Title:
Dangerous When Wet (Video segment andInstallation view)

Description:
The work, a multi media performance event, was about water, light and air, and the movement of swimming. The project was developed from personal recollections after visiting a small college in central Minnesota I attended for a short time after high school. Invited to create a work for the school gallery; I was reminded of a swimming pool, built in the 20’s, where I tried unsuccessfully to learn how to be a competitive swimmer. The failure did not deter my desire for being in water and became the inspiration for creating the event. With the support of the Kiehle Art Gallery, I developed a performance audience participation event bringing light, sound and movement into the competitive pool. Participants and finally the audience where there to either enjoy the water without the stress of needing to compete or the entertainment of watching swimmers from all levels of ability. The event was a parallel work to a photography show held in the college Kiehle Art Gallery. The title was borrowed from an Ester Williams film made in the 1950’s about a young woman who enters a contest to be the first to swim the English Channel. Gertrude Edderly accomplished the feat in 1926.

Materials:
Video Screen, Video projector, swimming Pool, lighting, speaker and sound mixer, swimmers, swim caps, swimming suits, swim towels, diving boards, performance, swimmers

Year:
1997

Location:
Hollenbeck Pool, Saint Cloud State University, Minnesota.

An aside:
I would like to thank the Alumni Foundation for their support and the Art Department Chair, Virginia Bradley, Ted Sharrets, Joe Aitken, Scott Miller (for his original sound and suggestion to include Talking Heads “Take Me To The River”, Benita Matias for her performance about swimming in Puerto Rico, David Southgate, Cynthia Morgan, and all the students and audience for their participation and the synchronized swim team of 1986 for their video footage. Photo courtesy of Saint Cloud Times Newspaper