performance as research
acts of meditation and embodiment
On President’s day, 2024, I honored the holiday by golfing and avoiding work. This was fieldwork, this was research, and this was performance. In these early stages I began to construct an answer to my question, putting in a city creates moments of discovery—performance as research. As I putt through Portland, my ball lands in gutters, storm drains, and cracks in the sidewalk. At each of these moments I am guided to engage and think about that space.
Putting offers a chance to slow down, a highlight of why I am utilizing minigolf as a medium. The best bet for success requires you to look down where you stand and look ahead to where you want to go. The better you understand the surface of the land the better you might succeed. Armed with a putter from goodwill and a golf ball swiped from a driving range more than a decade ago, I had introduced objects that weren’t designed for this space, this lack of fit kept my brain focused on every surface. These simple acts allowed me to see the city through a lens different from my everyday.