Household

Through the process of reinventing Household, I was contacted by Brian Sherman who as a student back in 1964 participated in the first performance of Household.

Sherman, who is a retired sociology professor/avant gardist, says that his exposure to happenings artist Al Hansen and his experience of participating in the original Household “was a transformative experience”.

“Kaprow and Hansen became two touchstones for me: Kaprow for writing scenarios to transform experience, Hansen for improvisation with whatever resources you have wherever you happen to be.”

I was able to ask Brian some questions about his involvement in the original Household and here was his responses:
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I was an undergrad at Cornell, finishing up in the Spring, 64.

Kaprow conducted a two-hour meeting the day before the realization of Household. He distributed a couple of sheets with the scenario in about a dozen discrete steps. He made a point of saying whether each step was long, medium, or short.

the ten men and ten women (ed- named “characters” if you will from Kaprow’s original household score), I believe, were recruited from the school of Architecture and Kaprow worked with them separately. They were at the dump earlier and had built the nest and the tower before we, The People, were let in. I knew at least one of them — Charlie Nash who I can identify in a photo in AE & H

Kaprow told us he would be with the people (ed- another of the “characters” in the score) and that we should watch him to know when to beat on the pots, when to stop, when to eat our jelly sandwiches, when to smoke cigarettes [optional: I didn't smoke] When he changed his behavior we were to do the same. I remember watching him throughout as we realized Household. My memory seems to be we were squatting, my visual memory of Kaprow is he was squatting — it was as if we were observing the 10 + 10 without wanting them to know we were there.

During the realization there were frequent negative reactions from The People to the photographer who scooted about in the space between the 10 + 10 and The People. But his scooting and scurrying enabled him to get the closeups which appear in the book.

Kaprow reportedly wanted to create a happening for the suspension bridge which connects two areas of Cornell across a gorge. The administration rejected that, reportedly, as dangerous. So the dump was not Kaprow’s first choice.

The administration insisted the women wear halter tops

Some time during the preceding academic year, I decided to spend a day covering the art galleries in NYC. At one of them I bought a very tiny booklet [perhaps as small as one inch by one inch] by Kaprow. I don’t recall what was in the booklet but I was intrigued, so when I saw his name in an announcement in the CDS asking for participants in a Happening, I had my opportunity.

There was no improv — I believe I recall we were instructed not to add anything or do anything not specifically called for in the instructions in the scenario

it was all very task-like, methodical, subdued, almost sombre. Perhaps that’s why the photographer’s scurrying in the space between us and the 10 +10 seemed so violative to so many of The People. [I don't remember being quite so bothered]

The mood reminds me now of performances I saw of Yvonne Rainer both in her own works and with Grand Union [avant-garde dance of the late 1960s]