We presented an hour-long performance as part of the UCLA Department of Art Graduate Open Studios on December 4, 2010. Two performers “literalize” a 12-minute audio score, a denotation of the choreography of Tino Sehgal’s Kiss. The score describes a man and woman slowly moving through the mechanics of a continuous embrace. Our re-performance translated this “kiss” into a set of choreographic directives, enacted as literally as possible. Performed five consecutive times in blindfolds, the two performers made the description of an erotic encounter between a man and woman an exercise in automation and autoerotics, avoiding any physical contact between them save the occasional, unavoidable bumping into.
Performed by Brennan Gerard and Ryan Kelly. Photos: Kelly Kleinschrodt.