The Eyes continued

The Eyes, was a multi-step performance project.

Step 1: I sat down in the DSU and observed where my eyes and others were attracted to.  I noticed that they seemed to pay attention not only what was in front of them but the tables, the banners, and the people on the stairs.

Step 2: I went home and videotaped my eyes for as long as I could stare at the camera. This turned out to be about 5 minutes. I did this a few times and then watched them on the computer to see which one seemed more captivating.

Step 3: Make a video. I used an HP movie maker system on my computer to make a movie of my eyes; I had the 5 minute clip of my eyes play back to back for about 30 minutes.  From there I sat alongside a test subject and watched the video on a widescreen TV and an old school TV to see how it looked, mainly because I had no idea what kind of TV that I would get the day of the performance. I wanted to be sure no matter what the eyes would fit.

Step 4: Getting permission. I had to get the project approved by campus activities to secure a spot and then I had to go to the Communications department to get the approval for the TV’s around campus and the CNU channel 9 to play my eyes during my performance (which they failed at getting them to play at the right time, instead played them hours after my performance was done)

Step 5: Set up and watch my performance grow.  This went pretty well, at first it took some prompting to get people to actually go sit in front of the TV, but after the lunch crowd picked up there were many people who willing sat or stood by and looked into my eyes.

Overall I was happy at how this project turned out. I was proud of how the eyes came out and how you could clearly see them from many different place and heights in the DSU Street.  If I did it again I would have fought harder for a projector so that I could have made them even larger and in your face.  My hopes were that people would feel something, I did not want them to feel a certain way, I think that everyone sees/interprets another person soul differently. As people came and talked to me it was apparent that every person did take it differently, some were creped out, others said that it was cool, some thought something bad was going to happen, probably the best one was when someone felt like they were getting to know me on a new level.  If I could change one thing I would have added a little note about the piece, some people said that it was a lot more effective after they found out what it was about. I got my inspiration for this piece from Marina Abramovic, I really enjoyed her piece. I think that the people that had strong reactions from staring into her eyes was due to the fact that they were feeling her soul or her inner feelings coming outward.

My Partner in this project was Stephanie Barstow, who helped me document the project. She is the one that took the photos while I videotaped it.