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Consent
Consent was performed on Tuesday, April 25, 1995, in the Photo Documentation Room, directly across the hall from the main Art Office in Harder Hall on the Alfred University campus. The event was to last from 12:00PM until 5:00PM, however due to extreme pain and duress the event was cut short.
The event was set in a closed and controlled room, allowing only one viewer in at a time un-chaperoned. It was not visible to anyone but those who chose to enter. Before entering the viewer was shown a consent form stating that they would be seeing male nudity and bondage and that by entering they were giving their consent. The viewer was allowed to stay in the room unsupervised for as long as that wanted. At empty periods of times or between visitors an assistant would enter the room to check on the condition of the suspended person.
Inside the room was the cube arranged in such a way as to allow a person to be completely suspended from six points. The pose chosen this time was derived from an Eskimo Shaman ritual where the seer would be bound in a fetal position for a very extended period of time. The pose was reconfigured to be a male nude, hooded, bound and suspended in the center of the cube in the fetal position. Immediately it was found that this cause too much blood to rush to the head, so it was decided to let the arms and legs dangle below the body. This created a look that more resembled the dead man's float position taught in water survival classes. The suspended subject had no direct physical contact with the ground or the cube itself and no way to adjust himself. The room was kept dimly lit and the concrete wall kept the environment for the most part quiet, though voices from the bustling hallways could occasionally be heard filtering through. There was also a video camera and large monitor in the room. The camera and monitor where slightly obscured and could only be seen directly from certain vantage points within the room. The monitor was slightly dimmed but on, casting a slight glow from it position. A chair and coffee were also provided for the viewer.
At 2:15PM a temporary halt was called to the performance do to extreme pain and fatigue. A compromise pose was discussed for sometime and attempted but in the end rejected out of exhaustion. At 3:00PM the event was ended.
This performance drew a lot of attendants and due to the nature of viewing, that only one person could view at a time, it also created a long line. This may or may not have been a contributing factor in peoples decisions to only stay a short time inside the room.
Only one viewer physically interacted with the subject, reaching out and clasping the subject's hands. Several viewers spoke quietly. Most remained quiet, barely letting their presence be known.
Being hooded and the viewers so quiet I was rarely ever sure if anyone was ever in the room.
This particular event was the most painful and fatiguing. It left me mentally drained and emotionally depressed when it ended.
This event also generated the most discussion by viewers and non-viewers during and after the event. I also found I was most often criticized for the works merits by persons who chose not to attend it , while defended by those who did.
