- *1 expert on performance art
- *1 expert on early African art and aesthetics
- 1 Afro-American woman in an Obama Skirt. Must be an African textile.
- 1 score card with rules of debate for each viewer
- 1 or more African masks
- *Video from the Brooklyn Museum’s African Art section that explains masks are not complete works of art. The complete work of art is the performance which is meant to be seen and experienced. Video then shows masks in action.
Instructions:
Step 1: The masks and the video are placed on display in the space before the audience arrives. Audience members are invited to view them until the debate starts.
Step 2: Woman in Obama skirt reads the formal rules of the debate. She holds up score cards and instructs audience to use them to rate the effectiveness of each argument.
Step 3: The 2 experts debate the question “Is performance art by definition African art?” The expert on Performance art argues “yes” for three minutes. The expert on African Aesthetics then argues “no” for three minutes. They then switch sides and each argue the opposite point.
Step 4: Woman in Obama skirt asks audience to use the notes on their score cards to determine which argument was argued most effectively: “yes” or “no?” She then asks them to vote, based on their scorecards, by raising their right hands high. She counts those who believe “yes” won first. She then counts those who believe “no” won.
Step 5: After the last audience member has counted him/herself, woman in Obama skirt raises her own hand and then makes a fist.
Step 6: Woman in Obama skirt thanks the audience. She then invites the experts and the audience to discuss why this performance art score is or is not an appropriate way to document the 365 day version of the Obama Skirt Project.
-Fin-
* This score was written with Erica Papernik, Isolde Brielmaier and the Brooklyn Museum in mind, but it can be adjusted and still retain much of its meaning.
