Artwork #1: Score

Roll for Role

I wanted to create a score that could be played in a mutable way by its players. By placing the ‘fun maintenance’ on the players, I think the players become more attached to the game. However, they still needed a starting point, so I designed the Crow and Collector roles to be easily cycled/repeated as many times as necessary.

This game should be played with at least 4 people, each person should roll a d20, if its even they are a Crow, if its odd, they become a Collector. All tasks for a players assigned roll should be completed. Players should take turns rolling a single die. once all players have rolled once, the Creator role should be added in. Once at least one person has become the creator, the eliminator role may be added in.

Current role tasks should be visible to everyone playing (like on a projector or TV).

At any point, if players get ‘soft-locked’, for example: all players become crows and get stuck; the game is over.

Starting Script:

Score A: The Crow
– adorn a feather
– find a shiny item
– bring it to The Collector
– roll for role (d20)

Score B: The Collector
– adorn a pin
– until a Crow delivers an acceptable item to you, find a chair.
– if a crow gives you a shiny item, exchange for a snack
– roll for role (d20)

Score C: The Creator
– read through current roles and instructions
– add or edit only one thing
– roll for role (d20)

Score D: The Eliminator
– read through current roles and instructions
– delete only one thing
– roll for role (d20)

 

Concluding thoughts:

  • This game in design as well as in testing works much better in locations where more than the starting number of players can be added. whether in a classroom or outdoors where more people can ask/be asked to join in, the more fun that this game gets
  • I would have liked to add in a rule to the crow roll where if they choose not to give an item to a collector, then they can do something else instead to move on, however I wanted the focus to be on the crows’ loyalty/reliability on the collector to eat. adding the components to include this feature i think would have made the game too complicated
    • maybe some rule like “either bring an item to the collector, or [some unenjoyable task], however each person playing can do [unenjoyable task] at most one time”
    • however i didn’t get a chance to playtest with this sort of rule
  • i feel like it could also be more interesting for the players to sort of “mad-libs” the original task so they feel more inclined/attached to it
  • current game design will often end with players all becoming either crows or collectors, while it is technically possible to avoid this, players often do not think of it/realize in time
  • One of the biggest issues with the creator role is that players can make rules that don’t make sense. whether it be to bad grammar or intention, this makes the game interesting but not usually in a good way because players don’t know what to do to complete their roles tasks
  • game roles/rules should be visible to all players at all times
    • because the rules can be modified, players can get confused when things are getting changed and no longer know what to do next
  • rerolling needs a queue, otherwise it gets too confusing. One solution is to offer more dice so people can roll at the same time but I think this is worse. 
  • “What is a thing?” This line for the creator/eliminator is intentionally left vague. As long as the person doing the action can justify it is only one thing, i think it is fine whether they decide to delete a single word, line or even role. 

 

Playtest notes and iteration:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_xUxZ0vbn7MoFV5XrkmDfuC-RPPDpOw8ydi4-ICfpLA/edit

 

Experiencing different life at the same time

Introduction:This a game or activity that players have to take a picture at the same time, even though they may be in different places and doing different things. But the time experienced by all is fixed, and photos taken at the same time can be compared with each other. Maybe other people’s lives are not always what they want, and their own lifestyle may be what many people dream of. We should be able to find arts in other people’s life, but most importanly in our own life.

Inspirations: Kaprow said, ‘The line between art and life should be kept as fluid, and perhaps as indistinct as possible. We use our eye to observe many things/events happened  every single day. But sometimes we just ignore it, so this game force players to stop and actually observe the surroundings, art can be anything in your life. Cameras sometimes can helps you capture the moment. By putting everyone’s moment together it would be a wonderful piece because they are so random but they all happened at the same time on this planet.

Instructions:Players get together and agree on a time for the photo shoot, and a specified theme or anything that they feel like is art.

requirments: A Device that could capture photos( cell phone, digital camera, polaroid camera….)

Timekeeper,Printer(optional)

examples: I ask my friends take a picture at 5PM today(including myself), no matter where they are or what they doing.

Me at 5 pm (Playing Cyberpunk 2077, I would called it Art):

Peter at 5 pm (Studying Art design in SNELL):

Jiang at 5 PM (exploring the city):

Justin at 5 PM(staying home and looking outside):

Discussions and Conclusion: Everyone wanted to do what I was doing at 5 pm, because they were either bored or very busy. I am the only one at that time staying at home and play video game. But I actually wanted to study like peter did at 5pm,however I wasn’t in the mood. I would also like to go out and walk around the campus, yet the weather was bad so I didn’t do it.  In fact I am totally not regret about what I was doing at 5 pm because the Night City in Cyberpunk 2077 was so beatiful, it is an art piece that I can particiapte in.

 

 

 

 

Become a Tree

Locate a patch of ground and stand on it.

Do not move (rustling in the wind is okay).

If it’s raining, feel the rain.

If it’s breezy, feel the breeze.

If it’s sunny, feel the heat.

Continue feeling things for as long as you wish to remain a tree.

Optional: Perform photosynthesis.

I took a lot of inspiration from Yoko Ono here. I enjoyed how her works often asked impossible tasks of people (“Draw with yourself until you disappear”)–or didn’t explicitly ask tasks at all (“Water Piece: Water”). I wanted to stretch the concept of what counted as a “possible task,” while still being able to reenact it in real life somehow. Because of that, I decided on a piece where you take on the traits of something you’re not. Similarly, I tried to adopt a lot of Yoko Ono’s humor here, with lines like the optional requirement of performing photosynthesis, or the line about the acceptability of rustling in the wind.

Another thing I liked about many Fluxus works was their interest in blurring the line between art and life. In many ways, the viewer’s mindset is the difference between something that’s art and something that isn’t–and I think that’s something “anart”–like rotting food–demonstrated very well. For this work specifically, I focused on the idea that you can have a “beautiful experience” just by slowing down and paying attention to your surroundings–even if such a thing isn’t usually appreciated in the same way a more curated experience might be.

I also think this piece is interesting because of how minimalist the actual experience is. Without any game-like elements, or specific physical requirements, the experience of the piece is completely centered around your surroundings. Because of that, everyone who performs this score will see, hear, and feel wildly different things. This calls attention to the fact that life–unlike the carefully presented art at museums–is unpredictable, and sometimes unpleasant. If you’re a tree in the rain, or the wind, or the heat, you just have to stand there and deal with it. Even this unpleasantness can be beautiful, though. Like many of the food-related Fluxus pieces, it goes to show how messy reality is.

Hide the Mistake

Roll the dice.

Crochet the amount of stitches, any type of stitch or knots. Make it loose, make it tight. Wear it.

Choose to connect to any previous stitches, switch yarn, or not.

Start anywhere.

Repeat until the imperfections are gone.

Artist’s Statement:

The idea behind this score is to get the reader comfortable with the idea of human error by physically surrounding them in the messiness of it. Crochet is an art that emphasizes the flaws of human error and portray it in a negative light as it would be obvious amongst the uniform stitches. I strived against this uniformity that is often found within crochet pieces. I wanted to give actors a similar feeling as to when they are a 5-year-old scribbling on a piece of paper without the stress of making sure that they have the right proportions or perspective. It promotes complete creativity from the actors similar to the Happenings as whatever happens, should happen. They are not allowed to unravel the piece and they can only stop once they have come to terms that they are human and mistakes are bound to happen.

I got the idea to use the dice after the first iteration because it’s a randomized way where the user would be pushed to be creative with their piece. When rolling a 1, they can choose the different tension, look, and length that they would like to work with. It also moves the piece away from looking perfect as the idea is to accept the imperfections and the messiness of the piece to end the score. Over all, the score can span for hours, months, or years, which is an inspiration by Yoko Ono as her scores are not always realistic. I wanted to add a deeper meaning to the silliness of her pieces thus, I decided to go with this route for my score.

I look at the result of the piece similar to that of the Happening as well. Whatever happens, would happen to the piece, the crocheter can’t unravel it. It’s similar to a time stamp where it could show the person pausing the piece to have a chat or a sudden knot appearing in the yarn and they haven’t seen it before to unravel it. It makes every iteration of the score unique to the person based on the situations around them. The same person shouldn’t be able to recreate the same exact piece later.

FOOD PIECE

FOOD PIECE

 

A fish from the Atlantic.

An Asian grain.

A green vegetable.

A creamy substance.

An ancient ingredient.

Something from Turkey.

A Himalayan rock.

A Middle Eastern herb.

And something spicy.

 

Mix whatever you desire.

Apply what you mixed.

Cook everything.

And enjoy!

 

2023 fall

 

Video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wC3YMCMwe44wtW0XHIJWVaku3Z5i2Ocw/view?usp=sharing

 

Artist’s Statement:

My work was inspired by my and my parents’ love of cooking. When I was younger my parents would cook for me and I would try to learn by observing them. When I was in 3rd grade we had an assignment where we had to make a recipe for something in my Computer class. I decided to make a recipe for a Philidelphia Roll, my favorite sushi, based on what I observed. Rather than ask my parents how they made it, I decided to make the recipe on my own and show it to them afterward. When I showed my parents my work they were surprised because I had only missed 1 step. My friends who also loved sushi also saw what I wrote and asked if they could use my recipe. This experience showed me that making recipes for others that are abstract can be fun and helpful. This experience partially inspired me to make my score. Another large inspiration was the work of Yoko Ono. I was inspired by the abstract nature of Ono’s work as well as her formatting. I found the minimalist and abstract nature of her work quite beautiful as it left a lot up to the reader’s interpretation. I tried to emulate that in my work to make my recipe feel unique to anyone who tried it because they could end up using different ingredients or different cooking techniques. Ono’s short yet descriptive phrases also inspired me to make my recipe feel like it is painting a bit of a picture or has a bit of history behind it. Lines like “An ancient ingredient.” hopefully inspire the reader to do some research or think to find an ingredient that fits the category which can be fun and inspiring. Ono also inspired my formatting down to the style of date I used. Lastly, I was inspired by the worldwide nature of the Fluxus Movement. Unlike many artistic movements beforehand, Fluxus was experienced in many different parts of the world. This spoke to me because I love combining flavors from different areas while learning about them. This inspired me to use ingredients from Turkey, the Himalayas, Asia, and the Middle East while also using traditionally American and European ingredients. My goal with this score is best described through the following interaction. One day a family friend said to me that he really hated cooking because it wasn’t fun to follow recipes and make the same thing every day. I told him that the way to make cooking fun is to try things out, go to different grocery stores and use new ingredients, don’t just follow a recipe, make the food your own and even if it’s bad it’ll be fun and something you learn from.

Silent Piece

Find a place peace and silent,

where nobody is around,

and where you can see the sky.

Close your eyes and take a deep breathe.

Play your favourite music and look up in the sky.

And you may leave when you begin to feel the silence.

 

The following pictures are some playtests conducted.

Top floor of the Columbus Garage during night

Park near the Carter Playground

Top of the apartment building

This score is inspired by Yoko Ono and the idea of this score comes from an art game called Loneliness, which is basically a game where player control a black square and wander in the emtpy gamespace, and can’t interact with the surroundings. When I was playing that game, I had a feeling of silence and a sense of relieveness besides the loneliness. Therefore, I want to create a score that will somehow generate similar feelings. This Yoko Ono’s style score is actually similar to meditating, but it must be conducted alone in a place where nobody is around in order to generate similar atmosphere with the game Loneliness. Also, feeling the silence is not about hearing nothing or being quiet, but is to feel the silence internally, so the score delibrately ask the conductor to play music while seeking the silence to create the contrast and let the conductor feel the inner silence more obviously. Personally, I like to find a high place such as the top of a building where nobody is there and conduct the score, but the place really depends on individual’s preference.

How to Build a Watertight Container

(1) Take stock of your materials. Look for anything that could hold the water within itself.
(2) Arrange the materials into a shape of your choosing, that you believe will hold water. Make the shape such that you believe the water will not mind being contained within it, or perhaps even enjoy it.
(3) Fill the container with water, and invert it to test your design.
(4) Watch water escape through the cracks.
(5) Refine your design. It may not be as beautiful as the previous design, but that’s okay. This way, the water won’t escape as easily.
(6) Test it once again, and watch the water escape once more.
(7) Repeat steps 5 and 6. It is natural for water to want to escape, and to feel clever and uncontainable. But contain it you must.
(9) You have now successfully built a Watertight Container.

By Jackson Green

Demonstration can be found here.

As The Dice Fall

Score:

  • Acquire the following dice:
    • 2 Four Sided Dice (2d4)
    • 2 Eight Sided Dice (2d8)
    • 4 Six Sided Dice (4d6)
    • 1 Twenty Sided Dice (1d20)
  • Gain access to a Baby Grand or Grand Piano
  • Open the lid of the piano and prop it open
  • Take the 2d8 and simultaneously roll them onto the strings of the piano
  • Note the position of the leftmost d8
  • Find the corresponding piano key that vibrates the strings the leftmost d8 lays upon
  • Add the values of both d8
  • Starting at the key we identified earlier, count up from that key a number of adjacent keys equal to the sum of both d8
  • Keep note of these two keys
  • Now take the 2d4 and simultaneously roll them onto the strings of the piano near the 2d8
  • Note the value of each d4 and their proximity to the d8
  • The value of the d4 provides the number of times (in a four note sequence) that each key is played
  • The number of times each key is played is taken from the closest d4 to the d8 the key is connected to
  • Now take the 4d6 and simultaneously roll them onto the strings of the piano
  • Note the position of each d6 and their value
  • Find the key corresponding to the position of each d6 upon the strings in the same manner as we did earlier with the d8
  • These keys will also be played as the two earlier keys we determined are played, but can be played at any time
  • The value of each d6 represents the number of adjacent keys, going either up or down, that can be alternatively played at any time
  • Now take the 1d20 and roll it onto the strings of the piano
  • Note the value of the d20 and multiply it by 10. This is the number of seconds you will play the piano for. Set a timer for this amount.
  • With the correct starting keys identified, and the various values of dice rolled as well as their corresponding effects on how the piano is played in mind, prepare to play
  • Start the timer and begin to play
  • Stop playing when the timer finishes
  • Observe the dice upon the strings of the piano. Repeat all above steps without rerolling any of the dice. Instead note how they have been agitated by your playing and have both new positions and values.
  • With these new positions and values identified, prepare to play again
  • Start the timer and begin to play
  • Repeat ad infinitum

 

Artist’s Statement:

I was inspired by a number of existing historical musical works both in the form of experimental compositions and musical games. As a whole this section of music that inspired me is referred to as “Aleatoric Music” or “Indeterminate Music.” Music that has some element of its final product left up to chance. The first example of this can be found in the “Musikalisches Würfelspiel” (Musical Dice) which exploded in popularity during the Age of Enlightenment. This was during the “Classical Period” of Music from the mid 1700s to early 1800s and these games allowed even someone with barely any musical knowledge to roll dice and following the instructions of the game put together a new composition every time. Johann Kirnberger’s “The Ever-Ready Minuet and Polonaise Composer” (1757) is one such example, and Kirnberger himself was a student of J.S. Bach. Musical dice games can also be found in C.P.E. Bach’s “A method for making six bars of double counterpoint at the octave without knowing the rules” (1758) and Mozart’s “Instructions for the composition of as many waltzes as one desires with two dice, without understanding anything about music or composition” (1792). While the names of such games are quite overwrought, they serve as the main inspiration for this project. As the concept of using dice to inform various components of performance and provide musical limitations comes directly from these games. However, there are also other elements interacting. The idea of rolling the dice directly onto the strings so that they would interfere with the strings vibration and create a unique sound came from John Cage’s practice of creating “Prepared Pianos.” There was also inspiration from Terry Riley’s “In C” and Earle Brown’s “25 Pages.”

 

Documentation:

Video of Performance: https://photos.app.goo.gl/YJvM96vsuNFPDkb48

Before Playing

After Playing

Score.

Score:

Read the following sentences titled in “statement” if you want.

Send comments to liu.jinx@northeastern.edu if you have one.

Warning: the statement is currently grammerly inaccurate. Intrepret it, and if you don’t want to, skip it.

Statement

2022/9/26

“A day

Then get up in the morning reluctantly

Attend classes

Struggle with homework

Be miserable

Be sad

Be perplexed

Go to bed”

This is my ex-score.

This is me, manipulated by hormones. Fragile body, and uselessness. A day is happy, the other day is sad, and poor “me” can’t even define myself.

When I wrote this(score), other than completing homework I also wanted to find resonance. I want to know…what’s other people’s thought. I want to know…In the end, whether I can find the meaning of life in crowd or not.

……you see, if I’m blind, I can’t paint anymore. If I have broken arms, I wouldn’t be able to do anything.

My former teacher told me a story in which there was a question, “What is the meaning of finding meaning in life?” “I think that a good question. It can be used to help you find meaning in life.

In Richard Hall, I sat on couch beside the doorway. There is a plaque painted in black with gold characters that reads “1941-1945, commemorating these Northeastern people who died for their country”.

…… Golden plaque. As if by erasing this, they would no longer exist. Is that right? The sacrifice is meaningless.

No, the definition should not be defined by me, it must be by themselves.

Let’s go see “the Confessions” again.

……

2022/9/27/13:05/In Ryder hall waiting for class

These days are busy and my brain have not recovered yet. And I came back to do the score reluctantly.

Why did I write a score? I guess it’s, “avoid being the only person in the class who didn’t do their homework”. It’s not about fame. Because as if I have not been, the first or the last, in my class. I have been there, and there’s no difference.

It’s because that if you are the special one with defect, you’re ability of understanding everyone very well is deprived by the group. Because every soul is unique and there is so much more I want to understand, I still want to be in the group.

Last night I ran to read the Confession again. Leo Tolstoy’s book. It’s nice to see that he’s even crappier than me on this issue.

Me, the limited me.

(From professor Celia:) Meaning is for “someone”.

In my eyes, ants on the ground carry food by following their genetic instincts to survive. However, this may not be the case for the ants.

Eternal things do not need to look for the meaning of existence. Only with such a short life do I need to exist by attaching myself to something eternal.

By then I felt it.

This could be the answer, the cause, and the result.

My brain felt weak and burnt, its strength is depleted by this question. Now what I’ll do is to record my feelings honestly.

This is the answer in my mind:

“Seek eternity until your death.”

……

2022/9/27/21:00

I spent most of my leisure time on watching other people’s lives. I went to video sites to watch people go into factory, do night shift for ten hours, live in a dormitory with bugs on their beds, and then earned 4,000. If I become some big man, would I try to improve their lives? Would I? Though I don’t have the ability, not at all. If I get superpower suddenly, maybe I would sneak into the government department and then talk to the leaders. “Y’all”…

Though incompetent, I do “have a life”. You see, if I were brave enough, would I be able to sacrifice myself to get the attention of my superiors? Then many more people will be happy.

……

I’ve read Ono’s grapefruit, and I felt that many things in it are not so meaningful to me.

Hey, fun fact. Just by reading the works of my classmates in class, I don’t think these are interesting at all. Watching them presenting, I thought, “the loveliest thing is actually them”. One by one, they showed their personalities.

The black girl who swears freely, the guy who plays his instrument in silence, the dice artist with blonde hair and blue eyeshadow, the classmates who’ve concluded his good weekend, the girl who sat next to me having a nice smile and nice cat. Grabbing cake with friends, trying to show the paint stains of tennis balls but have had problem unfolding, asked everyone to plays parachute together. Or draw pictures, tell stories, ask twenty-five people to twist a cube. What really gives meaning to their works is them.

……

If I want to present my score to class, I must present myself.

What do I have?

My life is kind of by myself. Sitting in the dormitory. Busying……

Woo! I typed these words when Sydney suddenly protruded from the side of the door and scared my roommate off. Sydney has black curly hair, dyed green at the end, and beautiful gray eyes.

Though, how could she be so lovely? Why is she so cute? Is it really my poor flesh that gave me such beautiful emotion and made me in tears?

I want to see your souls. Then when I see it, I’ll say:

“How could you be so cute!”

 

*My words are translated from Chinese and could have loss its strengths.

*My brain is exhausted and I have to get up next morning very early and I felt a little bit dizzy now. I can’t continue. I’ll edit it in the future if I have chance.

Zen Tsuru Piece

Event Score:

“Grab a long novel,
But read every other page…
Find an unknown word,
And make several paper cranes…
Go until it’s “true,”
Then count every crane in sight…
Write a short haiku,
Using all your newfound might…”

 

Artist Statement:

During the brainstorming process for this artwork, I was reading through a multitude of “event scores” written by Yoko Ono in her famous book Grapefruit. One of the most defining characteristics about her written artwork is her astounding usage of unorthodox actions to reveal greater truths about existence, and I wanted to create something a bit similar for our first assignment. Ultimately, there were three “event scores” included in her collection that resonated within me, and they were “Number Piece I,” “Number Piece II,” and “Paper Folding Piece” respectively. Each of these “event scores” involved words, books, and paper in some way shape or form, and as someone who loves language, linguistics, & literature in their entireties, I personally wanted to compose an “event score” that was thematically relevant to both reading & writing. More specifically, I wanted to compose a written piece that encompassed the intrinsic beauty of novels, poetry, origami, and education in a rather unorthodox way, and these three “event scores” gave me the inspiration to conceptualize “Zen Tsuru Piece.”

For additional context, the name of this “event score” is a mixture of “zen” (the Japanese sect of Mahayana Buddhism) and “tsuru” (the Japanese word for “crane”). Furthermore, it is derived from the Japanese term “senbazuru,” which is an Eastern tradition with some remarkably wholesome folklore. In short, it was believed that any wish would come true if you manage to fold one thousand paper cranes, and it is generally practiced by communities for the sake of mitigating and mourning other people’s suffering (such as injuries, sicknesses, memorials, etc). Because of the inherent nature of “senbazuru,” I always found this phenomenon to be a heartwarming display of both empathy and condolences, and it definitely played a major role in the composition of my “event score.”

In the end, I wanted to incorporate certain aspects of both the fine arts and Japanese customs in my artwork while simultaneously expanding upon the subject matter at hand. While many Dada movements do involve appropriation, the “avant-garde” is best characterized as being “ahead of the curve” by providing a differentiating perspective through innovative processes. Moreover, I did not want to blatantly appropriate these particular practices because in my eyes, it would’ve been extremely insensitive to neglect their original meanings and cultural significance. The overarching intent behind my art piece was to create a love letter for the limitless potential of the written word (as well as the materials used in its production). Obtaining knowledge through reading books, appreciating culture, reflecting on tradition, and pursuing innovation can result in both intellectual growth and creative expression, further cementing these ideas as the central concepts for my project.

 

Documentation: