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_TASK is an improvisational event with a simple structure and very few
rules developed by artist, Oliver Herring, in 2002. TASK can be a
planned, more formal set-up, with an application process and a
pre-determined number of selected participants (TASK Events); a more
open structure without any limitations of size or divisions between
viewers and participants (TASK Parties); or an adaptable framework
tailored for use in classrooms (TASK Workshop). All TASK structures rely
on the same basic infrastructure: a designated area (usually but not
necessarily made from construction paper), a variety of props and
materials (cardboard, plastic bags, pencils, tables, cling wrap, tape,
markers, ladders…), and the participation of people who agree to follow
two simple, procedural rules—write a task on on a piece of paper and add
it to a designated “task pool,” and pull a task from that pool and
interpret it any way they want using whatever is on (or potentially off)
stage. Once this task is completed, the participant writes a new task,
selects a new task, and so on.
TASK’s open-ended, participatory structure creates almost unlimited opportunities for people to interact with one another and their environment. TASK’s flow and momentum depend on the tasks written and interpreted by its participants. In theory anything becomes possible. The continuous conception and interpretation of tasks is both chaotic and purposeful. TASK is a complex, ever-shifting environment of people who connect with one another through what is around them. It is also a platform for people to express and test their ideas in an environment without failure or success (TASK always is what it is) or any other preconceptions of what can or should be done with an idea or a material. People’s tasks become absorbed into other people’s tasks, as objects generated from one task are recycled without issues of ownership or permanence. -Oliver Herring |
TASK Midwest
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