This blog will document an artistic collaboration between Ben Coode-Adams and Kris Cohen. The final work, to be performed from 28th-30th May at the Banff Centre, will stage simultaneous, real-time re-enactments of three related events: the first ascent of Everest in 1953, the coronation of Elizabeth II in 1953, and a commericial climb of Everest in 1996 which ended in disaster.

 
What we need for the performance of 'Is someone coming to get me?'

Wood
Five boards 8’x4’ 3/4” MDF
Ten 12ft lengths of 1’x3’ planned soft wood (cheapest is fine)
Ten 12ft lengths of 1’x2’ planned soft wood (cheapest is fine)
Two 12ft lengths of 2’X2’ planned soft wood (cheapest is fine)
8ft 1/2’ dowel


Screws
200 self tapping self drilling drywall screws 1.5’/35mm
100 self tapping self drilling drywall screws 2.75’/65mm
50 chipboard screws size 8 2’/50mm

Paper and stationary
10 sheets reasonably thick A1 white cartridge paper
4 metres of white cotton sheeting
50 sheets matte heavyweight inkjet paper
Wood glue 1litre
Spray mount/spray glue
2’ masking tape
If you can get it 20metres of white 3/4’ webbing that would be fantastic. If not I will try and source that here. We are changing from velcro to mapping pins so the figures can be in scale i.e. 6mm.

Tools
staple gun and an ordinary stapler with spare staples
Bench or table saw
Jigsaw or bandsaw (preferably these last two are in or near the workshop)
An electric hand drill
2 electric screwdrivers
Two step ladders approx 3m high.
A computer + printer + scanner from the 26th through to the end of the
performance: preferably this would be a mac, to make it compatible with
our own computers. We'll be making most of the visualisation materials on
site, so scanning images from books, printing, etc. In the last
performance, we created materials during the performance as a way of
responding to what we were learning. We would like to be able to do this
again. It worked well as a way of creating a "living" piece and also a way
of engaging and responding to the audience.
An internet link for posting to the blog.

Space
A SPACE OF APPROXIMATELY 42 SQ M
TO BE CONFIGURED 4M X 11M.
Leslie writes...'THIS SPACE MUST INCLUDE EVERYTHING - ALL MATERIALS, PERSONNEL AND PERFORMANCE SPACE, ALL ACCESS AROUND THE MODEL FOR ARTISTS AND VOLUNTEERS. EVERYTHING OUTSIDE THESE LINES WILL BE PUBLIC
SPACE.

IT IS REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE RESPECT THIS SPACE RESTRICTION. HAVING
ACCESS TO THE DINING ROOM FOR THIS PERFORMANCE IS PERFECT - HIGH CEILING,
HIGH TRAFFIC, 24-HOUR ACCESS - BUT THE DR IS FULL DURING THIS PERIOD AND THE
DR STAFF WILL BE STRUGGLING TO ACCOMMODATE US.'

Help
It would be great to have one person working with us from beginning to
end, especially select recruits from elite core of 'most faithful
volunteers'. Rotations of 2-3 hour shifts are fine with us (or whatever
shifts work best for you and yours). We'll probably start to build
immediately after the conference, on the 26th. If there are people who
want to help at that stage, we would love the help. In these early stages,
they will be helping with building and visualisation. In the later stages
and during the performance, they'll be helping us 'perform' the various
re-enactments, moving pieces, reading from accounts, keeping up with the
evolving stories, tracking and responding to audience inputs, etc.
posted by Ben at 9:41 AM

 
ON IMAX AND FICTIONALISATION: the problem of making entertainment out of exploration is made apparent when the IMAX team and their own climb is essentially upstaged by the disaster of 1996 that preceeded the IMAX climb by only a few days. The filmmakers were able to react by including a brief description of the disaster in their own film, but they have no real footage, and no time to do the story justice, so continue quickly on with the story of what then seemed, by comparison, like an effortless and dangerless climb. The implications of this might be bigger than the history of disasters, and extend to the history of making history. The events or actions of climbing a mountain are single steps, and slow ones. In this sense, the act of climbing a mountain, as many have said, is an empty act--just strenuous walking. Thus, people have always had to make the history of people on mountains meaningful. The British Empire and its adversaries created nationalist meanings. The commercial expeditions of 1996 and now make money. If our re-enactments of 1996 and 1953 can illuminate some of the kinds of meanings that have been made out of Everest, then I think this would be a kind of success. The 1953 coronation, as a more obvious act of meaning-making, should help draw out this story.
-kris
posted by Ben at 5:26 AM

 
I have been checking out recipes for Coronation Chicken. This one comes from the Golden Jubilee site.

This famous salad was invented by Constance Spry and served at the Queen's Coronation lunch in 1953

Serves 4

Description/Notes:

Try this tasty steamed chicken in a piquant sauce served with a wild rice salad

Ingredients:

* 4 lb. (1.75kg) chicken
* 1 pint (600ml) boiling chicken stock
* half a pint (300ml) reduced calorie mayonnaise
* 1 teaspoon of lemon juice
* salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 2 teaspoons of curry powder
* 2 tablespoons of Quark
* skimmed milk
* half a teaspoon of tomato puree
* 2 teaspoons of apricot jam, sieved
* watercress sprigs, for garnish


Cooking Instructions:

1. Wipe the chicken and season with lemon juice, salt and pepper
2. Place in a steamer and cover with a tight fitting lid
3. Steam over the stock for one and a half hours, checking the liquid level and adding more stock if necessary
4. Allow the chicken to get cold
5. Mix together all the remaining ingredients to make a sauce, stirring in enough milk to make a smooth coating consistency
6. Take the meat off the chicken bones and mix with the sauce, reserving a little of the sauce
7. Arrange the chicken on the center of a serving dish and coat with the remaining sauce
8. Garnish with the watercress and serve with wild rice salad


 
posted by Ben at 4:30 AM