Re-Trace, 2006
(3 hour performance)
Site Unseen Performance Festival, Chicago
Located in the entryway to the original stacks for Chicago's first library (the Cultural Center), Sara traces hundreds of strands of red wool across projected samplings of titles and organization systems from the library's early collection and taxonomies from wikipedia. These threads decipher relationships between the books and these 2 overlaid systems to show how our methods for describing the universe of our collective knowledge has evolved, while meditating on the rich fabric of our collective knowledge.
This activity also mimics the labor, memory and ingenuity of the Chicago Public Library's first librarians who, in the same space, accessed the sizable collection for the public without aid of a card catalog or any logical organization system.
Sara pauses periodically to illustrate the process of researching by tracing repeated, varying and improvised travel paths across a field of flour. The flour is used as a drawing material and also to reference the space's current use as a kitchen.
During the performance, Sara also pauses periodically to make hand gestures that a librarian might give to illustrate a wide range of topics. Some are clear and measured, and some are idiosyncratic as if lost in the idea she is describing. Sara has a laser pointer attached to one hand that creates patterns all over the space as she gestures.
Images: Rachel Aherin