Third Rail Projects Blog

posted by Tom Pearson

Zach Morris & Elizabeth Carena

Friday’s dance from Undercurrents and Exchange utilized the plasma screen by the North Corridor and linked the video component of our work to the daily live presentations [See Video Here]. We discovered that putting a dance near the area of highest traffic (the corridor leads to the food court), but without blocking the way, we forced people to make a choice, to either stop or to keep walking. But, there was no ignoring the fact of the performance you had to walk through.

As you’ll see in the video, many folks did continue briskly on, sometimes self-consciously, between the camera and performance. But what you don’t see is the large crescent of audience members who formed, at a safe distance, in front of Zach and the screen.  

Something about the localized activity near the most interstitial of spaces in the Winter Garden allowed them to hit the pause button on their  fast forwards. I would postulate that several other hooks grabbed their attention as well: the use of multi-media, the upbeat and funky electronic score by Kris Bauman, and the hip-hop echoes in the movement. These components are the right combination of the familiar and extraordinary that made some re-negotiate their propensity for dismissive-ness. Though as Marissa said a week or so back, it’s nice to figure out all the hooks we can give people for any given piece and then try to get away with using as few as possible.

Read the rest of this entry »