Liz Glynn: III

Jul 29–Oct 8, 2010

Liz Glynn's III was a large scale installation and nine-part performance cycle produced by Redling Fine Art in the summer of 2010.

These events facilitated discussions about cryogenics and mummification, near-death experiences, personal credit crises, the afterlife in secular culture, the understanding of the pyramid schemes, and strategies for financial survival.

A small group was invited to the first performance, each member was then invited to invite more participants to the following event. As such the audience grew like a pyramid scheme culminating in a final durational public performance.

Liz Glynn, III, 2010. Produced by Redling Fine Art in Los Angeles.

Coming Forth By Day:

At noon a group of nine “sleepers” were invited to share their irrational fears and break bread. Fears were recorded on paper, and following lunch the sleepers ingested sedatives. Joined at dusk a group of “wakers” collected flashlights and walked down a half-mile ridge to wake the “sleepers”. After opening the pyramid they spoke the irrational fears back in the negative, in an act of symbolic exorcism.

On Not Allowing the Dead to Work (Fight Firing with Fire):

Guests, along with several visitors from various business and financial professions, were invited to share stories of being fired. Theorist Michael Wilson moderated a discussion on the possible positive outcomes of job loss. The conversation continued outside the pyramid over a barbeque of meat, in which ceramic hearts were fired for the next performance.

The Opening of the Mouth / The Weighing of the Heart – Judgment Day:

Guests were instructed to dig in the fire pit for a ceramic heart that best matched the weight of their own. Then each guest entered the pyramid with the instructions to speak everything that had been weighing on him or her into the microphone. The sound was mixed by artist Emily Lacy using a decay pedal, which created a quickly disappearing echo, consuming the voice. Afterwards, an attorney presided over the weighing of the hearts, as each guest tried to balance their ceramic heart with a combination of feathers and stones.

On Changing into any Form You Pleaseth:

Experimental shaman Asher Hartman led participants through a guided meditation that explored individual potentiality, and transformed each into the beast of their choosing. Lucky Dragons provided a soundtrack of shape-shifting electronic noise based on crystal patterns.

Unloosing the Body: Eating Cakes and Drinking Ale and Living in the Land of the Sun:

Nine people, who were bound together in a pile and lay like corpses in the center of the pyramid. During the hour-long performance, the bodies slowly began to move and unloosen their wrappings. As the wraps came off, nine cakes were brought in to the bodies, who served it to the guests. A night of gambling with other people’s money followed. Guests negotiated with other guests and set terms for the winnings. At dawn the games ended and the band Sneaky Snake played as the sun rose.

On Not Seeing Corruption:

Liz Glynn invited an acquaintance from college who had worked for Madoff Investment Securities for a live interview. A part of terms of his participation the audience where blindfolded. As questions turned to the subject of corruption and ethics, a snake handler passed a live seven-foot long boa constrictor through the hands of the audience.

On Not Dying a Second Time:

Cryonics expert Max More spoke about the possibilities of revival, the philosophy of being a physicalist, and the blurry definition of clinical death. Rigorous questioning by the audience followed.

In and Out of the Underworld (out of body | near death):

Liz Glynn staged three experiments in astral projection with small groups inside the pyramid. The first explored ideas of alienation in daily life, the second meditation discussed near death experiences, and the final attempted a complete out-of-body experience. The experiments were broadcast live. The radio audience was allowed to call and join the discussion following the experiments.

Liz Glynn and her guests began prying pallets off one at a time and sending them down the hill in a firemen-style line, until only the frame was left standing. The deconstruction was accompanied by a group of musicians lead by drummer Corey Fogel. A feast of various fowl was served over the course of the night.

Guests gathered through out the afternoon, bringing offerings to “give up”. At dusk, after all of the offerings were deposited in the pyramid, where they were set on fire. The deconstruction of the pyramid began.

End

Liz Glynn, III, 2010.
A large-scale installation, built from reclaimed wood pallets, the pyramid was erected over two months on a hilltop in East Los Angeles. The structure served as the site for a series of nine events ranging from embodied actions to dialogical conversations and demonstrative experiments.