Esther Ferrer
Intimate and personal
It is a question of measuring your body, or someone else’s body.
All versions are valid, including the following.
The measuring may be done with a single person or with many at the same time, without discrimination of any sort. It may be done also one person measuring another, in pairs or in a sequence where the first person measures the second, then the second person measures the third, and so on. It may be done , nude or with clothes, standing up or lying down, in any position and situation for a large audience or in a complete solitude. If it is for an audience one may place a mirror at three rear of the stage reflecting the event. Depending on the options chose, the result will of course vary but not too much.
Each performer has a ruler for measuring on herself or himself or someone else, whichever parts of the body are chosen. After each measurer sticks on that particular place, a musical note or a number. At the same time or immediately afterwards, she or he may say or not say, this number in a loud voice or may play or not play this particular note on a piano or on whatever other instrument is available or may simply sing it or not sing it.
If it is more convenient the measurer may write the measure on a blackboard. The body parts to be measured are optional so it is not obligatory for men to measure their penises, either erect or not erect.
When the performers feel the have measured sufficiently, based on the individual personal criteria of each one, which is of course subjective and anarchistic, they may do whatever they wish. For example : if a measurer has noted the numbers on a blackboard, she or he may then add them up, taking care not to make mistakes, but without being afraid or making mistakes. The performers may also write the measures on the floor and walk around on them, facilitation encounters with one another. Another possibility is to repeat the numbers as many times as desired in the rhythm of the performer’s favorite song or symphony or to do whatever the measurer wishers alone or with those who find her or his proposition interesting. She or he may also exit calmly or burn all the notes or numbers stuck on the body taking care to unstick them first. The words « intimate and personal » are useful information, and can be glued onto of written onto the body. If the result is fully satisfying, go back and begin again as many times as desired.
