Category: Home

Secrets of the Lost Room

Samuel Davis / / Documentation, Home, Performance process, Research, West Parade

After extensive research and from information that I have gathered, I can speculate that the house on West Parade was where a commissionaire may have lived. We also know from council records and the house itself that it was built in 1932. The notion that the history of the space can influence and seed into a performance is something I became interested in.

Using this as a stimulus, I intend to use found texts to generate the feel of ‘the past’; receipts, photos, TV guides, stories, newspapers, mail, shopping lists and leaflets will build up an extensive amount of material. My aim is that this will make it impossible for the audience to gather a full picture of what any of it means. This ambiguity is not to confuse or trick the audience but to create the feel of a room that has been left untouched for many years. If someone were to open it, they would have to sift through the material to work out what happened in the space. Rather than looking for what has happened in the space, it is instead what hasn’t happened here – ‘things’ haven’t been thrown away.

This has largely been influenced by a guidebook called Rodinsky’s Whitechapel – this guides readers around London’s Jewish East End.

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“Workmen refurbishing one of Spitalfields historic buildings have revealed a twenty year old secret. They have uncovered a lost room in a weaver’s attic room on Princelet Street. The room was the home of a reclusive Jew called David Rodinsky.” ((Lichtenstein, R. (1999). Rodinsky’s Whitechapel. London, Artangel.))

This exposed and ‘lost’ room had been an undiscovered time capsule for over 20 years; a thick layer of dust, spectacles, a cup of tea and a pan of porridge left on a stove were just some of the objects that had been left in 1969 when Rodinsky suddenly disappeared. A plethora of his work, personal and miscellaneous objects were scattered in the attic room.

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A photo showing Rodinsky’s Room as it was found in 1980. ((Forum.casebook.org (2012) East End Photographs and Drawings – Page 122 – Casebook Forums. [online] Available at: http://forum.casebook.org/showthread.php?p=63682 [Accessed: 7 Apr 2013].))

Rodinsky was known by the locals at the time and some people from the street even grew up with him as a child. Lichtenstein herself had a direct connection to Princelet Street as she was the granddaughter of Polish immigrants who had settled there in the 1930s. She became obsessed with Rodinsky, trying to find out who this man was and why he mysteriously vanished in 1969 “Overtime, my obsession with the story grew. I began to excavate the boxed-up remains in his room. At first this arbitrary archaeology revealed little, the objects seemingly mute with the loss of their originators voice. But slowly, through careful examination of his vast collection a faint image of a man began to emerge” ((Lichtenstein, R. (1999). Rodinsky’s Whitechapel. London, Artangel.))

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Photograph: Rachel Lichtenstein – A to Z taken from Rodinsky’s Room. ((Lichtenstein, R. (1999) AtoZ. [image online] Available at: http://www.rachellichtenstein.com/content/rodinsky%E2%80%99s-whitechapel-1999 [Accessed: Sunday 7th April 2013].))

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Photograph: Rachel Lichtenstein – A note found in Rodinsky’s Room. ((Lichtenstein, R. (2013) Note found in Rodinsky’s room.. [image online] Available at: http://www.artangel.org.uk/projects/1999/rodinsky_s_whitechapel/statements/michael_morris [Accessed: Sunday 7th April 2013].))

Her growing obsession and personal relationship with the Jewish East End led Lichtenstein to create her own art and performances from it.  The huge amount of detritus she collected from a seemingly mysterious man formed part of these performances and art; this was reflected in her performances that were “themselves broken in nature”. ((Guardian, T. (1999) The lost spirit of Spitalfields. The Guardian, [online] 22 May. Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/1999/may/22/books.guardianreview9 [Accessed: Sunday 7th April 2013].))

Lichtenstein never managed to figure out exactly what Rodinsky was like. She had often heard conflicting and contradicting memories from people who knew him “He was, according to different witnesses, both very short and very tall. He was backward and he was a genius. He was rich and he was poor. He was painfully shy and he entertained others by playing the spoons in a local cafe. He was clean-shaven and he was bearded. There was no photo of him. At times he seemed like a man who did not exist.” ((Guardian, T. (1999) The lost spirit of Spitalfields. The Guardian, [online] 22 May. Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/1999/may/22/books.guardianreview9 [Accessed: Sunday 7th April 2013].)) Comparatively, our own performance is similar as I intend to gather a mixture of found texts that will not expose a specific event that has occurred. Of course, with the amount of material filling the space, it will perhaps create a broad and vague sense that something has happened in the space; something has happened, but no-one will know what. Currently in the space we are frozen and still, this sense of being frozen in time links to Rodinsky’s room on Princelet Street as it remained frozen for over two decades. What happens when a space that is frozen, still, motionless and unmoving is injected with bodies? This very notion is something I am going to explore, there will not only be these scraps of detritus and junk but a living presence that contrasts against this sense of a neglected static space.

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Our own detritus and material that has been collected. Photograph by Sam Davis

As mentioned earlier, Lichtenstein used “arbitrary archaeology” ((Guardian, T. (1999) The lost spirit of Spitalfields. The Guardian, [online] 22 May. Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/1999/may/22/books.guardianreview9 [Accessed: Sunday 7th April 2013].)) to uncover the material in Rodinsky’s room. A similar occurrence will happen in the house on West Parade, there will be no direct connection between one object and the next.

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David Rodinsky’s headstone, 1999. Photograph by Rachel Lichtenstein

The confessions of a hoarder

Lauren Elizabeth Walker / / Home, Performance process, Research, Uncategorized
A Hoarders front room

Hoarding is a form of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) it usually begins early in life, and can be seen in children. Children create extremely intense attachments to objects and have a tendency to personify things. Hoarding expands to become a modest problem in the 20’s and 30’s and becomes a severe problem in the 40’s and 50’s. Hoarders feel attached to their objects for several different reasons. These attachments take the form of attaching human- like qualities to lifeless possessions, feeling grief at the prospect of losing the objects, and deriving a sense of safety from being surrounded by objects. Other beliefs hoarders have are the necessity of saving things to keep memories and to appreciate the beauty of the objects. They also believe in not wasting objects or losing opportunities that are represented by them.  When researching hoarders I came across a survey comparing people with OCD who are hoarders and people who are non-hoarders.

 

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This grave shows the feelings and emotions of a hoarder and a non-hoarder.

“Living spaces sufficiently cluttered so as to precluds for which those spaces were designed” ((Nedelisky, A, & Steele, M 2009, ‘Attachment to people and to objects in obsessive-compulsive disorder: an exploratory comparison of hoarders and non-hoarders’, Attachment & Human Development, 11, 4, pp. 365-383, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 7 April 2013.))

                This quote was taken from the survey/ article and I think it relates very closely to our performance, we are setting out to make our audience feel uncomfortable. Making it difficult for them to walk through a living room like you would in any other normal house. Giving them the feeling that they would actually experience in a home of a hoarder. They will walk into the room, and be in total shock at what they see, but try to not disturb and act as if nothing is it out of the ordinary. Something that most people would do when they are faced with something unexpected when they are guest in someone’s home, the experience we would like to give the audience is one they have never experienced or seen before. Our group do not want them to enter and us to perform and show them our room; we want them to take what they want from it whether that is disgust shock or fascination. The audience may understand the reasoning behind our performance, and why the room is full of pizza boxes and beer cans but they may not, but really it doesn’t matter we are there no one really knows why or what has occurred before they opened the door but that doesn’t matter. ((Etchells, T 2006, ‘Instructions for Forgetting’, TDR: The Drama Review, 50, 3, pp. 108-130, International Bibliography of Theatre & Dance with Full Text, EBSCOhost, viewed 7 April 2013)) ((Fugen, N, Steven, W, Jennifer, A, & Dean, M n.d., ‘Compulsive hoarders: How do they differ from individuals with obsessive compulsive disorder?’, Psychiatry Research, 200, pp. 35-40, ScienceDirect, EBSCOhost, viewed 7 April 2013.)) ((Fischer, S 2001, ‘A Room of Our Own: Rodinsky, Street Haunting and the Creative Mind’, Changing English: Studies In Reading & Culture, 8, 2, p. 119, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 7 April 2013.))

 

Are you a Hoarder?

Tiffany Abatilda Thompson / / Home, Performance process, Research

Over time we accumulate things and memories from our past and present such as; letters, photos, birthday cards, invitations etc. We then become stuck in a rut with not being able to throw them away because the sentimental value they have. In my own room at university I’ve filled it with photos, teddies and pointless objects that remind me of home, by doing this it has cluttered my room but I can’t seem to take thing’s back home to un-clutter it. Without these things in my room I’m reminded that I’m not at home just a room 50 miles from home.

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My Photo Wall: 155 West Parade
Reading Rodinsky’s Room and finding out what was left in his place after he disappeared in the 1960’s then reopened 20 years later we see the life he had by the objects he collected over the years. When the room was finally opened “Every space overflowed with books on subjects ranging from the Talmud to the study of Hieroglyphics”  (( Lichtenstein, Rachel (1999) Rodinsky’s Room, London: Grantab Books. p. 11 )).Rodinsky was an intelligent man that taught himself language’s that isn’t known now.

With our performance we thought of filling the space to show the audience that the space has been lived in, in such a dead room. Similarly, with us being still in a room covered and filled with memories and documents gives away clues to what sort of people we are. We want the audience to feel like they haven’t seen everything when they think they have.

The Veiled Woman

Lauren Simpson / / Home, Performance process, Research

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(http://www.robincamille.com/2009-03-22-veiled-lady-femme-voilee/) accessed: 12/03/13

“Men do not think of themselves as cases to be opened up” ((Showalter, Elaine (1992) Sexual Anarchy: Gender and Culture at the Fin de Siecle London: Virago Press. page 134)) in a sexual context. They want to carry out the act of opening to get the feeling of power and domination. They can choose a time and a place for this act to be carried out which takes away any power from the woman.

“They gain control over an elusive and threatening femininity by turning the woman into a “case” to be opened or shut.” ((Showalter, Elaine (1992) Sexual Anarchy: Gender and Culture at the Fin de Siecle London: Virago Press. page 134))

With reference to our performance, the cupboard represents the metaphorical case. It is opened by another performer but will invoke different audience reactions depending on the gender of the performer. If a male opened the cupboard to reveal a naked, bound and gagged female, it would come across as much more sinister than if it was the other way around.

A female is generally considered to be the more vulnerable. For instance, when walking in the street at night, a lone female would be considered to be more at risk. So what would happen if we were to reverse that? How would a man feel if his power was stripped away and suddenly he became dominated by the same woman he was once in control of? How would he react? Would he then actively take on the role of the submissive?

If a text is being read to them by a female through their headphones while they are looking at the same female tied, gagged and blindfolded, they will sympathise with her. They will feel a sense of guilt if the text makes out that it is their fault that this character is in such a vulnerable position. If that text suddenly subverts into an accusatory text aimed directly at them, their role is instantaneously reversed. Their gaze becomes entirely different to what it was before. It becomes “both self-empowering and self-endangering.” ((Showalter, Elaine (1992) Sexual Anarchy: Gender and Culture at the Fin de Siecle London: Virago Press. page 146))

To accompany the shift in text, the ‘sub’ female in the cupboard will remove her blindfold and make constant eye contact with the voyeur. This in itself will be an unnerving experience, without the added pressure of the instructions on the recording. Lifting the blindfold is a powerful image “for what lies behind the veil is the spectre of female sexuality, a silent but terrible mouth that may wound or devour the male spectator.” ((Showalter, Elaine (1992) Sexual Anarchy: Gender and Culture at the Fin de Siecle London: Virago Press. page 146)) The idea of the veil was linked with femininity and was used in a ritual context. The blindfold could be considered to be the modern day veil for rituals like BDSM.

The Impossible Tasks

Elizabeth Soper / / Documentation, Home, Performance process, Research

“They are ‘outsiders’, but oddly appealing.” ((Williams, David and Carl Lavery (2011) Good Luck Everybody: Lone Twin: Journeys, Performances, Conversations, Wales: Cambrian Printers)).

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Photo taken: 21/03/2013 – ‘Library Student Card’

 

Lone Twin’s performances are durational and throughout the performance process ideas are formed, either from audience members or situations, and these are added into their work. One piece of work, called ‘Sledge Hammer Songs’, was one which consisted of them in the street in green plastic capes and hunting horns. They directly addressed the audience and started having conversations with them. Good Luck Everybody discusses this idea of them being outsiders and displaced which I find particularly evident in my ideas for performance. “..their outdoor outfits do not belong in any urban context, and their behaviour sets them apart from anyone else around.” ((Williams, David and Carl Lavery (2011) Good Luck Everybody: Lone Twin: Journeys, Performances, Conversations, Wales: Cambrian Printers)). They asked the audience to sit in a circle. Gary consistently danced around this circle while they told stories they had heard as they travelled and toured with the piece.

Thinking about their work I have decided to take on the task of writing as many things that would be impossible to achieve in a rabbit costume. I will trial them and make a film of them to document my progress and to see whether they are in fact impossible. These impossible tasks are in and out of the home, and range from everyday normal activities to random ideas. For example; opening a bag of crisps to getting into a nightclub while being dressed as a rabbit. Like Gregg and Gary I can use these stories I have collected on my travels as the white rabbit and tell them to my audience over a cup of tea in the kitchen. The idea of telling them stories, asking for their feedback and using their reactions will create another story for later audience members.

I have decided to decorate the kitchen with things that I own to make it more homely, creating a friendly atmosphere. During my adventures as a rabbit I have managed to get a student/library card made in which I have used in some of the videos. This will be hung up on the wall to help decorate the space, showing something I have collected along the way. There’s also something nice about having a student card reading ‘Libby the White Rabbit’ and giving this sense of identity to the role and sharing this with my audience.

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This makes me again reflect on Bobby Baker’s piece; The Kitchen Show. I like this idea of the absurdity mixed with the norm and the humorous contrast that it portrays. It is something I very much hope to achieve in my performance – holding a normal conversation and doing everyday things in the kitchen, yet they will be somewhat impossible to accomplish in a rabbit costume.