“The play-as-event belongs to the space, and makes the space perform as much as it makes actors perform” (Pearson, 2010, p1)
The University Library is a space I consider to be a habitation for work and concentration, from lively group meetings on the ground floor to studying in silence on the third floor. When reflecting on the quote from Pearson’s Introduction to Site Specific Performance I was quite sceptical on the thought of the library being a place for live performance. However, I decided to keep an open mind to the idea of performance art. I explored into the depths of the library, into places which I may have not seen or considered to be a thought of performance. From exploring, I found various spots of the library that I had never took a second glance at, especially the third floor as I had never really discovered it. I decided to take into consideration the use of space, site usage, objects, actions and sounds that are always there and created within the library. From these points of action I considered that almost every act that takes place within the library could be considered a performance, to simply taking a book out or using the computers.
Initial ideas that came to mind when exploring the library was the history of the building itself and its past uses. You can clearly see the differences between the old and the new, with the structure of the wooden beams on the third floor and the vast array of old style windows scattered around the building. The use of history and this location “can work as a potent mnemonic trigger, helping to evoke specific past times related to the place and time.” (Pearson, 2010, p9) Another idea that I gathered was the thought of the books themselves which is the main and pure reason for a point of a library, the huge collection of books with various genres could develop an innovative piece relating from fiction to non-fiction.
Overall, I can now see the huge potential for numerous innovative performance pieces, and exploring the library really clarified this.
Pearson, M. (2010) Site Specific Performance. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan
Ruth Scott