The following is from the book: “Adina Bar-On, Performance Artist” by Idit Porat
Published 2001 by Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House Ltd., Herzlyia Museum of Art
and Adina Bar-On
Circumstances:
Performance prepared in the framework of studies at Bezalel, summer 1973.
Place:
The backyard of the old Bezalel building, on a paved surface surrounded by a low parapet.
Chairs arranged in rows.
Duration:
About 20 minutes.
Description:
1. Adina enters from the rear of the audience, advances to the front of the space, and stands facing the audience. She greets people whom she identifies in the audience. At times the greeting is verbal, at times only a facial expression. Her approach is an everyday one. When she says Hello she emphasizes the nuances of the particular facial expression with which greets each individual: an intimate expression of friendship, a formal expression, or an expression of surprise (“Hi, so you`re here too?”; “Thanks for your support”). She behaves like a static picture which changes with subtle nuances.
2. After the greetings she withdraws into herself by tilting her head backwards while using her arms. The outward turning towards the people is replaced by an inward turning, into herself, and this changes the perception of the space.
3. A transition from phase of withdrawal to a deeper introversion, until the circles which enwrap her, too, are captured by a different mental state. Adina moves in a manner that is undefined in terms of form: she moves from place to place with frequent changes of direction, with an indirect gaze, with an introverted, personal expression that is neither univocal or self understood. By means of the body movement she scribbles lines in the space.
4. Adina starts walking on the parapet that surrounds the performance area, in a measured and structured gait, and bounds the space with her arms spread out to the sides and her body inclined slightly forward. Her walking becomes more rapid with momentum, and begins inclining forward and creating a spiraling sensation. As she walks she emits into the sentences connected with flight – sentences that are poetic, experiential, associative.
5. Adina passes through the audience from the front of the stage to the area behind the audience, and thud she divides the audience into two.
Description of version 2:
After segment 1 and 2 Adina joined by her 2 nephews – one aged four and the other aged two. They dance with her in a circle, cling to her, and hug. Their presence creates a conflict between the attention that Adina devotes to them and the attention that she devotes to the audience. At times Adina is swept up into the hugging and dancing, at other times she returns to awareness of the audience`s presence.
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