endurance performance

For my performance, I scrubbed a bus stop with a toothbrush for three hours. I did not allow myself to speak to or make eye contact with anyone during the piece. I also refused to move out of the way for anyone.

Throughout the time I was there, many people came through to wait for their buses. I could tell that I was making them uncomfortable. Many people wouldn't even come into the bus stop- they would just stand outside and stare. Some tried to speak to me and became frustrated when I wouldn't answer- some just laughed.

It was a very strange experience for me. There were times where I was so fixed on my task that I couldn't think of anything else. I would just scrub so furiously that I would scrape my knuckles on the pavement. Other times, my mind would wander and my scrubbing would slow down. The task was painful. My hands and feet became so cold that I couldn't feel them any longer and when I finally stood up it was difficult to walk. My knuckles and knees were scraped and bruised and my arm became very sore.

What I found to be the most interesting was the wear on my toothbrush. It was far more apparent than the physical and mental wear on my body.

When I was finished, the sun had dried the water and I could see that I did not make even the smallest impact on the bus stop. The floor was just as dirty as it had been. I however, was a mess. I was filthy, sore, cut up and both physically and mentally exhausted. Obviously the bus stop had more of an impact on me than I had had on it.

recording time

For my personal record of time, I kept a sort of time line for my shift at the Box Of Books library. I've noticed throughout the year that it's always the same people coming and going at the same times, so I recorded their library card numbers and how long they stayed in comparison to others.
I've noticed that I can know where I am in my shift without even looking at the clock now.

Artist Critique

While observing the performance peices today, the one that stood out the most for me was, Ari's. As her peice she was leaned over in a bus stop cleaning the ground with a toothbrush. The only things she had with her were the clothes on her back, the toothbrush she was using to clean the ground and the red cup of water. She spent the entire three hrs scrubbing every inch of that bus stop.
Ari's peice used a lot of motivation and tedious movements in order to portray what she was trying to do in her performance. It was almost as if she was trying to clean a public place, which in reality was just going to get messed up again after her performance was finished. I like this peice because of the fact that I was able to relate to it. One summer my family and I went to Montauk and while sitting on my balcony I began to watch an old man with severe OCD he began to wipe the sand off the corners of his towel and everytime he would turn around to get the other side, he would kick sand on the corners he finished and begin again. Just like I had watched this old man, If I had the option I could have watched her performance for the full three hrs.
It really kept my attention. I began to wonder whats going to happen when it dries is she going to go back and start again or is she going to continue till the entire bus stop was scrubbed, and what was going to happen if the toothbrush broke or she ran out of water. Over all, i think that her project was very effective, whether what I thought she was trying to portray was in fact correct or not. It kept my focus and left me wondering, which in my opinion is what a good performance should do.

analysis

In this piece, two young men walked back and forth, opposite each other in a confined space designated by sticks they had set out on top of a hill. On each end of their walkway was a pile of fairly large rocks. Each pass they made, they would uniformly pick up a rock and carry it back to their respective sides. They would never touch or speak to each other and would have to turn to the side as they passed one another. They also wore work gloves.

The visual proved to be very intriguing. Even though the performers were so set in their work, they would never accomplish anything, the piles never changed size and though they were in a large open field, they could never actually go anywhere. The piece just embodied futility. Even the fact that they wore gloves to prevent their hands from being changed by the repetitive action added to the theme.

I also enjoyed the rhythmic sound to the stones being lifted and set down in contrast to the organic, non-sequential sounds of birds chirping in the background. Just as their man-made confined space contrasted with the open field they were in.

Proposal

I, Ari Hendershot, will be using a toothbrush to scrub the bus stop at Alfred State College to the best of my ability from 8am to 11am this Friday.
I will not be allowed to talk to anyone, make eye contact with anyone or take any breaks.
Also, I will not move out of the way or change my course for anyone.

Sonic Postcard

Night Sounds from Ari Hendershot on Vimeo.

I live in the dorm on the end of the hall next to the stairway so this is what I hear all night long.

Automata

The idea was to be able to turn the crank and have a geocentric model of the solar system spin.

Kinetics

Untitled from Ari Hendershot on Vimeo.

Untitled.

Two minuet sound Sonic Cougar

Sonic Cougar Presents "This Might Sound Like Shit But Its Really Good." Coming out of the den with the mission to sonically Maul your ears.