Interactive Performance Description

For my performance piece, I asked four people in Bowne Hall to draw a picture of themselves. Then I had them hold it over their faces for one picture, and on the side for the second one. Originally I told them to just draw their own face, as they see themselves. It was interesting because they all did it for the most part around the same time, and it was interesting to see their reactions to their own drawings, and to those around them. It also was interesting too see their pictures based on their majors, and you could tell the differences in majors based on the drawings themselves. It was interesting for me to see them eager to participate, although they were also a bit confused by it.

Interactive Performance - Draw Yourself

Private to Public -- Putting on Makeup in Starbucks

When I first started thinking about what I could perform in public that I normally do in private, I couldn’t think of anything. But when I ran through my daily routine, something that stuck out to me was putting on makeup. I always put on my makeup in the same place, next to my desk, and I have a specific box with all of my makeup in it located right next to my mirror. It is located in a corner, tucked away from the rest of the room, so its difficult to see me from most areas. Some of my friends have seen me doing this, but unless you’ve spent a significant amount of time in my room you probably wouldn’t. When it came time to choose the place in which I was going to put on makeup, I originally wanted to do it in the Lawrinson bookstore, but it closed too early. So I went to Starbucks with a bag of makeup, spread all of my things out over a table, and I began to apply makeup using my compact as a mirror. I put on mascara, lip gloss, foundation and eyeliner, and I did my nails last. People didn’t look at me too much, only every once in a while; although when they saw my roommate start to take pictures they noticed more and more. I became a bit embarrassed, and I wondered what people thought about it. I could see them staring as she was taking the picture, looking back and forth between the two of us. They all looked confused, and stared until I packed up my things. All in all, it was an interesting feeling – I felt a bit exposed, but not horribly so. I had put on makeup in a public bathroom before, but never just in a coffee shop or somewhere that you wouldn’t associate with “getting ready”. I think this experience showed me just how private putting on makeup actually is to me – something I hadn’t realized prior to doing it in front of people I didn’t know.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTQSWfr89Is