The Thing Outside

The Thing Outside – a live presentation / lecture and/or an installation developed in Italy, Switzerland 2015 & 2016 This project has two major development phases: Phase 1 and 2 phase 1: August 2015, Soiano, Lombardia,Italy: Initially the idea for the Thing Outside was a live performance / lecture based on my encounter with two objects, namely a canopy and a table. We often encounter things we don't know, things we have heard of but never seen, things we don’t know exist, things that frighten us. Fear is one of the building blocks of human civilization & culture. It is a tool to 'organize' and 'cultivate' the way we lead our lives. The Thing Outside is a performance piece in the form of a live presentation/talk. It refers to the idea of readymades, turning non-art objects into art. The idea is nothing new. Marcel Duchamp famously turned ordinary manufactured objects into art by simply repositioning, joining or signing them. In the case of The Thing Outside however I am merely presenting a six-day observation of two objects (a canopy and a table) and an exhibition plan as a live lecture/presentation as opposed to the actual objects themselves and a physical exhibition (as shown in the photo montage). The action of observing (taking photos & filming) the two objects, putting together a presentation and finally presenting it as a live lecture turns the two objects into The Thing Outside which therefore becomes a theorized readymade sculpture in the form of a conceptual presentation/performance. I like the idea of the transformation and the reduction of a physical item into conceptual form. First there is an object/an item which then becomes art, a readymade by changing or adding something to it and lastly the readymade transforms into a theorized memory. Content of the lecture The lecture includes an introduction of how I came across the two objects, why it captured my interest and the entire process of observation and working on the proposal & brainstorming etc. The lecture can be held live at the exhibition space or via the Internet. In brief: - introduction to The Thing Outside and how I came about it - computer generated plan for the physical display of the work: - Documentation (photos and videos): 25 min 22 sec - slow motion footage: 01: https://youtu.be/FNjrNI6LC4E 02: https://youtu.be/56sm4r-7aHM 03: https://youtu.be/CP5LReI3pwY - 8 photoshopped images - Writing on the wall The entire talk lasts about 40 minutes. It is also possible to have a Q&A at the end. phase 2: March 2016, Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, Italy: I filmed and photographed a group of people who set up a small street festival behind a wall by a football stadium. The festival was to engage people with the issu of immigration. There was, however, no great interest within the people of Castellammare. History: The Thing Outside was initially established as a live lecture on the discovery of a mysterious thing, a large patio umbrella and a table (without chairs). After a five day investigation into the nature and the possible motives of that thing outside, I compiled three videos, one slide show and various Photoshop images. About half a year later when the Red Van was stationed in Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, I came across a group of people who tried to set up a festival that would bring together Italians and immigrants. As an outsider, nor Italian and nor classified as an immigrant, I found myself outside the festival circle and it all become a thing, something I did not know, something that frightened me. The only thing left for me to do was recording he location, the event, the people. It then became obvious that there was a intense connection between the encounter with the thing outside in Soiano and the thing outside in Casellammare del Golfo. Read more: http://jayrechsteiner.com/the_thing_outside.htm