Process Piece: Hide and Seek


The process of creating this piece was more interesting and complicated than I anticipated. I first recorded several processes: making a PBJ for the collaborating artist in the above piece, preparing omelettes, getting the dog and collaborating artist ready to go for a walk, and a few different iterations of the hiding process. Whenever he was aware of the recording process, the resulting recording became less usable. So that became one of the constraints of the assignment I was giving myself -- I had to make a recording without the other people in the recording know it was happening. This lends to the concept of authenticity discussed by Barney, because when Ben was aware that I was recording, he threw in a lot of color commentary, random noises/singing, and would speak very loudly into the phone. 

I found that Hide and Seek had a built in "beginning, middle, and end" to it. It begins with Benny counting and me running and hiding in the Harry Potter closet. (You know, the space under the stairs!) I crouched behind/under old crib mattresses (kept around for cousin sleepovers) and extra pillows, but left the door open so we could hear the "middle" as Benny searched for me. Finally, he found me and the process comes to and end - or in this case begins again with reversed roles. One of the other recordings of hiding was pretty funny, because my dog always finds me first and just hangs out looking at me. My older kids know just to follow Luna if they want to find Mom, but this time I evaded her long enough for him to find me moments before she did. Haha! 

Hide and Seek also leant itself well to this project because it was suggested by Benny which gave it more authenticity than a staged production. This is a process I have engaged in many many MANY times throughout the years; I have a few hidey-holes the kids still can't figure out, so I'm an expert. Finally, because the experience of hiding and waiting is largely wordless on my end, I valued the opportunity to portray something without over-explaining it. 


Comments

Kennedy Shanklin said…
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February 7, 2022 at 6:15 AM
Kennedy Shanklin said…

Kennedy Shanklin said…
Rachel I loved your last sentence of this artist statement: “I valued the opportunity to portray something without over-explaining it”. It hit close to him because I am the type of person who use too many words. I max out a word limit or never know what details to leave out when I am telling a story. Your comment made me realize why I struggled with this assignment because I love to talk and explain my reasoning behind the work. However, you were correct when explaining that actions speak louder than words. I wonder, what if you were to also have your four year old have a phone on them to hear them talking and singing while searching for you.
February 7, 2022 at 9:47 AM
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