The QUADRANGLE DILEMMA
an experiment at Ipswich Art School in the mid-'60s, attended/ narrated by Brian Eno:
Returning one day from lunch, the students discovered a notice instructing them to assemble in the school's courtyard, a quadrangle surrounded on all sides by studio buildings. Once all the students were inside the courtyard, the door was locked from the outside by one of the teachers. There was no other exit. Then members of staff began to appear on the roof above, watching the students from the comfort of chairs:
They said nothing and would not answer our questions. Furthermore, they continued to say nothing for more than an hour. During this time, our mild amusement at this situation changed to uneasiness and then complete perplexity. We all had an idea that we were expected to do something, but none of us knew what. I think we were all frightened of doing the wrong thing, frightened to look foolish. All kinds of odd things began to happen -guys tried to scale the walls, others banded together into ad-hoc revolutionary committees, some said this was the last straw, others cried or formed conga-chains and walked around chanting abuse at the staff.
A tape came on: a recording of the voice of their teacher, Tom Phillips. The voice said:
You are worse than chickens. A chicken is afraid to step outside of a chalk circle drawn around her, but at least she can say in her justification that the circle was drawn by a strange hand... but you have drawn with your own hands the formula, and now you look at it instead of reality.
an experiment at Ipswich Art School in the mid-'60s, attended/ narrated by Brian Eno:
Returning one day from lunch, the students discovered a notice instructing them to assemble in the school's courtyard, a quadrangle surrounded on all sides by studio buildings. Once all the students were inside the courtyard, the door was locked from the outside by one of the teachers. There was no other exit. Then members of staff began to appear on the roof above, watching the students from the comfort of chairs:
They said nothing and would not answer our questions. Furthermore, they continued to say nothing for more than an hour. During this time, our mild amusement at this situation changed to uneasiness and then complete perplexity. We all had an idea that we were expected to do something, but none of us knew what. I think we were all frightened of doing the wrong thing, frightened to look foolish. All kinds of odd things began to happen -guys tried to scale the walls, others banded together into ad-hoc revolutionary committees, some said this was the last straw, others cried or formed conga-chains and walked around chanting abuse at the staff.
A tape came on: a recording of the voice of their teacher, Tom Phillips. The voice said:
You are worse than chickens. A chicken is afraid to step outside of a chalk circle drawn around her, but at least she can say in her justification that the circle was drawn by a strange hand... but you have drawn with your own hands the formula, and now you look at it instead of reality.
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They smell like roses, my feet. She was happy about it once she saw the way.
God bless run-on sentences.
Have you spoken to D?