Vilius Vaitiekūnas
Performance IV
In collaboration with Oliver Clasper.
Date: 23.09.2016
Place: Sign Gallery, Groningen, the Netherlands.
About
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Performance was a part of Murmur event "Sex & Love".
Credits:
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Sound for the device: Adriaan Bon
Performance: Jan van Egmond, Setareh Nafisi, Anahita Malakooti, Femke Nagelhout, James Robert Lyon.
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Visitor's description
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Basically the only shortcoming was the long time you had to wait.
The start was funny and I was wondering if looking in the mirror distracts from the text. I concentrated on the text, which I thought the itself was both funny and reflective. It immediately raised a will to determine in
which person I recognized myself the most in. The way the three stereotypes were presented switched thoughts from "I think I am this
person" to "I would like to be that one". The cleverness of the text was,
in retrospect of course, that all three stereotypes sounded like sympathetic characters.
...
After I was led inside and took place at the table I was a little uncomfortable with the compliments of the girl. I was thinking already "Maybe your a little bit exaggerating. I might be not that nice".
The moment the guy jumped in and told me he had seen this beautiful blond girl with big tits I started to feel uncomfortable. It has to do with the fact that that kind of girl is not my kind of ideal. In hindsight I wonder if my doubt to push any button was because of this stereotype of what an attractive girl looks like or the over-enthusiastic presentation.
If I recall well at that point, you and the others behind started whispering to push button 1. I was really doubting if I should do it but I
thought I had to see at least something what was going on.
When the guy introduced himself to the girl with my name I was alarmed and with the development of the scene, keeping in mind that this was probably character no.1 about whom I heard on the headphones, which appeared to me quite aggressive in the way he/I approached the girl it was obvious that button 2 and 3 would end up in rape or something violent I didn't want to see and definitely not with my name attached to it. I was looking at myself and didn't like what I was seeing. The scene closed and you guys where whispering press button 2 but I refused but I have to admit that you almost had me pushed button 2 because it took quite long before you decided to step forward and acknowledge that I would persist. I was happy to have not seen the other scenes.
...
I think in this performance you created some nice layers of meaning in language, the decisions people might make in relation to what they have heard on the headphones, related to one's own standards of behavior and if as a person in the performance you become you are in the end watching yourself harassing a young woman. It was confronting and really
interesting to be part of this. I am glad I got out well and I think I've never harassed a woman but as you know there's a thin line between
approaching and become persuasive.