Title: No Bad Ideas
Materials: paper, marker, lights, wastebasket
This assignment required us to create, either a video, or perform live in class. I do not have much experience with performing in public, so I chose to perform in class to step out of my comfort zone. I did not perform for long; I feel I was able to convey what I needed in the short amount of time used.
I wanted my performance to focus on time and the occasional lengthiness of the creative process.
I sat at a desk with a stack of papers, a marker, and a trash can by my side on the floor. To begin, appearing rushed and focused I wrote “good idea” on each paper, paused to quickly reflect, then promptly crumpled the paper into a ball, and dropped into the trash can.
I began another, writing the same thing as before, but in a different size across the paper. A second pause results in the same response, crumpling the paper into a ball and throwing it to the trash. The trash can starts to glow, it flickers or gets brighter with each paper ball added. This continued for most of the performance, until the trashcan was at its brightest, almost overflowing with trashed paper.
I end it with realizing I am out of paper, and un-crumpling the last sheet. A quick scribble is added to the page, and I step away with “My good idea” on the page still on the desk.
If I were to name my performance, I think I would name it “No Bad Ideas”, to reflect the perspective and mindset of myself at the desk working. Although the phrase no bad Ideas can be seen as “there are no bad ideas in brainstorming”; which can encourage one to share their thoughts, it can also be seen as a request for no bad ideas: “No bad ideas allowed”, which can discourage others from contributing anything, especially in a more professional setting like at work.
The glowing trash can operated well, and properly reacted to each paper being added. If I were to present within an art show, I feel a longer, drawn out scene with more silent pauses would have conveyed a creative block almost in real time. I also would have preferred to use more paper that eventually piles over the trash can, but I wanted to limit my waste.