight of the institution on by back I decide on a plan of action. Please bear in mind that at this point I was panicking any decision was a good decision. If I could validate my time spent through ‘trying out ideas’ that was what I would have to do. Back to the Blog -

“Ok plan of action – undertake as many of the ideas I have had but not carried out up until this point because they seam silly.

1. Wiki Quiz Show – A pointless endeavour of playing the on line version of who wants to be a millionaire (for no money) getting all the answers from Wikipedia in order to win.
2. Wiki tenuous link – A learnt tenuous link from the joys of Wikipedia following the endless stream of blue links to unrelated pages.
3. Common Knowledge – Story telling of my ‘non-event’ at the fine art interim show – documentation makes the non-event an event
4. Dave Gorman re-enactment – A re-enactment of a re-enactment of the event where Dave didn’t loose his keys.
5. Personal achievement list – A list of all my days ‘achievements’ i.e. – ‘I didn’t fall asleep in the car on the way home’
6. Self-documentation – Learn something for the entire day then prove it.
7. A failed personal endeavour – Set your self up to look like your going to achieve something then fail to do it.
8. Common sense – Documentation (story telling) of my ‘Chase’ game show audition in which I loose my common sense.
9. EHow’s guide to performance art – Follow instructions to create a piece of work (Validity through instructions)
10. A Performance Utterance – Text = Performance

Can this its self be my lab? Can documentation of these be validation of my lab endeavor?”

I write this, contemplate the idea and then some how forget about it.

I think at this point it’s a good time to mention that I am self-editing here. Taking apart the extracts from my blog and reordering them to add validity. So the part of my blog I am now going to mention actually appeared in between the two afore mentioned sections. Please note however this is still the truth just re-ordered for clarity.

“I feel I am being forced to take this too seriously. I DON’T DO SERIOUS! I take the Mick that’s what I do. That’s what my work does. Why should I feel force to change this through context?”

With this in mind I decided to have a tea break. I would worry about it later I didn’t need to validate my Mickey taking right now. Again I write this, contemplate the idea and then some how forget about it.

“Ok time to tick some boxes and validate my pre-documentation” –

I answer the Questions on the guidelines sheet we were given by Douglas.

1. What are you hoping to achieve?

To counter act the Richard Dedominici affect of producing a chapter of unrealized ideas giving validity to an idea through the documentation of it. By doing this he hints at the idea of work never really needing to happen and the documentation or in this case the pre-documentation is validation enough. In relation to Austins performative utterance simply by saying that apiece can exist makes the work exist its self.

2. Why do you want to achieve theses things?

To question the status of live art when performance becomes documentation.
To validate my endeavor
Challenge pre-existing ideas in order to reaffirm them.

3. What research questions are you asking?

I like to believe I am addressing both conceptual and theoretical issues – using theory to explain a concept – Austin’s performative utterances in relation to performance status through documentation. Helping to inform both my practice and my research.

4. How are you going to achieve your aim?

I think this has been addressed above but I am hoping to produce all of the ideas listed above in relation to endeavor. Document all (data collection) in reference to validation and necessity of an event actually happening. Documentation/ Text as a performance. Links to Austin, Demomenici, Dave Gorman, the Bill Viola text for Douglas’s reading group, Hayley Newman and Plelan.”

Now you would think that in planning out my lab as I had done I would be happy. That I would set of on my merry little way undertaking the tasks I had set out for my self. WRONG!

Instead I got distracted by Nick looking at Gemma Arterton’s face a lot and ate my picnic of cheese crackers and pickles. Monica’s friend was here too. Ok so pointless facts but I’m giving point to them in here so ner!

When Douglas popped in to check up on us I validated my inactivity by showing him my blog and that by planning (pre-documenting) and therefore validating my actions I was killing the pointless part of my pointless endeavor. This seamed to do the trick just nicely.

The afternoon mainly consisted of me cycling around the studio on a stolen bicycle and Monica making me a raincoat out of bubble wrap so I wouldn’t get wet on the way home. O and I was offered a modeling contract thanks to my fabulous runway strutting in the afore mentioned bubble wrap coat. O.K so that last part wasn’t strictly true but I can sense you getting bored and by elaborating the truth I got your attention. Plus the elaboration of a story means it’s not fake.

Does this really matter anyway? This is documentation. If I edited a film you wouldn’t shout at me for twisting the truth. If I photo shopped a picture from a performance you wouldn’t complain because I had tricked you into thinking the lighting really was like that during the actual event. So why should it matter here?

This issue here is obviously validity but furthermore it is all about belief. Belief in the truth or that that is packaged as the truth. By documenting my story and repackaging it as this performance I am not only validating my experience to others but making it bigger and better to get greater validation for something originally quiet pointless.

Anyway the day pretty much became a write off and I headed to the gym where I did 40 million sit ups and ran for three hours straight.

Tuesday came round quite quickly and what started off as what promised to be a productive day by me getting a projector out of the AV store slowly turned out to be more pointless than the day before.

Full of self-doubt I settled on settled on one idea. Something with minimal effect with the most effect. Endeavor without the effort. Point number 10 would work - A performative utterance. I would let the text perform by saying it was performing. Great! There we go sorted. Austin would be proud.

Right so back to a more fruitful endeavor. Knitting mice. Only 930 to go before I can set that world record.

I am happy. I am content. I have a plan for the lab. I tell Nick of my wondrous Idea. He reaffirms what I already know. It’s pretentious! Bollocks! I no this but I need to do something to validate my ideas. I need to tick boxes. I need to justify the time spent.

I apply this by watching 2 hours worth of EHow’s guide to ‘How to be a performance artist.’
I then help to erect Nick’s Tower. And followed this by going to see Jordon McKenzie’s performance in Shoreditch.

When Wednesday arrived and with still no clue of what to do I decided to fabricate a paper trail of my lab endeavor. I write about what I have done during my lab. I drink tea. Write some more. Laugh at Tom dressed as a women and then write what your getting now. This is documentation of my personal endeavor. This validates it.

So last night rolls around and aside from being both happy and worried about now having a plan I am knackered. Though technically I am not finished (as you can see now) for good or for bad I have a plan. So after having a huge shouting match with a friend and bagging a date with a guy call Laurence (mmmmm Lauren and Laurence probably not a good idea) I decide to fall asleep.

I dream of today’s events going horribly wrong, Garrant turns into Edwina and no-one understands that I am actually performing. I get no feedback.

I wake up panicking and a thought occurs to me will I be deemed a failure if I document in an ‘incorrect’ way? If I wish to document through story telling is this expectable in terms of grading? Again the concern here is value. This value of Storytelling as documentation is brought to me though Austin’s Performative utterance, where one is not simply describing what one is doing but through relevance, within context, is actually doing it. I am again content.

I get to the studio and automatically start pulling apart essays to give validity to what I am doing. I am documenting. I am validating.

In relation to Bejamin reproduction and therefore documentation enables access to information. This is about the necessity of documentation but also about the codification of ideas and actions. How much information do you want to receive?

There I go again more information more validation. I stop and read what I have written to clarify this point. Fuck it.

I go to watch the other labs. I even perform in one. I then take my seat in my usual corner of the studio and tell you guys this story. I see you looking back at me questioning my intentions. This makes me nervous. I take a sip of my tea and hope you stop watching me. Your still here. Hasn’t the documentation you have heard give enough value to my pointless personal endevor?

You continue to listen to me probably contemplating this strange re-enactment through story telling misshaping events, losing and gain information wonderding how much is made up. If not all of it.

I give you a reassuring nod.

If its fake documentation is it still valid? Can be made up. Relate this to knowledge. What do you know?

I decide to leave you with these two thoughts

The materiality at the end of a performance holds evidence to the process which may have occurred and is therefore self documenting, but only to the extent of what might have been

This is an attempt to gain purposefulness though the useless. Though is it useless?

Dave Gorman - Sit Down, Pedal, Pedal, Stop And Stand Up

As I take my place in the audience I am reminded that all recording is strictly prohibited. Would my note taking defy this instruction? I decide to do it anyway.

At the end of the show Dave himself reminds me that it is more fun not knowing and that in the world of Facebook and Twitter it is very easy to give things away.

This is why there will be no documentation of this event.

Lab 2 Aims and Objectives/ methodologies me thinks?????

I’m not going to lie; god knows what I’m going to do for this lab. Of course I am aware of what issues I am dealing with at the moment steaming from personal endeavour and knowledge through to documentation and validation but I’m worried that in dealing with certain parts of this I am beginning to loose others. In particular due to the nature of my research question ‘To what extent in documentation validation’ this strand of my practice seams to be taking over. Not that I am opposed to this organic development seeing as due to the 3000 word essay deadline approaching but in terms of the lab situation theses ideas have there difficulties. I am beginning to contradict myself. Bollocks.

I wish to show my opposition to documentation but within a lab situation the problem occurs that I can either show a piece of work or show the documentation neither of which helps highlight my point.

I also find myself increasing being pulled away from usual simplistic way of working in order to fill requirements or play to a specific audience. This is stupid. The pointless endeavour part of my practice screams for spontaneity and simplicity why should the necessity of validation spoil this?

I feel I am being forced to take this too seriously. I DON’T DO SERIOUS! I take the Mick that’s what I do. That’s what my work does. Why should I feel force to change this through context?

Ok plan of action – undertake as many of the ideas I have had but not carried out up until this point because they seam silly.

1. Wiki quiz show
2. Wiki tenuous link
3. Storytelling of my non-event at the fine art interim show
4. Re-enactment of Dave Gormans non-happening
5. Personal achievement list
6. Learn something for an entire day then prove it
7. A failed personal endeavour
8. Re-enactment of chase audition
9. E-how – performance art
10. A performance utterance

Can this its self be my lab? Can documentation of these be validation of my lab endeavour?

Ok time to tick some boxes and validate my pre-documentation –

1. What are you hoping to achieve?

To counter act the Richard Dedominici affect of producing a chapter of unrealized ideas giving validity to an idea through the documentation of it. By doing this he hints at the idea of work never really needing to happen and the documentation or in this case the pre-documentation is validation enough. In relation to Austins performative utterance simply by saying that apiece can exist makes the work exist its self.

2. Why do you want to achieve theses things?

To question the status of live art when performance becomes documentation.
To validate my endeavour
Challenge pre-existing ideas in order to reaffirm them.

3. What research questions are you asking?

I like to believe I am addressing both conceptual and theoretical issues – using theory to explain a concept – Austin’s performative utterances in relation to performance status through documentation. Helping to inform both my practice and my research.

4. How are you going to achieve your aim?

I think this has been addressed above but I am hoping to produce all of the ideas listed above in relation to endeavour. Document all (data collection) in reference to validation and necessity of an event actually happening. Documentation/ Text as a performance. Links to Austin, Demomenici, Dave Gorman, the Bill Viola text for Douglas’s reading group, Hayley Newman and Plelan.