Re: flatland

hello gideon!

thanks for writing! it's interesting to hear that you've been 'measuring' your life on the outside against what you imagine our lives to be like on the inside ..... it's nice to know there's someone out there......

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well, i'll try to answer your questions directly:

- At this point do you have fairly synchronous schedules?

less and less. we certainly began that way, all waking up and going to bed within a few hours of each other, and - i think - enjoying a similar pace during the day. we effortlessly came together to eat, to talk, and to check in on each other, sharing our experiences.

i think these last few days, we have all become withdrawn to one degree or another. we've been sharing less meals, and i think we are all experiencing "differently" - in terms of type and pace of activity we do: reading, drawing, nothing, working quickly, working slowly....

somehow, the social dynamic here has always been very defining, perhaps too defining - certainly unsustainably defining. so perhaps this 'withdrawn'-ness allows us to achieve some autonomy. perhaps it also flat-fatigue.

- Do you find yourself counting down to the end of the performance,
or growing more comfortable?

i'm definitely counting down. when i got here, i was amazed at how comfortable i was - everything i needed, it seemed, was right here. but now, as the end nears, and i start to make plans for my days Outside, i'm getting really antsy. also, the guy who i've rented my apartment to brought over a few weeks worth of New Yorkers that i've missed, another reminder of life continuing outside the sculpture center. and the radio, too, makes me antsy - the weather reports, and two days ago NPR did a short story focusing on the prostitutes near my home, at queensboro plaza, and it made me feel weirdly nostalgic.

- Do you crave privacy?

i suppose. but it's not the type of privacy that you might think i'd crave, because i really like being around people, what i really crave is quiet. and crave being loud too. i want to sit and work silently, and the turn on, loud music - and listen to an entire album, without being interupted.

that goes for the flatland crowd. as far as the people outside flatland, i completely forget anyone is on the other side of the vinyl. i forget they're there until i've already taken my clothes off, and then when i remember there are people and office-people down there, i still don't care. of course, i live on the 4th floor, and i'd probably feel differently if i lived on the 1st.

- What have been your most interesting moments of social performance
(either to gallery visitors or your cohabitants)? Do you have the
sense that you are performing... or just living?

just living. other flatlanders enjoy the performative stuff more than me, at least right now. i think i've become a little surly these last few days, and am focused on trying to meet my other responsibilities outside of flatland, and am disinteresting in performing (this time!).

though, maria was giving me a yoga lesson yesterday, and the gallery was extra full, and the yoga lesson became extra picturesque, which was extra fun.

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well, thanks again for writing, gideon, it has been great to answer these questions - a nice excuse to take time to think and reflect.

i hope to hear from you soon, doug