The Way I See It
Part of the power of Burning Man, as well our own occupation with the Playita, lies in the creation of a space outside of the norm, a free-zone of occupation and exploration. Maps are provided but ultimately the only way to experience is to wander, with the impossibility of seeing, sensing, experiencing everything. At Burning Man this occurs because of the pilgrimage necessary to reach the heavily maintained site. In the context of Playita this occurred because of the context of a class, because many of the participants were required to come, they could not be in the constant state of decision making that characterizes much of everyday life. Relaxation and play rely on an ability to release. This sense of release is heightened in the knowledge that there is nothing else that can be done at that moment.
In the Black Rock Desert this aspect may be achieved because of the remoteness that removes many of the worries of the everyday- the commute, worries of finances and the small articulations of a capitalist system that constantly necessitate navigations, such as purchasing food and planning for the day. Not to mention the major worries that pull the mind out of the present- schedules and meetings, obligation that exist in a more fixed temporal landscape of getting to work on time, navigating traffic, taking care of family and work, a pull toward an ever productive future. All these things exist in the taught frame of the forces, which often easily slip toward worry and stress, the drive to be “getting something done.” Within the space of the playa or the playita, many of these distractions have been planned away-taken care of in advance. It may take time to move from thinking in terms of what needs to be done- into a state of mind that allows for curiosity, play, and a more fluid temporal relationship. However, this sense can be moved toward as there is nothing else that can be done in the allotted time and space.
I feel that this sense of freedom emerges in spaces like these, spaces of planned events where nothing else can be done, where a surrender occurs. There is an aspect of being provided for that opens something. This opening creates different opportunities for transcending the everyday subjectivities and delineations of identity based on context. I can look back on other events that I have attended which give this sense of freedom- rainbow gatherings, white tantric yoga gatherings, improvisational dance retreats, and even immersive theatrical and site-specific performances. Of course these events manifest different forms of identity, roles and engagement. However, they all pull one outside of the normal structures of feeling present in everyday life- based on an underlying noise of mass circulations, translations of the anxiety of “too much“- and anxious technocratic sensations, the fluttering of the digital age. Events such as Burning Man, function in a state of privilege, which rests on a certainty of trust- that everything will be provided within such a space. One will not want, really, for food, shelter, or some degree of fulfilling entertainment/engagement.
This is a space of freedom, as a container has been created for experience, as roles are known even as they can be creatively re-invented. In Burning Man, this freedom rests in radical self-expression, in the feeling of being open to accepting someone else’s absurdity- without the judgment that would come, say, if you encounter this same person on random street. There is a different kind of “sizing up.” A different engagement with one’s own curiosity. This streams out beyond the space, becoming a way of life. This also allows for more playful encounters.
Playita NYU
During Playita NYU, I found myself having intimate encounters with people whom I had never really even spoken to before. I felt a certain access, vulnerability and entered initially in a state of play. As an organizer I felt it was necessary to let myself get drawn in, so that others may also be drawn in. I often do this through proximity, eye contact, and playful physical interaction (similar to an improvisational theater or dance encounter). We wanted to create a tangible atmosphere of playful interaction, intimate participation, freedom, radical acceptance and curiosity. Our tools to achieve this: the spaceship map(order and freedom), the pilgrimage up the stairs as camps, sharing of secrets, birthing through the vaginal/portal door red on the entrance, gold once emerged on the other side, the line one must cross- “Once you cross this line, everything will be different.” Fur sphinx attached with a pink umbilical cord stretching the chamber of the hall, to rap around and entice people with. Stuffed animal sacrifices, to call in the spirit of the playa, anointing of the camp in the blood of the sacrifice…
Into Sensation
She was laying in the middle of the hallway with someone else, with the Sensorium bag of wonders. I took the red sequined mask and blindfolded her. Inside the bag, lotion, I applied to her arms. I sprayed her with water, fed her mints, tickled her and applied the items of the bag to her skin, feathers, roller ball-awakening sensation. My final trick, I placed pop rocks in her mouth. She had never eaten pop rocks before and her reaction of surprise made me crumble against her in a fit of laughter. We could not stop laughing.
When I entered the temple, I was actually surprised by the intensity of presence and intention. People were taking the space, all of the spaces, and adapting them to their own needs. I found that even as we had planned, so much more occurred than could have been planned for.
Anytime variables- I am still hearing stories of events which unfolded…
Someone was married, confetti lingered (stolen shredder paper)
The lights now have nipples
Occupy Burning Man written inside a discarded pizza box
Chalk Grafitti of Schechner’s door
The pictures of Photo Flush were turned upside down
The tiny art-car parade
Playita occupies Broadway and McDonalds
Bathroom confessional
The liquor water-gun
Traces from the Playita:
Yellow post it notes appeared on the wall in the long hallway:
Tell Me Your True Name
Haiku:
Monday night rite
Bring on the wigs and the booze
Oh so much learning
My Soul Burns Like His
I don’t want to think
I wanna be
I Love you
Lets wash our eyes
End the Plagues.
What are the Plagues?
Hunger, Fear of Others, exploitation
I love to see him burn
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What does it mean to create a space of radical self-expression and participation?
We, as organizers, wondered if it would succeed. An event like this, like Burning Man, ultimately relies on participation- on people’s ability to take a risk, to expose themselves. I think that Playita NYU was so amazing because it was fulfilling a need in the community at a critical time at the end of the semester. People were already cracked open because of stress, lack of sleep, pushing themselves to their own personal limit. They were already moving toward a liminal state of consciousness, towards, but not quite to, an end. The space of the playita allowed for a space of deepened communitas, as identities became creatively fluid, provoked, pulling people out of the isolation of their own turmoil of writing papers. Everyone was in the middle of the test that the end of the semester ultimately becomes: a test of production, focus, sanity and incorporation. Many people were in desperate need of release, of play, of an experience of flow.
No comments:
Post a Comment