As a crisis psychologist, how do you view art projects such as Collective Strings?

(Dansk tekst efterfølgende)

New tracks in the biochemistry.

Body therapist, psychologist, and psychotraumatology specialist Ulla Rung Weeke met performance artist Karoline H Larsen in an interview about Collective Strings. Karoline asked Rung Weeke: As a crisis psychologist, how do you view art projects such as Collective Strings?

“What is particularly exciting about Karoline’s string happenings”, Weeke says, “is the kind of moveability you offer people. It means that people will be doing all sorts of other things than they usually do physically. Collective Strings is not therapy, of course, but with art projects of this kind you can readily offer people other ways to move, to regard things, and as such change their perception. When you encourage them to turn themselves upside down, you affect not only their perceptions of themselves but also of others. In other words, you give people new tracks in their biochemistry. When people are offered new tracks in this way, it appears to them, by experience, that it is either a very threatening scenario or something new and wonderful.“ (Larsen 2008)

The body as testing-ground in the city / Ways to social rediscovery.

Rung Weeke continues “ What is so brilliant about the strings is that it is not a ‘head thing’. You cannot label them because you simply have to feel it. Karoline has not stated a theoretical concept and her intention is not intellectual. In turn, it is clearly physical. That means that you cannot just go and get caught up in intellectual labelling of the strings, you have to feel the idea. This is where new tracks are offered. If you can enter it and get a sense of Karoline’s intention, become curious and wanting to join in, you are offered a completely new way…what is so fantastic about it is that the body/the biochemistry is everchanging, new neural paths are created all the time – even while we are sitting here. It never stops. We just have to be awake and aware. And we are not. That makes us really ill, sad, downhearted, and depressed. The pharmacies are throwing painkillers and anti-depressives over the counter to half the Danish population. We are no longer able to feel ourselves and our inherent signals.” (Larsen 2008)

Cheating my head with a roll of string

Karoline explains: “I have developed Collective Strings as a participatory creative way for people to sculpt public space in a free movement, tracking colored strings in traces across public space and between city structures. Collective Strings began with my own need to move and express myself in new ways cheating tricking my body and mind with a roll of string in order to begin playing in public spaces. I wanted to stop taking the same but efficient route from A to B and to find forgotten pathways and new traces in my mind and body as I moved through the city. I was curious to experience myself from a new angle, to open new impulses inside me, and feel something different. I was adamant that the experimental character of art was necessary for change and personal development.” (Larsen 2008)

Disrupting (patterns of) movement in the urban

Collective Strings disrupts bodily patterns of movement in the city, literally by inviting everyone to track colored traces of string between city elements thus creating new spaces and new ways of moving. People are offered new pathways in their biochemistry by turning themselves upside-down and getting in touch with each other.

Karoline states “Through artistic physical ways to involve the public e.g. Collective Strings – producing public spaces for people’s physical experiences of self-expression – we can open new and alternative ways of being. We can awaken and explore the process of social rediscovery.”

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Nye spor i biokemien.

Kropsterapeut, psykolog og psykotraumatologi specialist Ulla Rung Weeke mødte performancekunstner Karoline H Larsen i et interview om Fælles Snorespor. Karoline spurgte Rung Weeke: Hvordan ser du som en krisepsykolog kunstprojekter som Fælles Snorespor?

“Hvad er særligt spændende ved Karoline’s snore-situationer”, siger Weeke, “er den slags bevægelighed du tilbyder folk. Det betyder, at folk vil gøre alle mulige andre ting, end de normalt gør fysisk. Fælles Snorespor er naturligvis ikke terapi, men med kunstprojekter af denne art kan du nemt tilbyde folk andre måder at bevæge sig på, betragte ting og som sådan ændre deres opfattelse. Når du opfordrer dem til at vende sig på hovedet, påvirker du ikke blot deres opfattelse af sig selv, men også af andre. Med andre ord giver du folk nye spor i deres biokemi. Når folk bliver tilbudt nye spor og veje på denne måde, så er det enten et meget truende scenario eller noget nyt og vidunderligt. “(Larsen 2008)

Kroppen som test- i byen / Måder til social genopdagelse.

Rung Weeke fortsætter “Hvad der er så strålende ved Snorespor er, at det ikke er en “hoved ting “. Du kan ikke kategorisere dem, fordi du simpelthen skal føle det. Karoline har ikke angivet et teoretisk koncept, og hendes hensigt er ikke intellektuel. Til gengæld er det klart fysisk. Det betyder, at du ikke bare kan gå og blive fanget i en intellektuel kategorisering af Snorespor, du skal føle ideen. Det er her, hvor der tilbydes nye spor i biokemien. Hvis du kan gå ind i det og få en følelse af Karolines intention, blive nysgerrig og ønske at deltage i, får du en helt ny måde… hvad er så fantastisk ved det er, at kroppen / biokemien er everchanging, nye neurale stier oprettes hele tiden – selvom vi sidder her. Det stopper aldrig. Vi skal bare være vågen og bevidste. Og det er vi ikke. Det gør os virkelig syg, trist, nedslående og deprimeret. Apotekerne smider smertestillende midler og anti-depressive midler i disken til halvdelen af den danske befolkning. Vi er ikke længere i stand til at føle os selv og vores iboende signaler. “(Larsen 2008)

Snyder mit hoved med et stykke snor

Karoline forklarer: “Jeg har udviklet Fælles Snorespor som en deltagende kreativ måde for folk at skulpturere det offentlige rum i en fri bevægelighed, trække farvede snorespor i det offentlige rum og mellem bystrukturer. Fælles Snorespor begyndte med mit eget behov for at bevæge mig og udtrykke mig på nye måder, at snyde min krop og sind med en snor for at begynde bevæge mig friere, anderledes, legende i offentlige rum. Jeg ønskede at stoppe med at tage den samme, men effektive rute fra A til B og finde glemte veje og nye spor i mit sind og krop, da jeg bevægede mig gennem byen. Jeg var nysgerrig på at opleve mig selv fra en ny vinkel, for at åbne nye impulser inde i og føle sig anderledes. Jeg var bevidst om kunstens eksperimentelle karakter var nødvendig for forandring og personlig udvikling. “(Larsen 2008)

Forstyrre (mønstre af) bevægelse i byerne

Fælles Snorespor forstyrrer kroppens bevægelsesmønstre i byen, bogstaveligt talt ved at invitere alle til at trække, kaste, hive, binde farvede spor af snor mellem byelementer og dermed skabe nye rum og nye måder at bevæge sig på. Folk tilbydes nye veje i deres biokemi ved at vende sig på hovedet og komme i kontakt med hinanden.

Karoline siger “Gennem kunstneriske fysiske måder at involvere offentligheden i Fælles Snorespor – skabes offentlige rum til folks fysiske oplevelser af selvudfoldelse – og vi kan åbne nye og alternative måder at være tilstede på. Vi kan vække og udforske processen med social genopdagelse. “