Instruction Poems + Primative Games - Teana S. Maitland

 Instruction Piece 

Make the world quiet

Wake up in the morning 

say nothing 

and continue

for the rest of the day

Touch Grass

Stop scrolling 

go outside 

breathe in breathe out

touch the ground

be the ground

you are grounded 

We Hear You

Feeling unheard

clench your fists

and scream to the top of your lungs

and cry if you need too

we hear you

Primitive Games 

    Quote: “What I want to get us to is a place where we can read each other so we understand that the ways that we interpret body language has everything to do with how we understand ourselves.”

    

    Reaction: I chose this quote because I feel like this would be a big thing when it comes to getting people to understand your performance art. Being that the art can use your body if people do not understand how to depict body language it can cause the audience to not understand what the performance is about. Understanding body language can play a huge role in understanding performative art. 

    Quote:"Very little audience noise and very few photographs ensued throughout the performance. The air held an intensity, both among the crowd and the participants, with very little talking and pointing among the audience members for most of the hour-long performance."

    Reaction: I think this shows that the performance was a huge success. Wether or not people actually knew the purpose for the performance or the overall message it just shows how people were actually paying attention to the performance, i feel like this a important note to keep while even working on my performative art because you really want to try and at least get the attention of your audience and keep them engaged. 

    Quote:"The data overall indicates that the experience of Primitive Games continued to resonate with participants months later."

    Reaction: I picked this quote because it resonated with our in class discussion that we had about how with performance art also should leave a long lasting impression, you want to make something that will stay in people memories and have an impact on them.

    About Primitive Games 

   

     The message of the piece is to show how people can argue but without using words, but the debate is about gun violence. The artist hosted multiple workshops with different groups, military veterans, police officers, and another group who uses guns for recreational use. The artist wants them to debate but use their body languages to do so. The performance even though it was quiet, it showed a very loud message on perceptions and how we interpret other people without them even talking.