Telescope Performance (2001, Headlands Center for the Arts)

Created for Open Studios at Headlands Center for the Arts
April 29, 2001

The Setup:

Upon entering the studio, visitors encountered a telescope fixed in position, aimed out the window toward the vast Marin Headlands landscape. Attached to it was a headset playing a live radio broadcast of a San Francisco Giants baseball game.

The Experience:

• First Glance: With the naked eye, the view was serene—untouched nature, distant hills, quiet beauty.

• Through the Telescope: When a visitor peered through the lens, they saw me performing a series of choreographed gestures in the far-off landscape, synchronized with the live baseball commentary.

• Isolated Encounter: Due to the distance, only one person at a time could witness the performance, creating an intimate, almost secretive interaction.

Location & Date:

Headlands Center for the Arts, April 29, 2001

"Telescope Performance" played with distance—both physical and perceptual. The viewer had to reconcile the mediated experience (the radio) with the live, hidden actions, questioning where the real performance was happening: in the broadcast, through the telescope, or in their own mind."