Wait
Get in a line (queue) you like,
Don’t listen to music or go on your phone
Once at the front, reveal the next section.
Get out of line,
Get back in at the back of the line, same rules,
Once at the front, reveal the next section.
Leave the line, don’t come back for a while.
The first inklings of this score came to me when I was listening to Allan Kaprow talk about How to Make a Happening. In it he lays out a set of rules that you need to follow to make a happening. Rule #2 states “… make it unsure, even to yourself, if the happening is life or art”. Rule #3 is “The situations for a happening should come from what you see in the real world…”. Both these rules focused in on the part of Yoko Ono’s scores which I found interesting, the examination and ‘artification’ of the ordinary. Lightning Piece and Tape Piece III stood out to me for this very reason, they both have the performer of the score do a ‘useless’ activity, light a match and record snow falling (but don’t listen to it) respectively. The act of doing a means but not for an ends stuck with me and so I based my score on it.
My first draft was quite similar to my final version but there was no hidden sections. So from the beginning the participant understood they would be waiting in line twice just to wait in line. When I ran the score I found the experience varied greatly depending on what line you choose. Participants that chose a short/non-existent line ended up having to noticeably (and therefore awkwardly) circle back one or two people as soon as they got to the front of the line while participants that chose a longer line suffered less embarrassment but spent more time waiting.
Even though it was awkward, the experience seemed to be positive. Participants became more aware of their surroundings, one participant noted that they they noticed the noises of people chatting, the smell of the coffee, the expressions of the staff helping customers for the first time even though they frequent that location. My goal wasn’t necessarily to make people appreciate the line more through this score and honestly I hated doing it, it was awkward getting out of line once you got to the front, it was frustrating having to wait in line again and it sucked not fulfilling the purpose (A Tasty Sand which) of the line I chose.
For my final iteration of the score I folded paper so that each paragraph of the score would be revealed only when directed. This was suggested by one of the playtesters and I hoped it would change the mindset of the participant since they wouldn’t know that they are waiting in line just to wait in line.
Images of the Paper Score:
The first page of the score
The second page of the score
The final page of the score
Images of Participant Running the Score:
Participant In Line
Participant Reading Second Page of Score
Participant Leaving Line