November 07, 2009
and with the help of one conversation with a stranger you realize you already know the answer
October 28th.
I don't recall the sun beams, I don't remember feeling particularly warm. I set out to my friends house across campus with my newly acquired tape recorder attached to my bike handles, and my ukulele on my back. For me, that's pretty standard really.
I never made it to my friend's house, but that's alright. They weren't expecting me anyways. As I was traveling, I happened upon a one man band playing on the corner of State Street and North University. I stood and listened for awhile, utilizing my new cassette tape recorder. He saw me recording, saw my ukulele case, and after awhile he asked if I wanted to play with him. I did, and we played. I played one of my uke songs for him, and then he taught me how to play a Bob Dylan song and "Blue Moon". I think the minute I saw him playing I understood realized that I was not trying to get somewhere. I was not racing the clock, I didn't have a goal or desire other than to be where I was at that exact place and time. This fateful meeting, this street performance with a stranger made me feel alive, and in the moment. I also felt exposed and uncomfortable, which is how you know you're pushing yourself to experience new things. We were in a public place playing live music, which was something I had never done before, and it made me feel a little nervous. Also by playing with the one man band, I was associating myself with someone who makes their money on the street. This is also something I don't know anything about, and dominant society usually frowns upon this type of business. So I just interpreted this as an invitation to do exactly what dominant society frowns upon, or at least does not favor.
After five minutes of playing in a two-man band, I was able to put my ego aside, and just collaborate with this new acquaintance. I feel like the moment he invited me to play with him, we were no longer strangers. As I watched him playing a banjo, a harmonica, and a bass drum attached to his body, I noticed that he seemed to reel people in. Maybe they forgot about their own destinations. I am interested in this power of music and improvised performance.
Posted by hucalc at 11:00 AM | Comments (1)
October 21, 2009
"the difficulties that ensued from their commitment"
I have backed maybe a few more steps away from making material objects for the purpose of my IP project. I believe I will realize this aspect of my project at a later time. What began as my one week self-determined obstruction, has turned into a longer leg of my IP project process. The past few weeks have found me working with words, which is something that has not been prominent in my previous work. The words are a result of collaborations I have been a part of with strangers. I have realized that the best way to communicate specific experiences I have had while working on this specific project is through words (to start). Over time the message or portion of the collaboration that I would like to share with an audience may shift, but for now, the story telling seems to be the most important aspect of the project. However, my own responses to what happened, what was said, what was felt during collaboration may provide another outlet to take these very personal experiences and put them in a larger context. For example....
Continue reading ""the difficulties that ensued from their commitment""
Posted by hucalc at 01:51 PM | Comments (1)
