On Institutional Wellbeing and Other Service-Based Corporate Activities, Performance, 2006-present. (Images 1-3 from Moira Zaal, Utrecht, NL; Images 4-6 from University Gallery, CSU-Pueblo)

Performance Documents






Performance Abstract

The performative lecture, "On Institutional Wellbeing and Other Service-Based Corporate Activities," is delivered at the conclusion of an Institutional Wellbeing project. The general project of Institutional Wellbeing is predicated on a cultural institution's desire to better itself by augmenting the wellbeing of its personnel. The institution - a gallery, museum, university, etc. - enlists the services of c (pronounced /k/), the couture subsidiary of the Contraposto Home Decor Co. These services entail on-site interviews with the institution's personnel in an effort to render a wellness profile of the institution. The wellness profile is used to create a custom-made environmental fragrance that is to be used by the institution's personnel to stimulate wellbeing in the workplace. The concluding performance coincides with a product launch of the fragrance. The performance uses ironic humor and droll commentary to draw together the multiple narratives and experiences of the participants, many of which are critical of institutional practices. In so doing, the performance reveals the organizational and social dynamics surrounding the business of culture.