In the Basement

 

The basement in my parent's house was my haven for much of my adolescent life, it was my slice of privacy from my three younger sisters. I spent most of my time there making drawings and lip synched dance routines to Pat Benatar and Olivia Newton John songs. After I discovered the Go-Gos, I became obsessed with the idea of starting a girl group with my sisters and cousins. I came up with a great 80s concept; we would be called Roy G Biv and each girl would be named after a color. Of course, I wanted to be Indigo, I made a record cover, but  that was as far as the idea went. 

image from In the Basement

Unconditional

Yesterday I performed Unconditional in my apartment in Murfreesboro, TN. This instruction is inspired by all the pets I've known and loved. Growing up, we always had cats, there was Mittens, Fluffy, Cinnamon, Topaz, and Crosby. We also had a guinea pig named Blanche and a raccoon named Applesauce. When I moved to my first apartment in Lancaster, PA, I took two strays from my parents house. Paisley and Isadora became my constant companions and they moved with me over ten times in Lancaster and later in Baltimore. They always slept curled together and were tolerant when we inherited Maxwell from an irresponsible roommate. I lost all three to old age and still miss them dearly!

Currently, I share my home with Gromit, Blue and Nico. Gromit is my first dog. He was put into my arms over eleven years ago. He came into my life during a lonely and difficult period and he taught me about love with his open and eager heart. He is the best dog in the world!! Blue (also known as Velvet) joined our pack in 2006. Blue was not a stray and as a result he is incredibly well adjusted and sweet. He wakes me every morning with kisses and mild suckling. He reminds me of Carolee Schneemann's kissing cat. Nico is the newest addition. Gromit and I found her on a freezing December morning in the gutter outside the Baltimore house. She's only been with us for a few months and she is adjusting well to the luxuries of indoor living.

I can't imagine a life without animal companions and I am forever grateful for their unconditional love!

images of Unconditional

Unconditional by Andrea Biller

Unconditional by Joanie Biller

Unconditional by Erin Piper

Unconditional by Pam Rehm

Body/Object

Today I began the Memoir project with my performance of Body/Object at Middle Tennessee State University. I chose this instruction as the beginning because it is derived from my first official performance action. Twelve years ago as a graduate student at Towson University, I took a performance class under the direction of Gagik Aroutiunian. I had been interested in performance, but was intimidated by the idea of engaging in a public spectacle. For our first assignment, Gagik instructed the class to create a body/object ritual; we were asked to interact with an object in an unexpected way. I was utterly unnerved on performance day as I made my way to the front of the classroom to quietly sew threads onto the palm of a glove I was wearing. The action was intimately tied to repetitive actions I was using in the privacy of my studio, and it was a revelation to realize that I could make a performance work which was silent and introspective.

My work grew dramatically over the course of the performance class, and I was profoundly impacted by the sheer power of live art. It is rare in our daily lives to sit and watch another person enacting a ritual. Both as a student, and later as a teacher of performance, I have been moved by the evidence of the human spirit embedded in the live performance action.

I dedicate this instruction work to Gagik in thanks for his introduction to the vast and deep world of performance art.

images of Body/Object

Memoir is a companion to my 2004 performance project Echo. Both projects are indebted to fluxus art, and to Hans Ulrich Olbrist's project Do it!  I've also been influenced by the collaborative project, Learning to Love You More.

I encourage viewers to enact these instructions and to write instructions based on their own lives.