The French conceptual artist Sophie Calle, whose projects are often led by her ‘rules of the game’ (a set of predetermined instructions), suggests that abiding by rules is ‘restful [and] a way of not to have to think – just be trapped in a game and follow it.’ Rule structures, directives and instructions restrain the artist’s choice and potentially bring something unforeseen and unpredictable to the creative process. The focus of this course is the critical and practical consideration of these creative constraints as we examine the practice of using task-led activities as a means to conceive and compose performance. Weekly discussions and practical experiments are informed by selected critical reading and examples of case study artists. Each participant will be invited and guided to make weekly performance responses to the material in their own time, and these responses will be uploaded to the ECC Performance Art Workroom, a virtual classroom where they are accessible to the course participants and discussed in class. Participants will gain a critically and creatively informed understanding of the practical philosophies that underpin task-based performance art.

Syllabus

Katja Hilevaara is a collaborative artist, researcher, and teacher who works in performance, installation and art writing. Ideas around maintenance, care and enchantment are often foregrounded in her artwork, and she plays close attention to the everyday in the making and thinking of her various projects. Recent works have drawn on (auto)biography and reimagined histories, exploring ways that question existing narratives, and which might deliberately mis-remember or otherwise creatively interpret events to shift their perspective and meaning. Creative constraints such as tasks and instructions often shape her projects. Katja creates works with other artists and thinkers, cherishing the change to be inspired by dialogue and conversation. She is involved in a long-term collaboration with artist Emily Orley with whom she creates performances and writes. Katja is currently a lecturer in Theater and and Performance at Goldsmith's University of London. Learn more about her work at www.katjahilevaara.com