• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

Gaia.J Amour Gaia, Mon Amour a performance by Rachel Rosenthal This text of GAIA, MON AMOUR has been published in conjunction with Rachel Rosenthal's performance of this work at HALLWALLS on November 10,1983 Funding for this publications has been provided by the National Hi- ' Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, and the New York State Council on the Arts @I983HALLWALLS, 700 Main Street, Buffalo, New York (71 6) 854-5828 Upon publication, copyright reverts to the author All Photos: Rachel Rosenthal in GAIA, MON AMOUR at The House, Santa Monica, September 1983. Photographer: Basia GAIA, MON AMOUR A Performance by Rachel Rosenthal THIS PERFORMANCE IS DEDICATED TO THE EARTH Set: Upstage Right: an old rocking chair, a beat-up ladder, a floor lamp without a shade or bulb, stacked together as though they had fallen. A box of kitchen matches. Upstage Left: a pile of garbage, concealing a three-way frame, 7' x 3',painted black, Upstage near the wall: a black meditation cushion and a drum, three joss sticks. Downstage Right: what seems to be a prone figure covered with a black shroud, and just downstage of that and parallel to it, two long bamboo poles, one green, the other painted black, on the floor. ~ A djellaba hangs on a nail on the Left wall. ROSENTHAL'S Costume: a red dress, black pants, green socks, black wrestling booties, lots of earrings. BLACKOUT SLIDE: a mauve Tantric triangle (symbol of the Goddess) and "To Her" written under it. SOUND: three gongs SLIDE "Journeys into space did more than present the Earth in a new perspective They also sent back information about its atmosphere and its surface which provided a new insight into the interactions between the living and the inorganic parts of the planet From this has arisen the hypothesis,the model, in which Earth's living matter, oceans, and land surface form a complex system which can be seen as a single organism and which has the capacity to keep our planet a fit place for life" - J E Lovelock SLIDE: a dead ant with a fungus sticking out of its neck VOICEOVER This ant was killed by a fungus In her death throes, she bites a leaf, lashing out at anything within I I reach, because of the agony within her With its host dead, the parasite emerges triumphant, from the ant's neck But its triumph will be short-lived a successful parasite never kills its host This funnus is done-for I VOICEOVER (spoken by JAMES AVERY, with drumming by ROSENTHAL): Gaia Gaia Gaia Gaia We'll chop your tree down Evolution Planet Nature Mother Earth No mutations no more beasts Better shape up better snap shit We're the only ones deserving il be real good and be a sport to exist on Mother Gaia We can do it we can do it We can kill you we can do it So watch out you Mother Earth stop you dead in your tracks Just be good to us keep giving We're the masters we can do it Give give give give give give give give and who needs you Mother Earth Give give give give till it hurts If you fail us we can leave you in a capsule in a dome Love ya Reagan love ya Watt Up way up there in the starlight We love big pricks MX missiles where there are no tides or seasons we love silos we love bombs night or day or hot or cold We love handguns Kill your neighbor! We can do it we can leave you We love radioactive waste so snap shit Earth is that clear? Who needs lions wolves and hippos Who needs you orangutans? Bear the brunt grin and bear it Can we eat you can we wear you when we rape you Mother Earth Do you have ivory or musk? Learn to love it Don't fight back Let's get them now let's get them all We've got sky gods so who needs you We won't be here in the morning We've got heaven everlasting Let's have cake and eat it too He's our father not you Mother We will conquer even Death! Stop whining Gaia stop your crying and don't dare put up a fuss But don't punish us you Mother We're the masters we can do it when we're naughty when we're bad so roll over and play dead Don't you tremble and turn tables Kill the Mother kill the Goddess or send lava sand or stones Gaia's dead long live the sky 'Don rain blood or salt or acid Gaia's cold and dry and shrivelled Don't errupt or spew up steam The shuttle goes one-way to Mars Clean up your act when we befoul you Mars is our god red and warring kill your ozone fuck your genes we don't give a shit for Earth Dont stop raining when rain forests All that blue and green and water sare no more Don't stop feeding That's too sissy that's too soft us with fishes when the sea-chain We love power we love violence has been snipped Who needs micro- When we march it's Earth beware' organisms they're so small and We can do it we can do it we're so big We don't need you We're the masters so beware We don't love you You're our Mother Just look at us the test-tube babies mothers suck We're the Earth gods don't need mothers don't need wombs we're the sky gods we loek upward We can do it purely phallic to the stars. We can cut and slash and burn Can renege on every treaty But don't fuck us we still need you so we can skin the Indian lands don't act up or try to punish flay live seals for their "fun furs" We can strip and cut and maim you and torture animals in labs We can masectomize you Deploy the Cruise our love-boat So lay back open your legs brandish swords talking won't do or we'll blast you so watch out We've got the faith they're the Devil We can blast 'em to kingdom come we can do it we can do it If nothing ever grows again for we are the Master Race we know we're right and that's what counts So shut up Gaia shut up Mother We are egos we are heroes or we'll plug you in the face and we die for our beliefs Stop that whimper or we'll mace you Funny no-one's left to witness for we are the Master Race! Not as much fun anymore But During this speech, SLIDES are shown of war toys and atrocities committed against animals, people and the Earth. Prolonged SOUND of the Bomb. It's a nuclear holocaust. BLACKOUT SILENCE AND BLACKOUT SOUND of a Geiger counter gradually drowned out by flies. LIGHT up on the garbage pile. ROSENTHAL emerges from under it, fighting a swarm of flies. Finally only one is left. She swats it. SILENCE. She rises, scratches and cleans herself. She turns around. She's wearing a clown nose. She adopts a few fighting stances, notices that she is alone, sees the garbage and dives in to find food. There's little. Mostly dog food. She's disgusted. "What a dump!" ROSENTHAL walks around, observing the space. Notices the "body" "Tread softly here . Whisper in corners.'' She picks up an old beat-up tire and some dead branches from the garbage, goes to the "body". "Deposit a wreath, a basket of nasturtium and clematis, a stone." She puts it all on the "body", takes a stone out of her pocket, and deposits it too. 'Is this a cemetery or a hospital? Is it a morgue? There is pathology here, but (sniffs) no; not yet death. Death, however, is what it's all about, you know . We're always talking about Death. We're walking death-tapes. You know. , Death. Since - oh - a longtime ago. Since == you remember ¥ the Fall? Death travels on our shoulder like a parrot. Old Thanatos . , " I I SLIDE: "The human condition is the fallen condition of time and fr~mertaticin.~' - WiWm Irwin fiompson "And it's hard sometimes to know if Death has capped pathology for the smell of dying is always in our nostrils. Is she dead? (referring to the "body") There was no tolling, no keening, no extreme unction, no pyre . Perhaps the whole thing is just being postponed. Anyway, I brought some flowers Nothing much Just a little something to mark the spot " ROSENTHAL sets the branches on the "body". Sits. She opens wide her eyes and suddenly falls asleep. She wakes up with a start. "What's the matter with me? The Unthinkable! You stub your toe on it and then you go OUT! Funny how you can't think it but you can do it. Performance Sl, conception NO." SLIDE: "Gigantic, insane crimes are not prevented from occurring because they are unthinkable." - Jonathan Schell I must try not to go unconscious. See if I can tidy up a bit. Woman's work is never done." She feels the "body". "Ech! Look at that! Limp. Clammy. Feverish. What's the matter? Can't you pull yourself together? God I hate victims!" She smacks the "body" with a branch "Come on, do something .

Load more

  27

Copy Link