On Thursday, October 9, 2003, at 10:02 AM, Josh Ronsen wrote:
In December, the Austin New Music Co-Op will present an evening of performances using stones and rocks. Pieces by John Gibson, Christian Wolff, Pauline Oliveros and NMC members will be performed. Outside the performance space, there will be a number of installations using rocks. I am thinking about doing an installation/performance (I will also be performing in the ensemble). My idea is to kneel down by a pile of stones and a sign that reads "let he who is without sin cast the first stone."
This is a simple idea (although rich in implications), and I am sure it has been done before. But who? When? Where?
For their project, a group of "conceptual art" students at Cornell in Ithaca, NY, 1974, rented a school bus and took students and faculty up to a quarry where we had a performance play. It started with "stoning" an outcast. The outcast went into a pit and everyone threw what they could find. Only problem was people got really into it, not like in the rehearsal. I was the "outcast" getting stoned and remember getting really scared and adrenaline rushing. That stopped and we scrambled up a cliff. It was a little like the Magical Mystery Tour and there everyone was at the top of the cliff. Something drew me to the edge and I recall thinking how easy it would be to just jump -- as part of the performance! Luckily something drew me back more and I didn't. So we all scrambled down again, sat in an oval and smoked a real peace pipe.
There was much more to this, but as the "outcast" (self-appointed?) I not entirely cognizant of the script though there was also audio and I still have a recording somewhere.
Not as simple as a rock pile and glass wall, but related.
