City Halls of Berlin, 1999
The act of kneeling
and curtseying, making a bow and sliding on one’s knees are religious gestures, which the Performance Artist here transfers into the profane space. She slides on her knees, symbolically, during office hours in city halls, along regular administrative routes, in the presence of the public -as deputy. Further deputies join in-
The performance theorie of deputies
is based on so-called ‚embodied knowledge‚ (M. Merleau-Ponty) . Through deputies, atmospheres can be grasped impersonally and addressed through actions. In the moment of the performance people they no longer act from their everyday personage and emotions, but rather as deputy for this particular situation. This phenomenon refers to ‘recorded behaviour‘ (R. Schechner).
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©Bishin zum Rutschen auf den Knien