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  Image: Ed Giardina
• Image: Stephanie Allespach
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  Image: Stephanie Allespach
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Photos from Occupy the Rose Parade – January 2, 2012

Click here to view more images of the octopus at Occupy the Rose Parade

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Roll over an image to see photographer credit

Visit Photographer Johnny Nguyen’s Website

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]]> http://performingpublicspace.org/octupy-the-rose-parade/feed 0 http://performingpublicspace.org/whats-octupy http://performingpublicspace.org/whats-octupy#comments Sun, 30 Oct 2011 03:26:22 +0000 Janet http://performingpublicspace.org/?p=1927

Who wants to explore octopus imagery?

Fat cats and greedy pigs make great symbols of corporate greed, but multi-armed octopi speak to the ways in which corporations operate. And more than that, as super graceful creatures with a (possibly) distributed brain, they may offer an image by which to think about evolving forms of leaderless self-organization. ***

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries writers and cartoonists used the octopus to great effect to detail corporate maneuverings and bring them to public attention. Some of our favorites represent Southern Pacific Railroad: “The leviathan, with tentacles of steel clutching into the soil” described by Frank Norris, which laid the foundation for contemporary “corporate personhood” in 1886 via a successful tax avoidance strategy. Others – well, Vulgar Army, which is devoted to the “octopus in propaganda and political cartoons”, has an excellent selection for your delectation.

There are certainly references to the corporate octopus happening now, like this one by Molly Crabapple, but we’d like to see more detail, and more of them – and bigger. So, partly to have the image happen in the world, partly to be able to talk about it with people, we’ve been making a giant octopus puppet at Occupy LA. The plan is to do the first performance on Sunday November 20, 2011.

We, by the way, are Janet, Matthew, Beth, Sara, Meredith, Jules, Ed, Daniel, Sam, AAAAAA, Lou, Guy, Chris, Pete, Autumn, Terence, Fabian, Francine, Dennis, Carol, Starla, Bill, Glen, Krista, Stephanie,  more names to come…..

*** Does this graphic, The Declaration of the Occupation of NYC, represent the self-organizing octopus mind in operation?

Wednesday December 14, 2011

Matias Viegener’s response to Sue Bell Yank’s Occupy questions just posted on her Social Practice blog. Here’s what he says about Octupy, and it’s got us thinking:

“The octopus is a tangible way of describing corporate power, a useful metaphor, but turning it into a participatory performance re-appropriates it.  Built with garbage, it becomes a public toy; it may be playful, but it’s serious play.  The octopus’s deployment works on multiple levels: the one vs. the many, the controller vs. the controlled, and the opposition between corporate bodies and natural bodies.  This “body” is both natural and artificial, a corporate body (lots of people in there) and a mythical body.  Without making an actual sound, it is both monophonic and polyphonic.”

Friday December 9, 2011

It must be true, it’s in today’s LA Times: Occupy the Rose Parade will display “a giant octopus to represent Wall Street’s stranglehold on the economy and the political system.”

More info at: www.occupytheroseparade.org/

Monday November 21, 2011

Yesterday, clad in rain ponchos and trash bags, we discovered that Octy tentacles make fantastic umbrellas.

Thank you to everyone who turned out to operate the puppet – John, Brad, Diego, Anne, Bill, Stephanie, Chris, Carol, Adam, Beth, Minica and her mum, dad and brother, Ed, Lucy, Roger, the guy with the great loud voice who helped coordinate movement, Pete, Krista, Luis, Gerda, Marvella, Meredith, Doug, Jen and her cousin, Evelyn, Freya, Fred, Andrew….lots of other people whose names we didn’t know….and some whose names we forgot to put in (we got rain on the brain, please forgive the lapse). We’ll post more pictures and video soon.

Octy’s been asked to join in Occupy the Rose Parade so we’ll be rolling the tentacles out again. Now we just need to up the theatricals…..

Sunday November 20, 2011

It’s cold and grey this morning but there seems to be a gap in the rain. Fingers crossed. Brad and Jan made eyes out of duct tape. We’re ready to go. Off round the camp now to rustle up more participants. Not sure if I’d leave my tent on a morning like this either. Wish us luck!

Saturday November 19, 2011

Octy is so very nearly finished now — yesterday and today John, Brad, Matt and Beth busted out the head (we get to do the eyes first thing in the morning) with lots of additional help; Jan, John (he was everywhere), Ezra, Helen, and so many others finished the tentacles.

The head is perched at the edge of the camp , stuffed full of tentacles. It looks a bit like a transparent igloo. The wind is getting up, storms are predicted and we just hope the rain holds off ’till after 1pm tomorrow.

Thursday November 17, 2011

Octopus weekend draws near! We’ll be at Occupy LA this evening to meet up with people from an OLA theater group, then again on Friday + Saturday November 18 + 19 to finish off the puppet in time for Sunday’s performance!!!

Here’s a flyer for it all — more contemporary octopus cartoons to come.

Sunday November 13, 2011

Thank you to everyone who came to help out today!!

And check out an interview with Jan on Sue Bell Yank’s Social Practice blog about Occupy and Octupy that got posted today.

Friday November 11, 2011

We’ll be back at Occupy LA on Sunday 13,  Friday 18 and Saturday 19 (10:30am-5pm) to finish making the puppet and then again noon Sunday 20 November for the performance!

Sunday November 6, 2011

9 PM: Well, it turned into a lovely day in downtown LA after all, but by the time that became obvious we’d got everything set up under cover, so, with Carol, Chris and Beth, we made tentacles at home. All the yards of plastic bag ’skin’ that people have been making over the last couple of weeks are being attached to make wider, longer pieces, which are then reinforced with a network of tape. They move beautifully — sort of undulating, with additional riffles provided by the dangling bag handles.

9 AM: We are not going to to let the rain keep us down!  We are going to meet at our place to work on the Octopus.  We are at 25th and Alameda (close to downtown).  Call us at 213-309-0050 for directions.

We will again be meeting at Occupy Los Angeles this Sunday (11/6/11) between 10:30 a.m. -5:00 p.m. to work on the octopus.   We have had puppet makers, artists and passerbys help with the construction of Octo.  We will be meeting on the steps at 200 N. Main st. (between 1st and Temple), please come by and help!

Wednesday November 2, 2011

Jules Rochielle sent us a link to this brilliant graphic from Occupy Wall Street. Is this what non-corporate octopus thinking looks like? (The link goes to a zoomable image so you can read all the thoughts).

Tuesday November 1, 2011

Another great day – the octopus grew, lots of people stopped to talk about octopuses and corporations and machinations, and in the afternoon the capoeira dancers and musicians set up next to us – magical!

Sunday October 30, 2011

Join us on the steps of City Hall this weekend, we’ll be there 10am – 5pm making the giant octopus puppet again.

Tuesday October 25, 2011

After last Sunday’s fantastic start we’re ready to do it again on Sunday October 30, 2011. The ‘crown’ and most of the hoops for the bamboo skeleton are done…

We replaced the heat sealer with plain old tape — the sealer makes a great, hardy material but we realized we need something a lot less sturdy for this first go, plus taping was something everyone could get involved in as they stopped to hang out. (Who knows though, maybe we’ll make a hardier version after this and go on tour.) Dozens of meters of the plastic bag ’skin’ has been stuck together – thanks to everyone who joined in!

Sunday October 23, 2011

We’re gathering at City Hall on Sunday October 23, 11am – 5pm, to spend the day working on the octopus puppet with anyone who’d like to join in. We’ve been gathering materials for the frame: old inner tubes (thanks Meredith and Jim and the Bicycle Kitchen), bamboo (thanks Andy) and bamboo splitters (thanks Jaime). We’ve got a ton of old plastic bags too and, inspired by Jen, Brett and Temporary Services and their brilliant ideas for bag reuse (thanks all!) an impulse heat sealer to join them together.

Thursday October 20, 2011

Thursday, same time same place, after Tuesday’s great ideas let’s see if we can’t translate those 19th century octopus/SPRR cartoons into a contemporary context!

Wednesday October 19, 2011

After working out ways to make the puppet with bamboo, inner tubes and plastic bags, (thanks to the brilliant Beth from Bread and Puppets) we’re gathering materials ready for Sunday — inner tubes anyone?

Tuesday October 18, 2011

We’ll be working on the ‘how to make it’ aspect of the octopus puppet tomorrow, Tuesday October 18, at Occupy — meeting at the library at 6.30pm to brainstorm ideas and formulate a plan!

Sunday October 9, 2011

Eat the Octopus: History Friends discuss history and imagery relating to Southern Pacific Railroad, aka the Octopus, its relationship to land speculation in Los Angeles and its role in the birth of corporate personhood. At Occupy LA, with Octopus cake. Meet in front of the Occupy library. 6.30pm.

How we’re making the octopus:

The octopus puppet has a plastic bag ‘skin’ laid over a bamboo ‘skeleton’. The 20-ft tall body comprises a bamboo ‘crown’ set atop a series of circular ‘ribs’. The 30-foot long tentacles are made of more of the plastic bag material, which is draped over and held up by the puppeteer participants.

That’s the plan anyway. As things work/un-work and unfold we’ll let you know. Meanwhile, if you’d like to know the ingredients and method, here goes:

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You will need:

· 15 qty., 6ft-long bamboo poles, 2”-diameter (or 10 qty, 12ft poles)

· (optional) 8 qty., 6ft-long bamboo poles, 1”-diameter

· 1500 plastic bags (approx.)

· 20 bicycle inner tubes

· 2 rolls duct tape

· 50 rolls plastic adhesive tape (duct, packing, sellotape etc)

· Scissors

· Tools to split and cut bamboo: bamboo splitter/hammer/blade/saw

· 120ft thin rope

· An occupation (or start your own)

· Lots of people

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First Off

Split the bamboo poles into ½ inch wide pieces with a hammer and chisel (or similar).

Cut the inner tubes into ½ inch wide x 12 inch long ‘strings’ (sometimes they will need to be longer or shorter).

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Making the Body of  the Octopus

Join two of the ½ inch wide bamboo splits together end-to-end with a 12” overlap. Hold in place with duct tape. Lash the inner tube strings around the overlap to make it secure.

Continue joining bamboo poles together in this way until you have a 39-foot length of bamboo. Secure the ends of the long pole together using the same technique to make a 12-foot diameter circle.

Now you have the fattest part of the octopus body, repeat the process to make smaller versions: 2×10ft, 2×8ft, 3×6ft, 1×4ft. Here’s a handy calculator to work out the length/circumference ratio

To make the crown (see top image): Lash four pairs of poles together. Attach them to either side of an 8ft circle and secure them at the center using inner tube string. Attach the 6ft and 4ft circles inside the dome, securing with inner tube string wherever bamboo meets bamboo.

Attach remaining loose circles to crown using rope as shown

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To make the skin

Cut two plastic bags and lay flat, one atop the other, as shown. Tape together. Cut and tape more bags, making a bolt of material approximately 12-foot long. Fold up, store. Repeat.

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To cover the body

Loosely gather or pleat the end of one of the bolts of plastic bag material. Secure the gathers with tape (see above image on the bottom right). Attach to the top of the octopus’s crown using string and tape. Depending on the width of your bags, repeat with five or six bolts.

Arrange and tape the material so that it falls edge to edge, covering the crown.  Tape additional ‘bolts’ to extend the material and cover the bottom half of the octopus. Loosely gather or pleat the material and tape at the octopus’s bottom rung.

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To make the tentacles

The tentacles comprise ‘blankets’ of the plastic bag material draped over the puppeteers (see very top image). To make the blankets simply tape bolts of the plastic bag material together to roughly the dimensions and shape shown.

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For the optional ribs at the tip of each tentacle (see very top image on this page- the last figure to the right is carrying the “rib” with a pole): cut 8×3ft lengths and 8×2½ft lengths of the ½ inch wide bamboo. Bend and lash the 3ft lengths to the 2½ft lengths using duct tape and inner tube string as shown. Attach the 6ft-long 1”-diameter bamboo poles as shown.

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Operation

We’ll let you know when we’ve got that far, though live musical accompaniment or drummers would be nice.

All Things Octopus

• What’s Octupy?
• Make your own octopus
• News
• Octupy LA City Hall
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• Octupy the Rose Parade

]]> http://performingpublicspace.org/octupy/feed 0 http://performingpublicspace.org/still-i-rise-helen-lessick http://performingpublicspace.org/still-i-rise-helen-lessick#comments Sun, 12 Jun 2011 20:27:02 +0000 Janet http://performingpublicspace.org/?p=1832 Lessick_PAR_SoCal

1) Take the Alameda exit off the 10 freeway.

2) Proceed south on Alameda (if you are driving east on the 10 freeway turn right,  if you are driving west on the 10 freeway turn left)

3) Drive past Washington Blvd. on Alameda

4) Proceed to the next set of traffic lights.

5) Turn left (east) onto 25th/24th street

6) Towards the end of this block look out for a discreet drive way w/ a BLUE sign on your left hand side.  In white letters the sign reads ‘Santa Fe Art Colony’. (if you drive past Santa Fe Ave. you have gone to far)

7) Drive down the drive way to the BLACK gate (not the white one)

the code to get in our building is #5050 (you have to press the # button first)

9) park and give me a call and i will come get you

PHYSICAL ADDRESS:  2415 S. Santa Fe Ave #8, 90058

If you must Google Map use this address: 2151 E. 25^th St., 90058

323-588-7225 home phone

714-815-4428 matt’s cell

On Saturday March 13, 2010, at 2.00pm Nancy Popp climbed a light pole at the intersection of Constitution Avenue and Benito Juarez y/o Segunda (nearby the Tijuana Archway- “Reloj Monumental”). She clung to the pole for around five minutes before descending into the arms of several waiting policeman. The artist was detained, taken to a nearby police station, and questioned, along with La Casa del Tunel’s Luis Iuarte before being released.

To see the interview with Nancy Popp and Luis Ituarte at La Casa del Tunél 15 minutes after her release from jail click here.

Sign spinners  – aka ‘human directionals’ – are a Southern Californian advertizing phenomenon. The spinners’ movements are paid for but, from within the constraints of economic neccessity, some create highly expressive physical forms. While the figure of the spinner has already been absorbed into popular culture, such physical expression of personality in public space is striking and rare.

Coupling the commercial form of the spun sign with non-commercial content, Economy of Gesture is a series of site-specific, poetic and performative interventions into public spaces. On Saturday August 21st 2010 Performing Public Space and Felipe Zuñiga will presented Economy of Gesture around the Chinatown/Little Tokyo/ Olvera Street area of Los Angeles.

Operating across the binational region of Tijuana and San Diego, Economy of Gesture was started in 2007 by Susanna Bielak, Katherine Sweetman and Felipe Zuñiga. It has evolved with Zuñiga as the principal producer, working in collaboration with several artists.

In June 2010, Performing Public Space and Felipe Zuñiga put out a call for entries in search of four new collaborators to engage with the project and create sign content – a word, phrase, design or similar – for Economy of Gesture’s first Los Angeles outing.  Performing Public Spacepresented Economy of Gesture’s first visit to Los Angeles on Saturday August 21st 2010.

Review previous Economy of Gesture collaborations at:

youtube.com/user/economyofgesture

economyofgesture-economyofgesture.blogspot.com