MY MYTIC BEING

GET READY FOR THE FIRST AND ONLY "MY MYTHIC BEING"
BE ON THE LOOK OUT

8 BELIEFS

i believe that in the recreation of any performance we not only learn something about the person or persons who have created that work but also something about ourselves and our relationship to that person or persons

i believe that in the recreation of any performance i have a new understanding of that performance in that specific moment in time with the specific people that are witnesses or participants

i believe that in the recreation of any performance i gain an experience that could not ever be gained through text or visual images

i believe that in the recreation of any performance i will change

i believe that in the recreation of any performance it has the same potential to be something entirely different than any other time it was created

i believe that in the recreation of any performance those that may witness or participate in the performance will change

i believe that in the recreation of any performance the artist is responsible for being present

i believe that in the recreation of any performance the artist is not responsible for how those witnesses or participants will change after the performance, but responsible to have hope that change will occur

CATALYSIS

a modification and especially increase in the rate of a chemical reaction induced by material unchanged chemically at the end of the reaction

is a phenomena in which a relatively small amount of material augments the rate of reaction without itself being consumed

the chemical or biological process whereby the presence of an external compound, a catalyst, serves as an agent to cause a chemical reaction to occur or to improve reaction performance without altering the external compound

ADRIAN PIPER: CATALYSIS

"I can no longer see discrete forms or objects in art as viable reflections or expressions of what seems to me to be going on in this society: They refer back to conditions of separateness, order, exclusivity, and the stability of easily accepted functional identities that no longer exist."

"I've been doing pieces the significance and experience of which is defined as completely as possible by the viewer's reaction and interpretation. Ideally the work has no meaning or independent existence outside of its function as a medium of change. It exists only as a catalytic agent between myself and the viewer."

"Art contexts per se (galleries, museums, performances, situations) are becoming increasingly unworkable for me... they preserve the illusion of an identifiable, isolatable situation, much as discrete forms do, and thus a prestandardized set of response. Because of their established functional identities, they prepare the viewer to be catalyzed, thus making actual catalysis impossible(rather that its more comfortable illusion, which consists of filling in the particulars of an aesthetic experience, the general outlines of which are predetermined)."

RECREATION of CATALYSIS VII

ADRIAN PIPER: went to "Before Cortes" show at The Metropolitan Museum, New York, NY, while chewing large wads of bubble gum, blowing large bubbles, and allowing the gum to adhere to face, and so on.


NANCY DOUTHEY: went to “How Artists Draw: Toward the Menil Drawing Institute and Study Center” show at The Menil Collection, Houston, TX, while chewing six pieces of BubbleYum original gum, blowing large bubbles, and allowing the gum to adhere to face, and so on.

RECREATION of CATALYSIS IV

ADRIAN PIPER: dressed very conservatively but stuffed a large white bath towel into the sides of mouth until cheeks bulged to about twice their normal size, letting the rest of it hang down front and riding the bus, subway, and Empire State Building elevator
New York, NY

NANCY DOUTHEY: dressed very conservatively but stuffed a large white bath towel into the sides of mouth until cheeks bulged to about twice their normal size, letting the rest of it hang down front and riding the metro rail, and walking downtown, Houston, TX

RECREATION of CATALYSIS III

ADRIAN PIPER: Painted a set of clothing with sticky white paint with a sign attached saying "WET PAINT", then went shopping at Macy's for some gloves and sunglasses.

NANCY DOUTHEY: Painted a set of clothing with sticky white paint with a sign attached saying "WET PAINT", then went shopping at Macy's for some gloves and sunglasses.

RECREATION of CATALYSIS V

ADRIAN PIPER: recorded loud belches made at five-minute intervals, then concealed the tape recorder and then played it at full volume while reading, doing research, and taking out some books and records at the Donnell Library

NANCY DOUTHEY:recorded loud belches made and then paused to create five-minute intervals, then concealed the digital recorder and played at volume 18 while, reading, doing research, and taking back books to the M.D. Anderson Library

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY