performanceart
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“Here Santa opens a factory with 1000 workers”
Dejlig er den himmel blå [Lovely Is the Blue Sky] (Jon Bang Carlsen, 1975)
May
19
Malcolm X Day
The Julemandshæren (“Santa Claus Army”) at Magasin, just after their arrest (image credit: Mother Jones, Dec. 1977). The performance was archived for prosperity in the documentary Dejlig er den himmel blå. DPs: Jimmy Andreasen, Morten Bruus, Dirk Brüel, Teit Jørgensen & Freddy Tornberg.
'Twas the week before Christmas. Not too far from Copenhagen a helicopter lands, carrying #SantaClaus and a Christmas angel. A small welcome orchestra plays carols, after which the party makes its way to the Danish capital. There, more Santas join the duo.
– banner next to a Julemandshæren-occupied factory
Over the course of several days they bring cheer, song and hot chocolate to delighted Copenhagen Christmas shoppers. Then they show up at a local bank, demanding low-interest loans. Then, in support of the laid-off workers, they unroll a large banner at the recently shutdown General Motors factory. On the final day, Santa Claus visits Magasin, the Danish version of Macy's. In the true spirit of Christmas the Julemandshæren hands out the store's books to thrilled customers. Magasin staff is not amused. Some of them start pummelling the Santas, ripping off beards to prove that these are crooks, not real #Santas. Small children are in tears, their dreams of a just world shattered.
The Santas were a gift to the workers from Solvognen, Fristaden Christiania's anarchist theatre troupe. With disruptive, meticulously planned performances they sought to bring attention to social issues such as worker's rights, the massacre of Wounded Knee and – as late as 2006 – Guantanamo Bay.
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“HANDS UP
PUT YOUR HANDS UP
GIMME MORE
GIMME GIMME MORE BETTER GIMME MORE”
You the Better (Ericka Beckman, 1983)
May
8
VE-Day
One of the players, an handsome young white man, celebrates a score. He wears blue pants with a yellow string, a blue shirt with a blue T-shirt underneath. On his head a red and white hat. The bill hides part of his face. He's got his right arm raised in victory. Behind him other players in identical kits. On the back of shirts a a symbol that looks like a surprised smiley, or a bowling ball.
They say, the house always wins. In You the Better, the House is an unseen character. The other character – a constantly changing team of athletes wearing blue uniforms and caps and coached by artist Ashley Bickerton – play a baffling hybrid of craps, dodgeball, and roulette while arcade game noises and Brooke Halpin's catchy chants accompany the players. While You the Better suggests repetitiveness, a theme of winning, losing, and competitiveness reveals itself.
– recurring chant
You the Better is part of Beckman's The Super-8 Trilogy, a multimedia art project that explores play in Western society.