"In Kiss: an essay in exchange (1973) I was photographed kissing the lips of a large billboard reproduction of Sophia Loren being surveyed by Peter O’Toole (as Don Quixote) appearing that year in the film Man of La Mancha (1972), this was then projected with a tape of a woman (my wife Pauline) reading a section on women and property from Mary Douglas’ book Purity and Danger.In a way this work exists already continuously in daily life. Think of men or women kissing photographs or paintings of loved ones who are often temporarily absent or dead. But Kiss is so context dependent that a contemporary reproduction would either be another work altogether or a quotation (critical reinterpretation/revision) of the original, which, in effect, was also mine—of Rodin, Brancusi, Picasso—and the host of other artists captured by the Pygmalion effect.”
"In Kiss: an essay in exchange (1973) I was photographed kissing the lips of a large billboard reproduction of Sophia Loren being surveyed by Peter O’Toole (as Don Quixote) appearing that year in the film Man of La Mancha (1972), this was then projected with a tape of a woman (my wife Pauline) reading a section on women and property from Mary Douglas’ book Purity and Danger.
In a way this work exists already continuously in daily life. Think of men or women kissing photographs or paintings of loved ones who are often temporarily absent or dead. But Kiss is so context dependent that a contemporary reproduction would either be another work altogether or a quotation (critical reinterpretation/revision) of the original, which, in effect, was also mine—of Rodin, Brancusi, Picasso—and the host of other artists captured by the Pygmalion effect.”
Video by Bruce BarberPhotos by Colin McLarenPerformers: Bruce & Pauline Barber with Carlo Ponti look alike
A performance rehearsal document from a work produced in Halifax in 1978.
A time lapse webcam video of 24 hours on Brunswick Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Three performers engage in community service work for thirty hours over three days, sweeping city streets and raking the beach.