DA DA ART

During class we went to a Da Da art performance. We scuttled in single file and took our seats. On the floor there were models of humans wearing clothes and stuffed with grocery bags, some had hair. Surrounding each human model were strips of tape, as though they were marking the bodies. At first there was some chit chat while we waited for things to get started, then everybody quieted down in anticipation. Students were positioned in each corner texting, and occasionally you’d hear someone’s phone yelp “to infinity and beyond!”

It seemed like nothing was going to happen any time soon. Side conversations picked up in waves and soon the entire room was roaring with chatter. Jana and I were suspicious, noticing that some of the students in the corners were endlessly texting.  Only once did a student look up and talk to the person beside them, muttering something about “YouTube.” Our class continued to pursue side conversations while waiting for the “performance” to begin.

Fast forward fifteen minutes, I am antsy. My classmates continue to talk, and I think they are waiting for complete silence—perhaps for a certain stretch of time—in order to begin. Jana and I remain silent, but occasionally in the louder waves of chatter speculate about what’s going to happen. Our classmates leave, but since we were suspicious from the beginning we stay back.

Sure enough, five minutes after our class leaves, the performance picks up. One of the texters leaves and rolls in on a bicycle. Another texter leaves and emerges with a box of magazine clippings. Soon all the texters are up and taping magazine clippings on the bicycle. Members of the audience join, and I tape several pieces on the bicycle. After all the magazine clippings have been used up and all the bike is covered, the texters rip the magazine clippings off the bicycle and the owner of the bike rolls away. Gradually the rest of them leave, a couple of them kicking the human body models on their way out.

I interpret this as a reflection of our preoccupation with technology. We spend so much of our modern daily lives absorbed with our cell phone and receiving fast information or quick validation, we don’t take the time to stop and appreciate art or be creative. We have come to expect quick jolts of information with quick time for processing, technology has dampened our patience. We take advantage of things that could be considered interesting or beautiful if we slowed down.

Recently, I have been having issues with my phone. For many people, their phone is your lifeline, and as a teenager I feel this is especially relevant. Since my phone was malfunctioning for over two weeks, I was left to my own devices if I wanted to meet up or communicate with others. It was the most freeing experience I have had, I felt all my perceived obligations drifting away despite the isolation being without a cell phone brings. I think the Da Da performance was a good lesson in taking a break from the screen and looking at the world around you, as well as appreciating it for more than the moment that was demonstrated in their show.