“Walking on a Thin Line” a performance by Adina Bar-On. An art
presentation in movement, voice and space; A sequence of images that
present abstract human situations.

All photos by Michal Nissan

The following is from the book: “Adina Bar-On, Performance Artist” by Idit Porat

Published by Kibbutz Hameuchad Ltd., Herzlyia Museum of Art

and  Adina Bar-On

2001

Place:

The stage of the Israel Museum auditorium. On the stage there is a plywood panel with a yellow paper square on it. Beside the panel there is a stool.

Duration:

About forty minutes.

Remark:

Adina`s first performance not based on improvisation.

Description:

Opening: Adina stands next to the steps leading up to the stage, leaning on the banister. Her gaze is open to the audience, regarding it calmly, gleaning details about the surroundings. By means of this gaze she projects to the audience the state of mind which she invites it to stay in during the time of the performance.

First scene: Adina ascends the stage and begins moving in various ways -walking, measured pacing, running – as she crosses the stage in diagonals, stops at certain points, and changes direction.\with her changing movements she draws lines in space, and with her gaze she marks certain points that she wishes to reach. Her attention oscillates between her upper body and her lower body. At times the movements are big – arms and legs – and at times they are small and relate to the feet. It the background she constantly preserves the sense of route, direction and rapidity.

Adina begins to characterize a personality with her movements, to which she adds changing facial expressions: a strong expressive face, a face that expresses flight, a face that makes jokes, a face having fun. Her walking on the stage becomes much more intense and extraverted – to flee or to catch or to attain. To her movements on the stage she adds vocal expressions, which range between a sigh, a light singing, and a chuckle of happiness.

Then she crouches on the floor, with her hands beside her body and her head, thighs, and knees on the floor.

Second scene: As she rises slowly out of the crouching position, Adina makes use of small movements of contracting, relaxing and changing the volume of the breathing areas – abdomen, chest, upper back – in order to create a sound that develops into a small introverted chuckle. The chuckle and the movements that accompany it alternate between a natural, living and breathing expression and expressions that “artificially” emphasize certain partsof the face: eyes, cheeks, lips, nose. At times the facial expressions are dominant, and at times the chuckling sound. At times they contradict one another.

The movement of slowly rising from the crouching position concludes with an open movement: arms spread to the sides, a pleasant, smiling gaze,which turns to the audience in an unmediated manner.

Adina now advances to the front of the stage, and squats on the floor facing theaudience, in a merry and generous mood. She begins singing a children`s song, going la-la-la.

Adina rises and marches to the rear wall of the stage. She begins pacing parallel to it with varying steps – a large step, a small step. Every few steps she stops and swings her pelvis, her head and her shoulders, in swaying and shaking motions. She sings to herself as she does so.

Third scene: Adina disappears behind the plywood panel and stays therefor some seconds. She emerges from behind it slowly but remains close to it – her face to the panel, her back to the audience. She embraces the plywood panel, presses parts of her body to it – one shoulder, then the other, the chest, the face, the abdomen, the pelvis – and while doing so she peeps over her right shoulder, turns her upper body towards the audience, and then presses herself to the panel again. Her face and her movements express shame and embarrassment.

Adina turns to the audience, and with her movements she adapts a light clownish style. Again she presses herself to the panel, peeping at the audience over her shoulder.

Adina leaves the panel and starts running towards the audience, with her head turned upward and her eyes closed. From time to time she returns to the panel, and again runs towards the audience in the same way. Finally she stops at the front of the stage, with her eyes open, and slowly begins to focus her gaze in the direction of the audience, while making use of expressions of embarrasment, attention, and looking for something.

Adina lifts the stool in her hands, examines it in a seated position, transfers it from one hand to the other. She touches it with her lips, and by rubbing her lips on one of its sides she creates chirping sounds. She ascends the stool and continues making chirping sounds by rubbing her fists against her lips. Shes sits down on the stool with her body in profile towards the audience, and with her hands she defines the contours of her face and head.

Fourth scene: Adina stands parallel to the plywood panel, her face to the audience and her head to the center of he yellow square. She uses hand movements (parallel to the abdominal area) and facial expressionsto express various moods. Small movements, very precise and concentrated.

Fifth scene: Adina begins dancing in the space of the stage with her arms spread to the sides, humming as she does so. Her feet create various tempos slow and continuous (legato) or rhythmic, sharp and abrupt (staccato).

In the staccato tempo her body is close to the floor and her feet stamp in a non-uniform tempo. In the legato, her movements are flowing, her arms are raised upwards, and her legs move in larger movements.

Sixth scene: Adina lies on the floor with the soles of her feet towards the audience, and her body perpendicular to the plywood panel. She continues with the staccato tempo, now using her heels to stamp on the floor. From time to time she raises her head, looks at the movements of her feet, and then lays her head on the floor again.

Seventh scene: Adina sits down aon the stool beside the plywood panel, and gazes for several seconds at the yellow square in the center of the panel. She stands up and paints the paper with light  blue (gouache) paint, with the aid of a paintbrush.

Eighth scene: Adina squats on the floor at the front of the stage and moves her right hand as though playing a guitar. She moves her head in slow, rapid and circular movements – towards her chest to the right and the left, while vaguely singing to herself an unknown melody.