The final of three performative writings in which I adopt an imaginary time traveling avatar self that witnesses one-on-one performances that I have never seen, is now live at The Present Tense! Though fictional, this account is based on research, and includes quotes taken from a paper by performer Susan Kozel. Take a peek:
I stand, arms crossed, a couple feet from the bed, watching her, letting this live painting (literally) breathe for a few moments before I join her. I’ve been invited to lie on the bed “with her” if I desire, and while I’m there, within the frame of the bed, she will be able to see me, remotely, through a live video camera on the gallery ceiling, in a kind of horizontal “teleconference.” (I giggled when I thought of that joke, out in the lobby, but now it seems slightly disrespectful.) In the darkness of the periphery I am invisible to her. She displays herself for me. I consume her, giving nothing in return. I collect her beauty and store it up in my memory for later. I could write a song about the way she looks, another courtly lover wooing from afar, impotent and selfish. But that is not the invitation.