Settling Scores, 2023
It was a two-part public engagement that Jeremy Knowles and I co-facilitated toward the end of our one-month residency at Lichtenberg Studios in Berlin.
The idea driving these engagements, in which we invited participants to join us in walking, listening, and performing in public spaces, originated in our desire to share our perception of particular sites in Lichtenberg in non-invasive ways – specifically without the use of politically loaded objects such as cameras or microphones. The two engagements we offered took place in Neu-Hohenschönhausen and Karlshorst respectively, and for each place Jeremy and I wrote scores that participants would use to engage physically and playfully with their surroundings. Our aim was also to experiment with a technique for addressing the history of these sites in a non-didactic way, through which participants could ask questions and draw conclusions based on their own, personal experiences.
The idea driving these engagements, in which we invited participants to join us in walking, listening, and performing in public spaces, originated in our desire to share our perception of particular sites in Lichtenberg in non-invasive ways – specifically without the use of politically loaded objects such as cameras or microphones. The two engagements we offered took place in Neu-Hohenschönhausen and Karlshorst respectively, and for each place Jeremy and I wrote scores that participants would use to engage physically and playfully with their surroundings. Our aim was also to experiment with a technique for addressing the history of these sites in a non-didactic way, through which participants could ask questions and draw conclusions based on their own, personal experiences.
Spontan leben
score written by Masha Wysocka
(For beginners)
Go to the park or any area where you feel safe and at
ease. Look around you and find a place, person or object
you would like to interact with. Be spontaneous!
(For experts)
Go to all kinds of public spaces and try to perform small
spontaneous acts.
If you are lacking in ideas, you can pick up one from a
catch-all list (not exhaustive):
Climb a tree.
Call your friend from a phone booth.
Dance with yourself.
Give a big smile to a civil servant from your local tax office.
Buy a transport ticket and offer it to someone.
Send a postcard to your neighbour.
Have lunch with strangers.
Spontan leben
(Für Anfänger)
Gehen Sie in einen Park oder an einen anderen Ort, an dem Sie sich sicher und wohl fühlen.
Schauen Sie sich um und finden Sie einen Ort, eine Person oder einen Gegenstand, mit dem Sie
interagieren möchten. Seien Sie spontan!
(Für Experten)
Gehen Sie an alle möglichen öffentlichen Orte und führen Sie kleine, spontane Handlungen aus.
Wenn Ihnen nichts einfällt, probieren Sie etwas aus dieser Liste aus (die Liste ist nicht vollständig):
Auf einen Baum klettern.
Einen Freund von einer Telefonzelle aus anrufen.
Mit sich selbst tanzen.
Einem Finanzbeamten ein breites Lächeln schenken.
Kaufen Sie eine Fahrkarte und schenken Sie sie jemandem.
Schicken Sie Ihrem Nachbarn eine Postkarte.
Essen Sie mit Fremden zu Mittag.