Gina Pane "Discours mou et mat"

28.06–17.07.1975
de Appel, Brouwersgracht 196, Amsterdam

Discours mou et mat I

Discours mou et mat II

Discours mou et mat III

Discours mou et mat IV

In order to enter the performance space, visitors first had to sidestep a motorcycle, that blocked the entrance. In the room several objects had been placed as the scenery of the forthcoming performance: a safety helmet, boxing gloves, knuckledusters, a goldpainted golf ball and razor blade, red and white roses plus a naked woman whose back had been decorated with blue stars.

The first scene lasted 15 minutes. Pane entered the performance space, dressed in white pants, a white blouse and high heels of the same colour. She wore sunglasses and had drawn blue stars on her left arm and hand. On the floor had been placed two mirrors, with sheets of glass on top. On the right mirror (from Pane's point of view) stars had been drawn and the word 'aliénation' had been written on the glass. The left mirror was blank, but on the sheet of glass on top the portret of a person wearing shades had been drawn. The sunglasses reflected a mill and a field of tulips. Pane kneeled down behind the mirrors and played two cymbals of cardboard, with cotton wool on the insides. After this silent concert several slides were projected.

During the second scene of five minutes Pane smashed the sheets of glass with her fists.

The next ten minutes Pane sat down on a stool, playing tennis with a ball that hung from the ceiling. She hit the ball with a racket and stopped it with her forehead.

During the fourth scene Pane crawled to the shattered sheets of glass to hit them once again, meanwhile gasping into a microphone.

For scene five, that also took ten minutes, Pane cut a vertical incision in her upper and under lip with a razor blade.

During the final scene, Pane laid down next to the naked woman and looked at the ceiling through binoculars. Meanwhile music by Brahms was played in slow-motion and some slides were shown.

June 28 - July 17: exhibition containing:

- 1 photo of Le lait chaud, performed at J.-M. Boutan, Paris, 1972

- 1 photo of Transfert, performed at Space 640, Saint-Jeannet, 1973

- 1 photo of Sentimentale, performed at Galeria Diagramma, Milan, 1973

- 1 photo and a videotape of Psyché, performed at Galerie Stadler, Paris, 1974

- 1 photo of Mélancolique, performed at Studio Morra, Naples, 1974