First Thursday- my piece 'Private View' 5th February

Harriet Poole: Private View, 8-10.30pm

ok, so here's the flyer for the event at the playground art studio of red shoe films. I'm enjoying developing and adapting my MA and Duckie work to site in new contexts, new challenges are presented and new surprises happen. With my new structuring method of working within a score and allowing chance elements throughout, i want to see how this plays out in different contexts. Lucy's studio very much allows for play and experimentation so a good venue for this :)

this idea has developed from the more literal draft title i blogged about earlier of inside out outside in, to consider more the site, that there are other Private Views going on in and around Regent Studios that same night, and the whole public persona nature of the evening.

i'm still thinking very much about the ideas surrounding intimacy, and in this piece taking aspects of (in)visible exchange, my Nunnery piece (see MA blog) which took place in the functioning closet of an art gallery, (mops, toolboxes and all intact) and rather than being a side room to the edge of the gallery, being an everyday cupboard found in the studio and placed in the centre of the studio/gallery/event space. the cupboard itself perhaps being seen as an artwork, but then the den where you enter into some kind of other world?
See Nunnery photos below;




What changes, what stays the same, what are the acoustics like, will being in the thick of the noise of the Private view force extreme intimacy through closed in proximity, how will this affect the performative exchange that results? Will it be too much?
The idea being: A performative exchange. Can you be private in a private view? How much are you willing to let your guard down?

In questioning our relationship to photography, and not holding on to the moment, I am looking to use DSLR photography, fitting with a private view, and not mobile phone photography, akin more to the pub/club scene.

However, unlike (in) visible exchange and more like The Darkroom, in that there will be many unrehearsed elements working to a score not an embellished rehearsed story, and responding, at least initially, to the participant's stories not my own. I'm running through/setting up on wednesday but the provisional score I like is this;

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Proposed outline of an encounter: the score
Set up: Cupboard with some usual contents inside on a shelf, plus cash box, torches. On top of the cupboard is an art portfolio with the artists' cv at the front, and a stand of the artist's postcards and comments book.

Initiator (Harriet Poole dressed up normally as a audience member of the studio) approaches a person in the studio. She has her DSLR around her neck.

HP talks about the private view event, whether they are an artist, general private view/art event type conversation with a stranger.

HP says, "Would you like to see my work, its called Private view." If yes, HP ask if she could have a photo with them. If yes, she asks someone to take a DSLR photo of her and the participant, if no, she moves on and starts another conversation from the beginning. HP plays back image and shows the participant the image. DSLR goes back round the photographer's neck.

HP takes them to the cupboard and climbs inside with the participant, turns on orange torch and hangs it in the cupboard on a hook in the ceiling. Shuts door.

HP asks them what they keep in their pocket/on their person, and if they’d like to share it.

They then talk about the item if they want to share, and HP may share an item too.

HP then gets out photographic paper from off the shelf in the cupboard, and asks the Participant to put their item on the paper. HP does the same if also told their story.

HP/participant then turns on the white torch light and exposes the photo paper.

HP gets out the cash box and key, puts it on the floor between them, and unlocks it.

HP asks the participant to put the image in the cash box.

They watch the image partially develop.

Performer then turns on out the DSLR and finds the photo of the two of them, and holds it over the image to kill it to black completely.The image of HP and the participant is reflected back in the developer.

HP then deletes the image in front of the participant. The DSLR goes back around HP's neck.

HP wraps/blots the image in a towel/flannel ?? and puts it in her handbag.

The two leave the cupboard, shutting the door firmly behind.

HP stands with participant in front of the top of the cupboard,and puts the photogram from her handbag into a small art portfolio which is on top of the cupboard, and offers the participant one of her artist postcards from the postcard stand. HP suggests it is put it in the participant’s pocket. HP indicates that the participant can leave a comment in the comments book if they so wish.

They are then back into the throws of the Private view/studio event.

The participant and HP leave one another.

Event starts again.
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need to run through this with lucy red shoes and now think about tech set up...... :)