I also gave the opening lecture /performance The Architecture of Belief at the Steder/Places conference.

Kunstnersenteret i Oppland
Oppland Arts Centre
Prosjekt: Flere Steder for Alltid
Project: More Places for Ever

Wiesesgt. 3
2601 Lillehammer
T +47 61256060
F +47 61262055
stede-a@online.no
www.stederplaces.com

Conference Information

Waiters clear and clean tables.

In Lillehammer I worked as an artist/waiter at the Park Cafeen.

I appeared quite like, and quite unlike, the other workers in the café, although I was part of the team. I talked to customers, but only in English. Some people knew I was an artist, some didn't.

I did everything with a certain deliberation. Sometimes I made actions to the point of ritual repetition. Sometimes I cleaned or moved things that no-one else bothered with. Occasionally I did things for purely aesthetic reasons. The relationship with staff and customers was subtle and non-confrontational. The interior of the building and the seating area outside were my unfolding creative space.

I set aside one round table and used this as a tableau, with a video camera permanently focused on it. Customers were invited to collaborate on this evolving table project.

I kept a daily journal of my experiences, relayed back to this website and linked to this page. These diary entries were then translated into Norwegian and appeared each day in the newspaper Gudbrandsolen Dagningen. People began to recognise me in the street, and I sometimes turned up for work in other cafés, unannounced.