Art Exploration through Communication and Performance

CONTACTLESS COMMUNICATION Based on Hanne Lippard's artwork Contactless.

Name of the artwork:Contactless 18 Year: 2020 Media: Texts on a billboard Rights: The artist, LambdaLambdaLambda. Commissioned by the 2nd Riga International Biennial of Contemporary Art (RIBOCA2).

It is a strange thing In a strange time To be a stranger To ones own hands Hanne Lippard, It Is a Strange Thing, 2020 What kind of ideas are expressed in the poem? What technologies do you use in your everyday communication?

Exercise performance To create her performances, Hanne Lippard uses several exercises. One of these is describing what is currently happening in five simple sentences, allowing her thoughts to flow naturally. What are you doing right now? Write down five simple sentences.

Exercise performance Based on the text you have written, write some more simple sentences (for example, made up of one or two words which can be repeated). Pay attention to the rhythm of the text.

Exercise performance Once you have finished writing, read your text out loud. And once again. Read your text until it starts to lose its meaning and the words become unrecognisable. Read it again, but fast. Read it again, but very slowly. * This manipulation of the text is one of the ways in which Hanne creates her performances. Read it again, but change your intonation. And again. And again. And again.

Think about how the meaning of the words has altered. Isn t it odd to suddenly not recognise your own language?

Exercise performance The exercise you have just completed is characteristic of performance, a genre of art which involves the actions of one or more people at a certain place and time.

Use of language What language do you speak in your everyday life? If so, try and think about the loanwords and abbreviations you use and where the changes come from (for example, in Latvian, the word influenceris was borrowed from the English word influencer). Do you use words from two or even three different languages at one time?

What is the impact of technology? How often do you replace words with emojis in text messages? Write a sentence using only emojis! Try and decipher your classmates sentences is the meaning of their sentence clear? Choose the 10 emojis you use most often and write out what they mean. Compare your notes with your classmates!

Discussion How often do you use various technologies in your communication with others? What are the benefits of using technology in everyday communication? Does technology (the ability to send pictures, make video calls, play games, etc.) bring you closer together or further apart from those you contact?

Next steps Consider, when was the last time you wrote a letter? Is a handwritten letter more valuable than a message or an email? Write a message to your future self, choosing one of the following formats: An email to their future self (futureme.org). A letter to be opened after graduating.

Thank you! Learning kit by Krist ne Ercika Design: Kri s Salmanis Commission: Association R GAS STARPTAUTISK BIENN LE The Erasmus+ project RIBOCA Repository of Knowledge is co-financed by the European Union. The European Commission is not responsible for the content of this publication.