Yes, there were performances is a collaboration between Raffaela Bielesch and Veronika Hösch. The work combines both performance and intervention in public space and took place at different sites in the city of Dornbirn during the performance festival Caught In The Act. Michelangelo Pistoletto’s Structure for Talking Standing Up (1965-66) has been transferred into mobile yellow dialogue constructions. The mobile structures are dealing with the dynamics of interaction that unfold the (physical and discursive) space between artist, performer and audience. We built the constructions out of yellow constructions material, which is often used in public environment and construction sites in public space. The mobile constructions took on a performance parcour through the entire city and accompanied various live performances in public space. We have moved the mobile constructions between the various performance parcour stations. The dialogue constructions have been positioned in relation to the occurring performance, location, passer bys and audience. The constructions offered possibilities to interact or could have been used to take a break or as a resting point. Through the permanent state of location change and the new arrangement of the constructions in public space, there occurred new situations for interactions. The constructions also framed the situation itself and functioned as a time marker.

During every new cycle of the arrangement of the constructions we meanwhile spoke a rhythmic text, which deals with factors of time, space, audience and the reflection of the situation itself. The text also functioned as a loop and continued at each performance parcour station at another point of the dialogue between us and we chose to deny a narrative climax. The text declaimed during the performance dealt with the factors of time, space and audience in a rhythmic way and brought up questions of live-performances conditions and it patterned of reception, especially in public space. The abstract dialogue is presented in a loop in which each repetition differed slightly from the previous version. We used repetition as strategy to work on the line of documentation, historization and instutionalization of performance art. The pointed out moments of presence of the performance marked the timeline, in which continuously future becomes past.

The performance Yes, there were performances is a state of repetition and is not fixed at a specific space, it can happen and re-enact itself in pubic and institutional frame.

CREDIT:

Photo documentary by: 

Lisbeth Kovačič und Matthias Rhomberg

Video documentary by:

Jessica R. Hauser

PERFORMED AT:

Caught In The Act, Performancefestival, Co-op: Art Bodensee / Spielboden Dornbirn & Freakwavefestival, Dornbirn (AT), 2014