culture/nature/structure

Meghan Moe Beitiks
Posts Tagged ‘performance’

Fixing Experimental Station Chairs (2012)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Experimental Station had a stack of broken chairs. I fixed half the chairs and asked for input from the community as to how I should fix chairs in performance. Then I fixed chairs in performance.

Wear a dress with flowers– Liz Lyon, market volunteer

Wear your hair back, no makeup– Danny White, market vendor

Play music with a rhythm you can fix chairs to– Corey Chatman, LINK manager

The only lighting should be a flashlight– Elizabeth Gadelha, market vendor

You should fix chairs on the floor– Marley Darvassy, son of B’Gabs’ Vegan Deli

I think you’re the “Chairy Godmother.”– Danny Burke, Market Manager

Sing or hum when you have a tool in your hand. — Dan Peterman, co-founder of Experimental Station

Move furtively– Connie Spreen, Co-founder of Experimental Station

Start out with a hopscotch– Chris Allen, Bike Shop Manager

Yielding Air (2010)

The other day I ran a yellow light, and it was mildly harrowing. So I decided to do it again, full-force jogging style, with an English Ivy. We would languidly dodge traffic while making carbon dioxide and oxygen together. I think the Ivy might have been working harder, as it was removing toxins and airborne feces as well. I ran around the intersection at 12th and Broadway in downtown Oakland for about a half-hour, preceded by a 15-minute stretch on the corner. Everyone always thinks I’m selling plants, even when it’s obvious I’m suited up to go jogging with them. In this video, a plaza security guard is chatting with Sarah Cross, who is filming.

video and photos: Sarah Cross Photography

Free Air at the Federal Reserve Bank

I built a briefcase that spews ivy and oxygen. Then I stood in front of the Federal Reserve Bank for an hour with it. One Italian tourist asked me if I was selling anything. Then he asked for references to yoga and mediation studios. The bank security guard asked me if everything was okay. I said “Yeah.” Lots of folks glanced in passing. One man got into a discussion with me on BART about global warming. I drank some $2 sustainable coffee while dispensing Free Air.

photos: Sarah Cross Photography

Free Air at Eagle Gas Station

The other day I brought by houseplants to the gas station near my house in East Oakland, CA. We sat giving out Free Air for 45 minutes. Some folks thought the plants were for sale. Some folks wondered what it was, and relaxed upon hearing it was an art installation. The plants were mostly Pothos and English Ivy, which are known to remove toxins from the air (while turning CO2 into oxygen). We had some nice chats and inquisitive looks, then packed up and went home. This has only a little to do with the fact that the station does not have an air pump.

photos: Sarah Cross Photography

Pathos/Pothos (2010)

Today I sat on the street with a cardboard sign and a plant. The sign said: “PLEASE HELP my plant remove toxins and pollutants from the air. DONATIONS of CO2 much appreciated. He’s a Pothos. I call him Fred. Exhalations = Awesome. No cash accepted.”

Over the course of 3 hours, 22 people stopped to read the sign or talk to me. As thanks, I handed them a flier with a friendly list of other plants that clean the air. Three people offered me money, one guy tried to give me a granola bar, all of which I politely declined. This was all part of the Conflux Festival in NYC. While I was sitting on my rear, there were workshops, panels, performances and hikes happening all over the East Village

The Grand Total of Reaction to Pathos/Pothos is below: Everything from joy to pornographic remarks.

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