BLIND IN TIME 2001
Blind in Time, uses the specific time span of 1961-1963 as a backdrop for inter-mixing the past with the present, fact with fiction.
Historical events include John Kennedy’s inauguration, the beginning of the Vietnam War, the construction of the Berlin Wall, and the 15-minute space ride of Alan Shepherd — all interwoven with Mussmann’s re-collections of listening to the radio during school growing up in Indiana, as well as other parts of performance-texts she has written over the past 25 years.
Claudia Bruce’s character acts as translator — weaving the parts together.
Mussmann simultaneously directs and manipulates live projections.
Interestingly, this heavily-political piece was created and shown only a few months prior to the 9/11 attacks.
Blind in Time performed at La Mama E.T.C, NYC
and Time and Space Limited, Hudson NY
Written and Directed Linda Mussmann
in collaboration with Claudia Bruce
Set Design by Jun Maeda with assistance from Phillip Shepherd
“I’m in love with time.
I’m lost in space.”
“Blind in Time is an example of how Mussmann and Bruce use art as a solution and a way of surviving. They urge all artist to become activists and to channel their creativity to challenge the politics of destruction. As Ike reminded us: ‘We — and our government — must avoid the impulse to live only for today, plundering for our own ease and convenience the precious resources of tomorrow“.
-quote from a TSL press release promoting the upcoming show at La Mama E.T.C
Ray Mark Rinaldi, The New York Times:
“Blind in Time (the title refers to a statement by Gandhi that an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind) traces America’s history over the last 40 years, linking ‘remembrance points’… The timeline follows the country as it goes from what Dwight Eisenhower described as a culture of tinkerers and basement inventors to a society of multinational corporations and high-tech entrepreneurs.
…
The story of her own political and sexual awakening in tiny Lowell, Indiana, is woven into the piece, offering personal testimony about how big-business culture can pressure individuals to follow the rules while leaving behind those who cannot.”
