Backdrop
all the men and women merely players
Backdrop makes everyday life appear as if it were theatre. The photographer’s flash creates an instant stage; though present too briefly to be perceived as such. The light is so intense that it overpowers the remaining daylight and veils the surroundings in blackness. In the photo a scene that is not intended as theatre, is shown as if it were theatre. The viewer of the photo recognizes theatrical conventions and applies a theatrical frame as mode of perception: it is theatre because you look at it as such [1].
In reality though, the scene is not perceived as theatre by the subjects. They don’t know they are being observed and photographed. They only become aware of their act when the flash goes off. No one around them sees them as actors or consciously perceives the scene as a performance, except on the photo. Passers-by accidently walk into the frame and may appear as actors even though they don’t have that intention. It’s as if king and company and things all are on stage as characters in an unscripted play, all trying really hard at pretending, at playing their social role.
The role we play depends on the social context we are in. We act differently when we are with our kids, at work or with our parents. When the regards sur soi, the feeling of being looked at, falls away, we drop out of that role and expose how we think about the other. We even stage our everyday social interaction in the same way as theatre: using dramatically shaped actions, reactions and ending phrases [2].
Acts can have another connotation depending on whether they happen on or next to the stage, i.e. inside or outside the world of theatre. This is because the act of watching functions differently in the coded world of theatre. The audience knows that the performers know that the audience is watching them. Within theatre the act is recognized as a creative process, but outside, it is commonly unrecognized, or, when recognized, regarded as bizarre, perhaps disreputable, presumptuous, or deviant [3]. For instance, think of the difference in how violence on stage is perceived compared to when it happens in the street.
Backdrop de- and re-contextualizes the act. The series raises awkward questions about what is real and what is staged or constructed behaviour. It exposes the dramaturgy of daily life2 or as Shakespeare wrote ‘All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players’ [4].
Note: The series contains 12 photos, intended to be shown in a theatre as if theatre. Backstage the visitor enters to climb a podium under blinding spotlights. As he crosses ‘the fourth wall’ into the darkness of the spectator area, he can either turn around and observe those that enter behind him or peer into a dark space reminiscent of a theatre’s black box. In this space photos are projected in a way similar to how theatre maker Joel Pommerat uses light to make his actors slowly appear and disappear on stage. The video is an approximation, far from the real experience. It is best viewed full screen via Youtube in a dark room. Watch slowly.
[1]DECOODT, Ellen. Het theatraal frame als ‘mode of perception’. Over de invloed van het theatraal frame op de waarneming van de toeschouwer. Scriptie Universiteit Antwerpen, 2012.
[2] GOFFMAN, Erving. De dramaturgie van het dagelijkse leven. De schijn en werkelijkheid in sociale
interacties. Bijleveld 1993.
[3] BURNS, Elizabeth, Theatricality. A study of convention in the theatre and in social life. London:
Longman, 1972.
[4] SHAKESPEARE, William, As You Like It. 1599.New Text