Sunday, March 1, 2009

Concept

In making the public space and the performance space intersect we endeavored to force the audience to encounter themselves as the subject. There are certain scopophilic pleasures in being seen and being surveilled. Spotlights and search lights inspire fear but also become sources of pleasure. Even without the artiface of art or theater people perform. The public space always exists as a performance space.

This projects was an outdoor lighting installation that sought to examine the ways in which people interact with light. Theatrical lighting instruments, a traditional tool of subject illumination, are directed in to the space occupied by the audience. By installing our lights in a large central public space on campus we confronted the audience about their role as performers in the public space.

The project was dynamic and changed over time. As people interacted with the project, the project will evolved. The project took into account the changing behaviors of individuals in the public space. Performances change from night to night. Therefore the audience is confronted with a different object on each night.