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Introduction
Valentines Day, 1995
Introduce, Introduction, Introit, Introspection, Introvert
Introduction was the first performance piece involving the cube. It was performed on Valentines Day, 1995 in the basement level of South Hall. The full title of the piece was "Introduce, Introduction, Introit, Introspection, Introvert". Five words that follow each other respectively in Webster's Pocket Dictionary.
The piece was designed to introduce the public to the elements that would be used throughout this series of work; the steel frame, the human body, bondage, coffee and time. There was at least one assistant present at all times, but they were instructed not to impede the viewer in anyway.
At 10:45AM I was stripped of all clothes, blindfolded, and gagged. My legs straddled the two lower bars and tied there. My feet touched the ground. My arms were tied behind my back and the rope was run up over a pulley and anchored back down on the lower bar. The ropes held me forcibly in an upright position. There was a blackboard mounted on the wall behind the cube with "Hello My Name Is Mark Snyder" written on it. A chair and coffee were provided for the viewers, along with a note pad and basket in which they could leave a message or their name.
Every twenty minutes the rope holding me in the upright position was unleashed from the lower bar so that I might bend over, letting the blood redistribute. After 5min. the position would be resumed and the rope would be lashed down again.
At 1:45PM I was released from this position.
At 5:00PM the performance was repeated and ran until 7:00PM
The pose required effort to maintain mentally and physically. My feet touched the ground and legs being in contact with the bars provided a mental grounding with my environment and allowed me to make minor adjustments to the physical discomforts. In the quiet environment of the basement my breathing was heard to be labored as time went on. Muscle strain became great as the performance continued and I developed muscle shakes and spasms.
Most viewers spent about as much time in the environment as an average gallery viewer does in front of a painting.
Only two viewers chose to penetrate the outer perimeter circumscribed by the bar ends and interact with the subject.
Few viewers chose to sit for a time and take in the subtle changes that occurred.
Several viewers left their names.
At 6:30PM an instructor brought in her figure drawing class to draw the event for half an hour. Many of the students chose to sit in back and not draw. Uncomfortable with the subject assumed to be the reason. I was later informed that many of these students had a difficult time returning to drawing their regularly scheduled model. Their model was apparently no longer objectify able.
