Project Description

At the close of the 20th century we were more than ever preoccupied with the loss of time and more concerned about aging and dying. The performance WHEN drew attention to our perception of aging by challenging our temporal expectations of the environment.
In the context of busy metropolitan New York, Julia Mandle created this storefront window performance to ask audiences to pause and reflect by offering a visual alternative to an anxious environment. New Museum of Contemporary Art commissioned the project for the exhibition ‘Time of Our Lives.’

WHEN intended to identify the basic principal of time: the perception of change. Mandle based the performance on a sundial’s measurement of natural time fluctuations and challenged the fast moving street audience to stop and witness the passage of time. She wanted the audience to consider time as a subjective experience and as a function of our consciousness.

Two dancers in white costumes move extremely slowly through the window. Their dresses were connected to two large white fabric walls. Their clock-like progression changed the dimensions of light and shadow in the window space. The crowd watched and waited to see the small movements and changes. Against the street environment, the subtle performance of WHEN offered a stark contrast. Passersby stopped by the thousands, many taking a seat on the sidewalk, sitting for an entire hour to watch.
The performance intended to reveal how our contemporary society has moved away from intimacy with natural time fluctuations, but also uncovered a very engaged audience on the topic.