Esther Neff

NINE (9) PROPOSITIONS in-form operations in and around PPL's lab site in 2018. These NINE(9) PROPOSITIONS propose Performance Modes, stated as intentions to realize/materialize/actualize “performance(s).”

These PROPOSITIONS magnetize temporary, relational collectives/support groups of performance makers to research, resource, and potentially realize performance(s) through NINE (9) THINKTANKS throughout 2018. THINKTANK activities are specific to each of the PROPOSITIONS and designed by the persons involved.

The NINE (9) PROPOSITIONS can be viewed below.

PROJECT TIMELINE/OUTLINE

1.) performance makers and researchers are invited to sign up by sending an email to panoplylab@gmail.com with the subject line THINKTANK by February 1, 2018. Please SPECIFY which PROPOSITION supports your intended performance practices in 2018. Expressing this interest does not commit people to participate in the THINKTANKS emergent from each PROPOSITION. If you put your email on one of the PROPOSITION signs at The Kitchen on Nov. 29* you are already signed up.

2.) AFTER February 1, 2018 you will receive a group email based on which PROPOSITION you specified. These group emails officially initiate the NINE(9) THINKTANKS.

3.) Meetings with/as each THINKTANKS may be scheduled throughout 2018 at Panoply Performance Laboratory (PPL) in Brooklyn, NY. All subsequent THINKTANK operations will emerge from meetings, emails, and other THINKTANK-specific interactions. Forms of activities, projects, collaborations, and any public engagement processes such as exhibitions, publications, symposia or events will be determined collectively and relationally by each THINKTANK (in collaboration with project initiator and PPL organizer Esther Neff).

4.) THINKTANKS will operate starting in February and conclude in November and December, 2018. Beyond the initial PROPOSITIONS and this 4-part organizational score, all structures and situations will be generated in situ by each THINKTANK. Thus, no “product” or presentation/performance is required, though THINKTANKS may share their processes and performances with publics through scheduled events throughout the year at Panoply Performance Laboratory and affiliated sites/venues/spaces.

In-person participation in initial meetings in as well as active written involvement in THINKTANK formation materializes this project.

Please Note: This is not primarily an opportunity to show work, to be “presented.” THINKTANKS are mutually-supportive, co-constructive temporary collectives, performed as intellectual locations for rigorous intra-social consideration of ethics, modes, methods, relations, and processes. While some performance projects (individual and collaborative) may be performed for/with publics throughout the year, THINKTANKS are predominately auxiliary support for/with/as of process and discursive intentions, plans, reason(ing)s, and social investigation of modes of performance.

>>>>>>>NINE (9) PROPOSITIONS<<<<<<<

….REALIZED SOLELY BY PERSONS PRESENT DURING/AS “THE” PERFORMANCE

Potential Forms of Performance: Happening, social dance, conversation, reflexive gathering, authorship negotiation, collaborative process, social practices, situational activity…
Probable problems: who is present and why? Access, involvement, participation, politics of representation and presence, relational aesthetics and forms, forms of instruction, interpretation, scoring, collective-formation, institution as a verb, improvisation, and inscription…

…EFFECTIVELY FUNCTIONING “OUTSIDE” “ART” &/OR EXTRANEOUSLY TO “ARTISTIC” SPHERES

Potential Forms of Performance: “daily” life-acts, activisms, ANY masquerading form or literal realization e.g. preschool, jury convening, protest, psychiatry office, carpool…
Probable problems: capitalism and post-capitalism, modes of production and political science frameworks, framing, divestment, definitions of “art,” art history and art world(ing)s, specialization, inclusion/exclusion…

…PERFORMED BY NON-HUMAN AGENTS

Potential Forms of Performance: Mechanized performance, performance/process by animals, inanimate objects (e.g. melting ice, weathering signpost), robotics, AI…
Probable problems: what and who is “human”? “Artificial” vs. “natural” intelligence, inanimacy, materialisms, humanism and post-humanism, technology and technique, animal and machine sentience…

…INVESTIGATING, STAGING &/OR ENGAGING PARA-NORMAL PHENOMENA

Potential Forms of Performance: Communication with ghosts, aliens, angels, etc, sceance, psychic endeavors, telekinesis, dreams, telepathy…
Probable problems: “The Unknown,” normalcy and normalization, excess and the metaphysical, faith, belief, epistemics…

…INVOLVING ITS OWN MODES OF MEDIATION/MEDIATIZATION AND DISTRIBUTION

Potential Forms of Performance: Disciplinary hacking, consideration of access and audience, documentation, modes of production as intentional performance…
Probable problems: modes of production, economics, mediation and propaganda, negative reinforcement, mnemonics and mimesis, sense and sensibility, access, technology, capitalism and post-capitalism, production paradigms…

…RESEARCHING (P)ARTICULAR HYPOTHETICALS VIA (VARIOUSLY) CONTROLLED EXPERIMENTS

Potential Forms of Performance: Performance as research, research as performance, forms of experiment rigorously pursued using articulated methods, hypotheses proposed…
Probable problems: scientific and other disciplinary “methods,” ways of formalizing inquiry, formalization in general, experimentation in general, research modes, hypotheses-formation…

…HAVING A DURATION OF ONE YEAR OR MORE

Potential Forms of Performance: Life-art, daily/hourly/ongoing performance, framing of autonomic performance…
Probable problems: endurance, framing, integration of “art” and “life,” bodily processes and self care, temporal frameworks and time…

…PHYSICALLY, MATERIALLY TRANSFORMING (MY) BODY’S SOCIAL, POLITICAL &/OR HISTORICAL CONTEXT, APPEARANCE &/OR “ABILITIES” TO PERFORM

Potential Forms of Performance: Surgery, extreme exercise, training, dietary performance, transition, direct race &/or gender-related performativities, privilege confrontation, disfiguration, configuration, incorporation, life-form performance….
Probable problems: Politics of “the body,” identity politics (i.e. “politics”), race, gender, sexuality, ability and agency, embodiment, somatics, bodily control and embodied cognition, self-body dichotomies…

…OPERATING ENTIRELY TRANSPARENTLY ONLINE THROUGH A DIGITAL INTERFACE

Potential Forms of Performance: Interactive performance, survey/surveillance, open-source projects, interrogation and dismantling of “IRL” vs. “URL” dichotomies, encoding and processing performance…
Probable problems: access to, usage and “invention” of technology, networks, information theory, systems thinking, coercion vs. collaboration, distribution of subjectivity, usership paradigms, authorship, encoding and encryption…

*THINKTANK operations were initiated on Wednesday, November 29 at The Kitchen as part of the Emergency INDEX 6 launch party. The NINE (9) modes of performance were derived from the past 6 years of the Emergency INDEX volumes, documenting performance across disciplines, spheres, and contexts. At the live, free, public launch party, NINE (9) sign(up)s were provided as propositions to situate 9 correlated thinktanks. Those present at this event were invited to attach their email addresses to one or more of the 9 physical signs. If you already signed up at The Kitchen, there is no need to send another e-mail, you are already on the list. You will receive an e-mail after February 1.

https://estherneff.wordpress.com/2017/12/04/propositions-ppl-thinktanking/

FIRST PERFORMANCY FORUM OF 2017!!!!!!

LIBRARY!!!!! (https://newyorkcitylibrarycard.bandcamp.com/)
ARANTXA ARAUJO!!!!! (http://www.arantxaaraujotoca.com/)
SHAWN ESCARCIGA!!!!! (visibility and obedience in the fascist state)
IV CASTELLANOS!!!!! (http://www.ivycastellanos.com/) w/ Thea Little, Amanda Hunt and Esther Neff
POLINA RIABOVA!!!!! (honey, roses, shower curtain)
JON KONKOL!!!!! (http://www.jonkonkol.com/)

pay-what-you-can cover

MUTATION AND MUTINY, (DIS)ORDER, OBJECTIONS AND OBEDIENCES, OUR CHAOS RESONATES, AM I SMALL OR AM I LARGE? OUR BODILIES ARE INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIAL, WE BREATHE EACHOTHER'S BIOMES, WE ARE BIOMASS(IVE)

PERFORMANCY FORUM is a critical platform for live art of the undercommons (www.performancyforum.net)

EotW is concerned with (such) holistic totalitarianisms and the generally extractive+coercive use of "analytics" and "choice-determinant" systems, situating and then practicing some critically-related/anti-holistic operations which rupture, puncture, and otherwise make hol-y some deontic subjecthoods and failures to completely objectify, functionalize, and make mimetic particular (how human?) ways of becoming.

"Embarrassed of the Whole" was devised over the course of a couple of years as an investigation into relationships between conceptual holism and totalitarianism/colonialism/universalism/digital and corporate (+ otherwise non"somatic") "personhood"+++: investigations were then used to construct a hypothesizing online survey to be taken by Users, now Userships/lines of inquiry generate and rhizomatically discourse throughout and across February 2017 as practical philosophy presenting, performed in collaboration with, as directed by, and operated by PPL and/or the following Users/operators/"real" persons and "artificial intelligences."

PERFORMATIVE OPERATIONS (BY “USER”*)

Friday, February 3, 8pm: “Christen”
https://www.facebook.com/events/1848546328690708/

Saturday, February 4, 3pm-6pm: “Nina Isabelle” 8pm: “samuel,” 9:30pm: “Geraldo”
https://www.facebook.com/events/1323608584396553/

Sunday, February 5, 8pm: first iteration of “johannagilje”(several times "as occurence")
https://www.facebook.com/events/1406193926118379/

Monday, February 6, 8pm: “aliftig,” 9pm:“elizabethalamb”
https://www.facebook.com/events/146798169157108/

Tuesday, February 7, 8pm: "diane"
https://www.facebook.com/events/240844742992029/

Wednesday, February 8, 8pm: “Sumo”
(TBA)

Friday, February 10, 8pm: “huckjackhexjar”
https://www.facebook.com/events/256603244762792/

Saturday, February 11, 6pm-8pm: “LukeJM,” 9pm: “Tsedaye,” 10pm: “jgladstone”
https://www.facebook.com/events/576694809188754/

Tuesday, February 14, 4pm-8pm: “lovelovelove,” 9pm: “belel”
https://www.facebook.com/events/1444100785600753/

Wednesday, February 15, 8pm: “daver,” 9:30pm: “crossoffice”
https://www.facebook.com/events/282119198871419/

SEE SECOND FACEBOOK EVENT: https://www.facebook.com/events/1814272978840146/

Thursday, February 16, 8pm: “Jessica”
Friday, February 17, 7pm: “Valera,” 8pm: “Zhen,” 9pm: “Aranzazu,”10pm: “raziaisthenameofmycat”
Saturday, February 18, 4pm-6pm: “ElaineThap,” 8pm: “aevi and me”
Wednesday, February 22, 7pm: “jamieburkart,” 8pm: “BenjaminL/T-S,” 9pm: “Adrift Dismantled”
Thursday, February 23, 8:00pm: “Violistakaren,” 9pm: “IV,” 10pm: “Sierra.Elena”
Friday, February 24, 8pm: “Valerie Kuehne,” 9:30pm: “It’s Me,” 10pm: “2sad4dismrkfrshspnch,” 11pm-exhaustion: “abandonedtires”
Saturday, February 25, 7pm: “ilzost,” 8pm: “imageobject,” 9pm: “cafecafè”
Sunday, February 26, 5pm-unknown: “dahvvv”
Monday, February 27, 8pm: “lolotrashbo,” "gantttt"
February 28, 8pm: “tinyfruit”

*Users who selected option "F" generate likelihoods and may or may not be "performed" in forms recognizable as "performance" at some point or throughout the month: "Rae" “Christine O” “BluMom” “laureljay” “hollowobscenity” “cat” “linzdrury” “MatthewGGannt” “Linda” “me” “ultradella” “pmqwerty” “Cbxtn” "Queena"

Performance days are "pay what you can" and open to the public, check back here for daily starting and halting times. BYOB.

We are not whole / You Complete Me / use me / this is not my system / we are not chaotic, we are chaos / we the (un)incorporated

embarrassedofthewhole.online

POST-DANCE SYMPOSIUM, NYC 2016
November 17-20

Conceiving of bodilies both individuated and social as theoretical and practical resources, we collectively and individually approach ways in which culture be (re)claimed, (re)made, (re)formed, and (re)paired by humyns.

DEADLINE FOR PAPERS/SCORES/TEXTS (for simultaneous online publication: November 15, response texts/papers/scores, November 30)

***SYMPOSIUM SCHEDULE: ALL OPEN TO THE PUBLIC***

THURSDAY, NOV 17: DEPART

7pm-11pm: Performances by Mariana Valencia, Zavé Martohardjono, Ni’Ja Whitson, Shawn Escarciga
Matters: appropriation/sampling/mash-up/remix/etc: de-identification, ritual, rights/rites, cultural tradition + queer futurism
Problems: To whom, to what, and how does this body belong? How do we depart without detaching? How are we located in time and timing locating? How are we contextually situated and situating contexts? How are we culturally “framed” and framing “our own culture?”

FRIDAY, NOV 18: DECAY

6pm: warm-ups and public improvisation session
8pm-11pm: Performances by Lorene Bouboushian, Alex Romania, Kaia Gilje, QUEEFCORE
Matters: disgust/abject/substances and mess/emotional expression, hardcore existentialism and disciplinary decay, aesthetics, play, and practical methods for anti-dance-y dance
Problems: What becomes between improvisation and proposition? How do we communicate without using dominant codes and languages? How are we concrete and abstract, affected and affecting, able and unable?

SATURDAY, NOV 19: DESIRE/DESIGN

3pm-7pm: DESIRE
Matters: academia, institutions, and "success," alter-systems, space and species, mutualism, money and madness, desire and survival, de-materializing realities and re-modeling economies of attention
Problems: What are the pros and cons of capitulation, participation, and subjection? How are we navigating our motivations and emotions? How do we interface with and de-face power paradigms and hegemonic orders for value and survival?

3pm: panel discussion with Rebecca Ferrell, Jumatatu Poe, Andre Lepecki, Clarinda Mac Low, artists from the other days. 

7pm: warm-ups and physical shake-outs

8pm-11pm: DESIGN
Performances/Presentations by: Jessica Pretty, Charlie Maybee, Rebecca Ferrell, lo bil, Alexander D'Augostino and Noelle Tolbert
Matters: “choreography” and choreographed/choreographing bodilies, stagings and social arrangements, spectators/witnesses/audiences vs. participants vs. makers (role-playing), vessels, vehicles, and events
Problems: For whom do we make “dance” as such and why? What are the ethics of participatory modes? How do we make decisions and dare to anticipate, practice, and enforce con-sequences?

SUNDAY, NOV 20: DEMAND

4pm: Post-dance: A Primer 
Presented by: Lindsey Drury and No Collective (You Nakai, et al.)
Matters: “post-dance”
Problems: Is the term “post” a mere prefix to indicate we are over it? What is this “it” we are supposed to be over with? If we are over dance, why do we still cling to that old name? Wouldn’t “post-it” be a better name? And even if we stick to dance, can’t we do better than resorting yet again to the facile formula of [dance + x (e.g. performance art, discourse, theory, etc)] or [dance - x (e.g. choreography, dancer, etc)]? Do we even know what we seek to leave behind? What is a body? What is movement? What if “post” was a verb or a noun? Where do we go from here, where have we been, and who is this “we” that we all talk about? 

5pm: Presentation by yon Tande

7pm-11pm: Performances and presentations by Ilona Bito, LJ Leach, Brandon Fisette, yon Tande, Amanda Hunt
Matters: objectlessness/deontology, spectacle vs. situation, mindbody, theory and authority, anthrocenticity, and auto-ethnography
Problems: How are the affects and consequences of our movements? Who are we in time and context and how do our practices create, demand, and inform change? What are the demands of this demonstration, this public assembly, this strike against daily ongoing performativity?

Organized by Leili Huzaibah, Esther Neff, Rebecca Ferrell, Lindsey Drury, and participants.