On Saturday, June 28, the Seattle Public Library became the stage for the latest incarnation of Oliver Herring's Task piece. A blog has been started to explain the project and record the participants' responses to the experience: Task Seattle
Here are some videos of the event on YouTube.
Posted by Tania
Both shows turned out great. By circumstance the first was on Father’s Day which we acknowledged and the second happened to be the first day that same-sex couples could be married in California[which are recognized in Washington State], which we also acknowledged. The performers were great in both shows, but in general they were a little more relaxed and into their characters in the second.
I was guest curator for the last show of the season ending in 2008. John Wilson was my co-curator. Not having been a curator before I was apprehensive about doing it, but very thrilled as well since I have been a subscriber to OtB for years and have been going to 12 Minutes Max for years as well. I was so thrilled that I skipped plans to go to San Francisco’s Symphonies Black & White Ball, something I haven’t missed since 1981. John Wilson, my co-curator, is a very experienced teacher at Cornish who specializes in dramaturgy.
Here's a review of the show on Seattlest:
Transcendent scenery, creative use of technology, and a clean, uncluttered script creates a piece of theatre that is multi-layered, unpretentious, and totally innovative. READ MORE
The Seattle Times reviews small metal objects:
Seattle's Olympic Sculpture Park is a haven for joggers, dog walkers and amblers.
You wander amid artworks, taking in magnificent water and mountain views, maybe chatting with a friend. But do you ever wonder about the strangers strolling by? And their conversations? READ MORE
Seattle Weekly posted an on-line review of last night's performance.
The audience sits in chairs, listening to the performance in headphones while the actors come upon them out of the crowd, telling the story of two invisible men. READ MORE
Welcome to our review blog for small metal objects. Read our patron reviews, click on the Comments button to read the comments of others and post your own thoughts.
Listen. I want you to hear from me, I mean really hear, but how do I do it in an unapologetic-politico-equivocal, diesel-engine, hyperbolic-radio-shout-advertising-saturated world? Common wisdom is if you want to be heard then you better speak the power language, get on board, put up or shut up. If you can’t do it, you’re weak, apathetic, obstinate, and/or impaired. Challenged. I do a lot of double-thinking, double-speaking just to figure out how to communicate authentically, even with myself. The result can often be publicly embarrassing.
*The author of this blog assumes that you are already familiar with "small metal objects", by reading other posts or summaries, or seeing it yourself.
This piece left me with a rare emotional dichotomy: I'm certain that I understand what happened, how it was constructed, why certain choices were made...and yet I'm simultaneously lost in the uncertainty of meaning that seemed to permeate the piece. DID I GET IT? Do I really understand what I just saw? I suppose it doesn't matter. It gave me a certain feeling, and that feeling was warm and compassionate.
“I don’t want to lose you Gary. ”
To sit within the Olympic Sculpture Park with the mandate to look and listen, aided by microphones and headphones is to occupy a place of privilege. Suddenly, rather then hiding the fact that you are engaged in voyeuristic practices, you are laid bare as a spectacle. The Voyeur. The Audience.
“I don’t want to cry in front of a guy. ”
The story of small metal objects is partly a story of masculinity that, much like the performance, is always in motion.
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