FRENCHMOTTERSHEAD week one, part one

ok, so i'm getting behind on blogging, so much is happening so fast and all....so things a little out of sych :(

PARTICIPATION- PART ONE-11th oct morning discussions- notes i made about the post 'echo' project

feeling slightly anxious about now putting my whole foot into the world of performing (or is this what it was to be?) but also quite excited. i enjoyed our morning discussions about other's work which involved social engagement practices, including andrew and rebecca' s The Post 'Echo' project commanding passersby to recreate headlines through staged re enactions. the project took place over 5 days, created 120 photographs, with 177 people and a full colour 20 page paper.at the paper launch at borders in leeds, 40/120 participants turned up. they tracked key captions from stories (eg black man in his fifties found dead)across a 5 day period in the yorkshire post, printing the resultant paper at the same printers. they used the same ratio of content in choosing stories, eg front pape- had a death item, politics, human interest. equipment- dslr to indicate 'proper photographer' to passers by. used model release forms. worked witn 5 or 6 people an hour, few minutes with each. participants could choose their own caption from a list and then how they wanted to re enact it. issue of possibly trivialising horrific events? project is a comment on the sensationalising through trivialising horrific events. they were drawign attention to things that migth norammly not be noticed and hidden withi a paper so things gieven equal weighting. no names, snippets, flattening the tradtion in the media of giving one event more coverage than another; dinner lady retiring same prescence in paper as tony blair retiring.they thought a lots about ethics. a short term engagement project- stopping passersby. Also did their shops project which is a collaboration with shop keepers following every exchange of money for goods gave out an invitatioon to return for a group photography- norwich east 2007, and finland.

Other references- SPENCER TUNIK- says his practice is not performative,' the photo is the art'- naked people in public venues, mass engagement, vaseline ads stole idea?
made me think of my experiences in annual group photograph, ann marie- lequesne, on stage in the roundhouse last year with mass participants taking a bow, applauding selves. also vanessa beecroft, who selects particpants by a certain criteria eg colour of hair.

discussions also made me think of the marysa dowling, movement of an object and what information/instructions are given in social engaement projects, how immediate is the response in the creation of an artwork eg photo?