PERFORMANCE ART ACTIVISM POST & Chapter 5 - Ramandeep Kaur

 Chapter 5 COGNITION 

“Facts are simple and facts are straight, facts are lazy and facts are late, facts all come with points of view, facts don’t do what I want them to, facts just twist the truth around, facts are living turned inside out, facts are getting the best of them, facts are nothing on the face of things." (page 169)

short response: I think this quote shows that facts are not always as clear or simple as they seem. Even though we see them as truth, they can be shaped by people’s perspectives and used in different ways. It reminds us to think critically and question how information is presented to us.

"Artistic activism is not only aimed at people’s hearts; it also aims at their minds.” (page 171)

short response: I think this quote means that activism through art should inspire both emotion and thought. It is not enough to make people feel something because real change happens when art helps them think differently and imagine new possibilities.

PERFORMANCE ART ACTIVISM POST

Title: Paper Planes of the Unspoken

Paper Planes of the Unspoken is a performance piece about how our thoughts, serious or lighthearted move through the world once we release them. Audience members will be invited to write one short sentence about something they have never shared, or something simple they recently discovered about themselves or life. It could be a quiet fear, a small wish, or even something gentle.

After writing, each person will fold their paper into a paper plane. The folding represents how people hide, protect, or reshape their feelings before showing them to others. When everyone is ready, I will give a signal, and the group will throw their paper planes across the room. The moment the planes fly, it shows how our thoughts sometimes move away from us and enter the world without control.

Once the planes land, everyone will pick up a random one, not their own. They will open it silently and read the message they received. No one will say the message out loud. Instead, they will simply think about it for a moment, trying to understand the feeling or idea of the person who wrote it.

After reading it, they will fold the paper again and gently throw it into a designated bin in the room. Throwing it away symbolizes how some thoughts are released, let go, or changed once someone else has carried them, even for a few seconds.

1. Write a Sentence
   On the paper provided, write one short sentence about something you’ve never shared before, or something light that you recently discovered about yourself or life. It can be a quiet fear, a small wish, or something gentle.

2. Fold Your Paper into a Plane
   Fold your paper into a paper plane. This represents how we shape or hide our thoughts before sharing them.

3. Wait for the Signal
   Hold your plane until the signal is given.

4. Throw Your Plane
   When instructed, throw your paper plane across the room. This symbolizes releasing your thoughts into the world.

5. Pick Up a Random Plane
   Go to where the planes landed and pick up a plane that is not your own.

6. Read Silently
   Open the plane and read the sentence inside. Do not read it aloud. Take a moment to think about the feeling or idea the writer might have had.

7. Refold and Release
   Fold the paper again and gently throw it into the designated bin. This act represents letting the thought go after carrying it briefly

Title: Folded Voices

My performance piece titled Folded Voices explores how silence can become a form of communication. In the performance, I will sit at a small table with blank sheets of paper and pens. Audience members will be invited to write one sentence about something they have never said out loud, such as a hidden thought, a fear, or a wish. After they finish writing, I will show them how to fold the paper into a small square, corner to corner, which represents the way people often hide or protect their emotions. Each person will then quietly place their folded paper into a clear jar labeled Unspoken. When all the papers have been collected, I will carefully open a few of them but will not read them out loud. I will look at each sentence and gently remove or cover a few key words using a black marker or small pieces of tape. This will leave behind incomplete sentences that still hold emotion but now have open spaces of silence within them. I will then place these edited papers on a board or wall in the space where everyone can see them. The audience will be invited to walk around and read these partial messages. Some may try to guess what the missing words were, while others might connect the fragments to their own personal experiences. This quiet participation becomes part of the artwork itself. It asks people to think about how much we hide in our everyday communication and how meaning changes when pieces are missing. The board of incomplete sentences becomes a shared reflection of emotion and memory, showing that even when words are lost or hidden, their impact remains.