Artifact Title: Failing
Medium: Musical/oral composition
Composer: Tom Johnson, edited by John Deak
Year: 1975
Video Length: 10:23
Performer: Jack Leightcap
Image Credit: Youtube screenshot by Daphne Moss: Johnson - Failing uploaded by Jack Leightcap
TERA Curator: Alejandro Escalante
Failing
We are performing all the time. At work, at home, we live our lives performatively. Often, without even realising it. Less often, we are knowingly performing—a self-aware performance. Johnson’s piece plays with all of these: performance, knowing, and unknowing—surprising both audience and performer—and blurring the boundaries between them all.