I DON'T SEE DEER - PHOTO SERIES

Waiting for the bus

I DON'T SEE DEER - video #1

Walls and sreets

Poppies

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I SEE / I DON'T SEE

I see people walking

I don’t see someone walking backwards

I see a lady putting on her jacket

I don’t see someone walking around in their underwear

I see someone coughing with her hand in front of her mouth

I don’t see someone crying

I see a bicycle stopping at the traffic light

I don’t see someone running fast

I see an elder man holding shopping bags

I don’t see someone carrying a person on their back

I see a woman clenching her palm in a fist

I don’t see a woman clapping her palms together

I see a woman swinging her right arm forth and back while she walks

I don’t see a woman swinging both arms forth and back at the same time

I see a woman lifting her left leg and looking under her show

I don’t see a woman lifting both arms in the air at the same time

I see a man walking with two hands in his pockets

I don’t see a man walking with two hands on his head

I see people sitting on chairs

I don’t see people sitting on cars

I see dragging a trolley

I don’t see dragging each other

I see looking at the cell phone

I don’t see avoiding looking at the ground

I see scratching

I don’t see not touching anything

I see walking forward

I don’t see walking backwards, on all fours or any other way

I see people carrying window dolls

I don’t see people carrying people while dancing

I see people being serious

I don’t see people smiling

I see myself observing and a lady observing me

I see people acting differently when they are alone and differently when with others

I don’t see the same freedom

I see more people walking alone

I don’t see companions going to a party dancing

I see elderly walking on the inner side of the street

I don’t see keeping a straight route /  not doing ‘slaloms’ around people

I see people not looking at me – when they do, I wonder, is something wrong?

I see people carrying things

I don’t see people carrying each other

I see people looking at something (their phones)

I don’t see people looking at each other

I see people walking next to or behind each other

I don’t see people walking back to back

I see people walking stooped

I don’t see people skipping

I see people  walking slowly

I don’t see people standing still

I see stopping to read something on the street, a sign for example

I don’t see standing all together under a tree

I see walking and eating cheese pie

I don’t see walking and falling asleep

I see crossing the street

I don’t see standing on the crossing or running across at the last moment

I see waiting for something standing still

I don’t see waiting for something sitting on the ground or exercising

I see people walking

I don’t see people rolling on the ground

I see one gambling

I don’t see many gambling

I see many holding something

I don’t see others carrying them

I see empty chairs

I don’t see empty street crossings

I see someones going somewhere

I don’t see many arriving

I see 2 bikers

I don’t see 2 girls from the synchronized swimming team

I see people

I don’t see deer

I see signs

I don’t see destination

I see triangle with trees

I don’t see park

I see rules

I don’t see …

I see people holding cell phones

I don’t see people holding balls

I see people walking forward

I don’t see people walking backwards

I see cars

I don’t see rollers

I see talking

I don’t see singing

I see people on the sidewalk

I don’t see people on the grass

I see people looking and moving in the same direction

I don’t see people moving without looking where they go

I see each one finding their route

I don’t see bumping on each other

I see walking all on the same level

I don’t see climbing on mantels, cars, benches

I see each one’s hands in their own ‘space’

I don’t see touching others and the objects in space

I DON'T SEE DEER - a walk in the west side - video #2

DOCUMENTING GESTURES

I lower my gaze to listen better to my friend that I walk with

I turn my head because I saw or heard something that drew my attention

I hug a passerby because I happen to know them

We walk hand in hand because we walk together

I walk (slowly and) with my head high because I am looking for something

Adjusting of clothes

Short staccato movements

like pinching

sketch of hands on the chest, thumbs on the straps of the backpack

she swings the flyer

she counts with the fingers         (little girl on dad’s shoulders)

she looks around

hand on hair

2 girls talking holding cell phones + looking more or less everywhere vs talking + playing si Mario

In order to make a decision to change they have to stop walking vs cheering + then running

When 2 people walk they rarely change position vs when 4 people walk they change positions

In order to talk they are: sketch of people face to face vs sketch of people on top of each other

WAITING:

Hands tied in front of me. My palms touch my arms. My head turns right-left and looks. My base is stable and fixed. It is also asymmetrical. My gaze looks for what I am waiting for.

ADJUSTMENT OF CLOTHING:

With my right hand I touch my left collar and center it

ADJUSTMENR OF HAIR:

With my left hand I take a stride of my hair and twist it. The rest of the body walks normally.

FEAR OF THEFT:

With my left hand I extend the head of my arm and turn it inwards. The elbow bends towards the center of the spine and my hand turns counter clockwise.

Sketch – Bodies bypassing public works

Fingers and then caressing of face

He touched his nose and his ear.

Identification of features

Mobility issues – hunchback

Blowing nose

1 hand available

0 hand available

Sign of cross

They pass close to you like I invade your personal space. They refuse to change route.

Smile

Hand in the pocket that is not curious or doesn’t look for something

Caressing his belly

He is hungry, full, sensation of fullness

Pointing direction

I turn and look back

I wait for someone to come

In order to continue my route

Twisting hair

Thoughts according to intensity

Stress, insecurity, impatience or fiddling

Movement of head and one arm downwards

She tried to make someone listen to her or impose what she says

A man wiped his face on his arm and then brought his arm on his face

A sitting man points with his straight right arm towards a direction – then he stands

Sketch of hands holding books – a girl walks with a stack of books that she holds in front of her belly with stretched fingers

A man takes of his helmet with two hands, lifting the shoulders at the same time

Crossed arms in front of belly

Shaking crumbles of my blouse

Making the sign of cross

Holding my fists on my waist

Lifting my arms in front of my eyes and taking a photo with my cell phone

1^st session – in the studio – 3 hours

Aggelos, Artemis, Konstantinos, Stella, Faedra, Foteini

Goals

• group bonding
• introducing the concept
• first discussions and explorations

Warm up

Tune in my own walk - walking paces – scale 1-10

Tune in with the group – accelerando – ritardando

Trust and awareness – one falls, the group is responsible to catch them

Discussion

The last exercise worked well as an introduction to the concept: what is it that changes and lets me know that something is ‘off’ (someone is falling)? A change of rhythm, a change in the speed, a suspended pause, the reaction of others.

We discuss what is considered normal in a public space and what not. (We do not discuss what is a public space – I usually refer to the street). Insights that come up:

Having a clear goal for an action – for example running to catch the bus vs running up and down the street. When the intention of the action is readable to the viewer it is usually considered accepted. (we do not discuss the issues of what is performance and who is performer/audience in the public space, but it is underlying in the discussion)

How natural the body posture looks or not – for example waiting does not mean pausing

Observing – recording

Find the ‘opposite’ – written exercise:

I see ……………………………… I don’t see……………………………………..

Foteini suggest we try to exhaust the ‘opposites’ of one action

5 gestures – written exercise

Brief sharing with the group – we will work on those next time.

Movement research

The bench – use it normally – use it irregularly

Follow the group

End discussion

Questions that come up:

Improvised or set?

Interaction with the space?

Interaction with the people?

Empty space or crowded?

What a behavior means in relation to the context of the space where it happens

Personal reflection

My feeling was that the group was attentive and curious. We all offered a lot of input and creativity verbally and physically.

The timings of the activities worked well. Also the goal of bonding the group worked well.

The written exercises where articulated in an open way, so there were different interpretations. This way it led people to be more creative with their answers, but it reminded me that if I want something specific I have to articulate it more specifically.

2^nd session – public space – melenikou square – 3 hours

Aggelos, Artemis, Konstantinos, Stella, Faedra, Foteini

The place is a lot busier than I expected!

Dominant aspects / vloeistof

We started by discussing the dominant aspects of the space - what attracts our attention in the moment. Then, one by one we ‘showed’ aspects / details of the space to the group, in a physical way. We came up with: details, surprises, actions, conditions.

Konstantinos played with the physical elements of the space and surprises.

Aggelos played with the traffic light sound, with the crowding in the entrance of the bridge, and with sun and shadow.

Faedra used color – yellow to highlight her position

Artemis played with details of the space and with people’s movement

Foteini played with trees and dogs.

I played with statues and people.

We tried to do the same in groups, but the space was huge so it was hard to be aware of the others – it became more like solo performances happening at the same time.

In one big group we moved in the space as a flock. When one would propose something we all had to follow. This led us away from the square, towards the back of Rotonda, where it is more quiet, then back to the busy side of the square.

Group reflection

At some points, there were too many things going on, so it became hard to understand what to follow and how to transition from one thing to the next. Also there was no crescendo -development in the actions, the energy of the group was always flat, so every action had to come to a stop in order to pass to something else. There were some more harmonious moments, when there was less movement, pauses and focused eyes. These were also the moments when passersby reacted more and wondered what we were doing. Otherwise people did not pay too much attention. Being in a group somehow justifies irregular behavior.

There were some moments when we were changing our point of view –eg lying down – looking up – looking at details when being very close to something (the ground, a wall, a tree) – How can we change the audience’s point of view?

End discussion

I asked the group to propose other spot they would like to visit:

A crowded bus stop

A place that has the feeling of a stage

A busy street

The seafront (I explained why it wouldn’t work for me – it is too much of a leisure place – the water poses a limit – it is too loaded visually – there are lots of street performers etc)

We also discuss on the costumes - how can they highlight the concept?  I ask them to bring casual clothes in bright colors or patterns to see what works visually.

Personal reflection

I am surprised and happy that all are open to this kind of work – I was only guessing before.

I regret not documenting the little solo performances in photos and video. In the moment I felt that I would intrude too much and wanted to just let things happen, but now I wish I had. Anyway, I am thinking to ask them to develop some of the ideas and make short videos then.

These two first rehearsals were in my planning more introductory, but now I really have to take some decisions and choose 2-3 directions that I want to develop more. Also, I have to talk to Danae (the video maker) to discuss some options.

Sharing / feedback session - public space – melenikou square – 2 hours

Konstantinos, Stella, Maita, Vaggelis

With a different group we visit the same space. It is Saturday afternoon and the square is hardly busy (it was a Thursday last time). We go through the same process:

We discuss the dominant aspects.

One by one we ‘show’ something of the space to the others. This time we are a lot more analytical in discussing, but the physical actions are more fragmented. I am surprised that I discover more aspects of the space than the ones that I noticed or saw from the others in the last session.

Then, we move in the space in groups of three, one stays back to observe and take notes. This time we manage to stay more aware of the group and move together – it helps that the place is much calmer. I think that for the same reason, we stay inside the square this time and we take more input from the material aspects of the space that from people (there are hardly any).

The feeling of the group is more harmonious and tuned together.

One question that comes up is how/what if we initiated the whole process from the body and then towards the space. It seems that now we are doing the opposite, starting from the space and using the input to move – how would a reverse process be? To start with movement, or the senses, how/what the body feels – a more somatic approach.

CREATION DIARY

3^rd session – in the studio – 1,5 hours

public space – melenikou square – 1,5 hours

Aggelos, Artemis, Konstantinos, Stella, Faedra, Foteini, Xenia

Xenia joined the group today, so I decided to take some time in the studio again, to give her and the group some time to find a new balance.

Warm up / impro

We worked with the written observation exercises that I asked them to do between sessions. Artemis also brought some beautiful video clips of micro gestures that she filmed – it was great to have that visual reference as well. Everybody took somebody else’s notes to improvise with, so we were not working from memory and images we already saw, but from words on a paper – this led to the movement – gestures being more clear and sometimes more abstract.

We did the flock again, basing it more on gestures and less on changing directions. When we were done, we tried to recreate the same series of movements from memory.

Discussion

What is it that makes a gesture recognizable and memorable – a clear intention or a clear form.

Similar questions to last time: how to make smooth transitions – how can we break the rhythm

Synchronicity highlights the issue of natural/not natural – there is no synchronized movement in the public space –is there?

Intimacy

I introduce the concept of private acts taking place in the public space as another kind of off pattern behavior. We discuss examples:

touching oneself / scratching, touching somebody else / hugging, combing hair / braiding hair, unbuttoning, finding comfort, closes eyes / sleeping, crying, being completely still

Stillness is accepted / understandable when there is an external focus where action is happening, ie watching a football game on a screen

Meetings exercise

One person stands across the room and someone else comes to meet them – there has to be some kind of contact / touch. Play with the idea of the limit – when is it inside the limit and when is it out.

Public space

Then we went outside. I had in mind to go somewhere else but there was not enough time, so we went to the same square. We choose a spot, a bench and we play with the idea of comfort – how can I be comfortable on the bench – how can I be comfortable in public. We let it go a lot off limit!

Then we form again the flock – in a limited space this time.

Personal reflection

I realize how important the space itself is. In my mind this square was a convenient space to use for practice, a ‘rehearsal space’ and then we would go somewhere else. But I realize that we have studied this space a lot and a lot of the ideas formed for that specific space, so it makes sense to use it for the video.

I realize (again) that there is no ‘rehearsal’ and ‘real performance’ when it comes to the public space. The rehearsal is the performance and the performance will just be another rehearsal. It feels clarifying to realize and accept that. So, I look at what we already have and I make a storyboard of the scenes that I want to include, so I can discuss it with Danae who will make the video.

4^th session – public space – tsimiski street / bench – 3 hours

Artemis, Faedra, Foteini, Xenia

Today the boys can’t make it, so I decide that we will work a scene only for the girls. We do gesture improvisations on the bench and we build it from ‘natural’ to ‘strange’. First all together, then two or three, while the others observe. We work on that idea for the most part of the session.

Then we move to Ag. Sofias – a pedestrian street. We go along the street several times as a group, trying to alternate between a ‘natural’ to a ‘strange’ state all the time.

Later I have a talk with Danae. I show her the videos that I have made and we discuss possibilities. She suggests that the soundtrack could also play with this idea of off pattern, maybe with the use of strings incorporated into the city sounds. We decide that she comes to the next session, to try out some frames.

5^th session – various public spaces – 3 hours

Aggelos, Artemis, Konstantinos, Stella, Foteini, Xenia + Danae

Today Danae joins us to try out and decide on the frames. I propose seven different scenes I would like to shoot – but only four are more set and worked on. The rest are ideas we have work on but we try out in a specific location for the first time. So of course they don’t really work! For example I had this idea of the group waiting at the bus stop and the camera filming from across the street – but there is too much traffic, so cars and buses stop in front of the camera all the time, we never get a frame. We find out that the tree that we are using in one scene is pruned! We find a way to make it work – I think even better than before. Another scene is on a street crossing / traffic light – Danae is not happy with the image and the light of the location I had in mind. A third scene we try out in a pedestrian street doesn’t work at all, although the frame and the location are quite nice. I decide on the spot that there is no more time to work on it, so this one will be cut off. For the other two I have to find time to scout for other locations tomorrow - the final session is on the day after tomorrow!

Later in the evening Danae and I look together at the frames she shot and decide which ones to use, at least for the locations that we have settled on, and we make the schedule for the shooting session.

Also, today everybody brought red tops and casual pants, so we decided to go for red for the costume.

6^th session – final – various public spaces – 5 hours

Aggelos, Artemis, Konstantinos, Phaedra, Stella, Foteini, Xenia + Danae

Today magically everything falls in place! The only issue was that our time was limited so we had to rush, especially towards the end – also everything took much longer than scheduled.

We start with the ‘easier’ shots involving one or two performers. Then we move on to the new locations we chose for the bus stop and street crossing, which work perfectly. Here not much is set for the performers, just a general score – but everybody is super-creative and the group works super well together! We get a lot of interaction and questions from people around.

Personal reflection on the whole process

On working in the public space

Once again I realize that there is no rehearsal in the public space – nothing can be rehearsed or recreated – everything just happens once and it will be different the next time we try it out. The rehearsal is the performance every time. Nothing can be recreated, maybe only open-ended scores. Also, the ‘rehearsal’ brings more of surprise, of irregularity, of ‘interruption’, as it is often unreadable for the passersby. When we were filming with the camera it was easy to recognize what was going on as ‘normal’, as some kind of ‘art’ – we were getting more questions and interaction. During ‘rehearsals’ my guess is that people, either didn’t realize that ‘something’ was going on, or if they did they could not immediately ‘read’ what it was, which led to some awkward moments. This was more intense when only one person was more visible vs being in a group.

On writing prompts

Compared to previous times that I experimented with writing prompts, I find that this time the writing exercises I proposed worked better: the goal was to create a common understanding of the concept, through observing, noting down, sharing and reflecting. The exercises were more clear and precise and the overall concept was less broad than the previous times.

On method

This whole process was about observing specific public spaces and testing out some hypotheses – that came from theory research and from our own subjective experiences and observations of the city. Goffmann says that […]the propriety of an act can only be established by systematic empirical research. And he goes on to admit that his book is full of unverified assertions. So is my project… But, once again:

• It matters little to me that these questions should be fragmentary, barely indicative of a method, at most of a project. It matters a lot to me that they should seem trivial and futile: that’ s exactly what makes them just as essential, if not more so, as all the other questions by which we’ve tried in vain to lay hold on our truth. (Perec, 1973)