Author Archives: Frans van Lent
Untitled (2021)
Both sides of the bridge
A Scene #32: Back and forth
30 October, 2021.
I am standing on a bridge over the Río Segura in Ojos (38° 08′ 58″ N 1° 20′ 22″ W), Spain.
At the same time, G. is standing on another bridge over the Río Segura, in Blanca (38° 10′ 46″ N 1° 22′ 41″ W), 7 km upstream. Our phones are on speakerphone and the volume is on maximum.
At 2.20 pm (CEST) I call G.
She picks up. We don’t speak a word, but keep the line open.
We point our phones down at the fast-flowing water under the bridges.
Ten minutes later, at 2.30 pm, we disconnect.
In collaboration with Giuli Grippo.
About Scenes:
On this website and on Facebook I announce small events that will take place at a certain location and at a certain moment in the near future.
Everybody is invited to be at the exact spot at the exact time to contribute to the scene with his/her own simultaneous activity (or inactivity).
A Scene #31: Both sides
October 9, 2021. 5 pm (CEST)
Calle Nueva de Blanca 23, Blanca, Murcia.
38° 10.7269′ N, 01° 22.5945′ W
38° 10.7269′ N, 01° 22.5945′ W
I am sitting on a chair on a terrace. On the table in front is a glass of beer. Opposite me, at the other side of the street, is a wall to which a galvanised drainpipe is attached. The wall is plastered in a dark brown colour to about 1.20 metres high. Above that, the wall is pink. The pavement in front of the wall consists of grey tiles, stained and dirty.
Yesterday I was standing there, in front of that pipe, from 5:00 pm until at least 5:05 pm.
I was wearing sunglasses, a black short-sleeved shirt, grey shorts and black sandals. In my left hand I had a notebook. I was looking at a plastic chair, behind a rattan table. I imagined myself sitting there today. I had no idea what I would be wearing and what drink I would have in front of me.
That is what I remember.
I was wearing sunglasses, a black short-sleeved shirt, grey shorts and black sandals. In my left hand I had a notebook. I was looking at a plastic chair, behind a rattan table. I imagined myself sitting there today. I had no idea what I would be wearing and what drink I would have in front of me.
That is what I remember.
About Scenes:
On this website and on Facebook I announce small events that will take place at a certain location and at a certain moment in the near future.
Everybody is invited to be at the exact spot at the exact time to contribute to the scene with his/her own simultaneous activity (or inactivity).
A Scene #30: A street where nobody speaks
On Friday, August 20, between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., users of the Neißstraße (between Weberstraße and Uferstraße) in Görlitz (D), were personally addressed, and asked not to speak or to make any other noise. Small cards were handed out with the following texts:.
“Liebe FuBgängerin, lieber FuBgänger,
Heute, am 20. August, ist diese StraBe ein Ort der Stille. Bitte tragen Sie dazu bei, indem Sie während
lhren Spaziergang nicht sprechen oder Lärm machen. Wir danken lhnen herzlich für Ihr Engagement.”
–
“Drogi przechodniu,
Dziś, 20 sierpnia, ulica ta jest miejscem ciszy. Prosimy o nie rozmawianie i nie halasowanie podczas spaceru. Dziękujemy za Państwa zaangażowanie.”
A Scene #30 was part of STRE!FEN performance festival
About Scenes:
On this website and on Facebook I announce small events that will take place at a certain location and at a certain moment in the near future.
Everybody is invited to be at the exact spot at the exact time to contribute to the scene with his/her own simultaneous activity (or inactivity).
A Scene #29: The real world
On Saturday, March 13, 2021 at 2:20 PM (UTC + 1) I stood in front of the door of a house,
Grotekerksbuurt 36, in Dordrecht, the Netherlands (lat: 51.813892, long: 4.66324, alt: 0).
On the door was a poster, showing the exact location, date and time.
I stayed there until the time ran out.
About Scenes:
On this website and on Facebook I announce small events that will take place at a certain location and at a certain moment in the near future.
Everybody is invited to be at the exact spot at the exact time to contribute to the scene with his/her own simultaneous activity (or inactivity).
A Scene #28: A parallel improvisation
in collaboration with Steef van Lent
On Saturday January 9, in the afternoon, we drove through the city of Rotterdam.
S drove his car in the northern part of the city, while I drove in the southern part of the city.
At exactly 2:20 pm I called S on the hands-free phone. During our call, we both spoke out loud the names of the streets we were driving through. The conversation took 25 minutes and was recorded.
Later I drew the routes on the satellite photo of Rotterdam. I connected the mentioned streets on either side of the river.
About Scenes:
On this website and on Facebook I announce small events that will take place at a certain location and at a certain moment in the near future.
Everybody is invited to be at the exact spot at the exact time to contribute to the scene with his/her own simultaneous activity (or inactivity).
A Scene #30: a street where no one speaks
A Scene #30: a street where nobody speaks
On Friday, August 20, between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., users of the Neißstraße (between Weberstraße and Uferstraße) in Görlitz (D), will be personally addressed, and asked not to speak or to make any other noise. Small cards are handed out with the following texts:.
“Liebe FuBgängerin, lieber FuBgänger,
Heute, am 20. August, ist diese StraBe ein Ort der Stille. Bitte tragen Sie dazu bei, indem Sie während
lhren Spaziergang nicht sprechen oder Lärm machen. Wir danken lhnen herzlich für 1hr Engagement.”
–
“Drogi przechodniu,
Dziś, 20 sierpnia, ulica ta jest miejscem ciszy. Prosimy o nie rozmawianie i nie halasowanie podczas spaceru. Dziękujemy za Państwa zaangażowanie.”
A Scene #30 is part of STRE!FEN performance festival
The Scenes are small events that take place at a certain location and at a certain moment in the near future. Everybody is invited to be at the exact spot at the exact time to contribute to the scene with his/her own simultaneous activity (or inactivity).
2nd Nieuwstraat Festival
Dordrecht, Netherlands.
The Nieuwstraat is an average street in the center of Dordrecht, the Netherlands.
The Nieuwstraat Festival took place on June 19, 2021, between sunrise and midnight. The performances were performed by volunteers, unannounced and without explanation.
The performances involved took place in everyday environments and hid the unusual within the usual. Passers-by will have observed the actions, but may not have recognized them as performance art.
The Nieuwstraat Festival fits in a series of Unnoticed Art Festivals. It balances on the line between public and private. It shows artworks hiding in normality. The language, used to express the works, fits in the average social behaviour in public space and, because of that, remained unnoticed to bystanders.
Creating the concepts and executing the works are split. Artists send their concepts more or less as manuals. The chosen works are carried out by a group of (both experienced and unexperienced) volunteers. These volunteers have a double roll. They are participants as well as audience. They are responsible for realising the performances in the best possible way and, doing that, they fully experience the works. In fact they become part of it. This way the audience is not excluded but it is actually embedded.
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