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.