A “Happening” is a form of art that takes shape as an event or performance. It is usually more spontaneous than a play and involves the viewer somehow, letting them experience the “happening”.
After reading the articles about happenings, the first thing that comes to mind is several of internet entrepreneur Josh Harris' "social experiments", as he called them. Harris' projects Quiet and We Live in Public are explained in a documentary which is primarily about them and other facets of Josh Harris' life, and is titled after the latter experiment: We Live in Public.
In his 1999 project Quiet, Harris provided housing for about one hundred people to live in a basement “hotel” in Manhattan. They were not allowed to leave, but were supplied unlimited and free food, alcohol, and drugs. There is a shooting range in the basement, large rooms with interesting structures in them, costumes, among many other things. However by agreeing to live in Harris' “hotel” the participants also agreed to being videotaped, constantly. There were TVs all over the house where residents could tune in and watch the other people living in the house, no matter where they were or what they were doing; nothing was censored. All residents slept in the same room in what Harris called “pods” which were essentially cots. Video feed from the hotel was played online along with a chat so that viewers from the outside could watch and chat about what was happening in the hotel. The residents also agreed to go into an “interrogation room” where they would be mentally probed by Harris' hired interrogators.
This project went on for about a month, and I believe it can be considered a happening; the people who lived in the house were acting completely unscripted, going wild and doing whatever they wanted without consequence of police, jobs, family for about a month. Everything that happened in the house was unplanned, save for some of the interrogation questions. The results revealed how shameless people can be, even when they know their every action is being recorded.
The second “experiment” detailed in the documentary is where the film gets its namesake, We Live in Public. Harris and his girlfriend Tanya decided to move in together and tape all their actions, somewhat similar to his earlier project Quiet, but it was only Harris, Tanya and their cats, and they were allowed to leave the apartment. Again, this was broadcast onto the internet with a chatroom and I feel is an even better example of a Happening; Harris and Tanya would regularly go on the chat and interact with the people viewing them; unscripted interaction between the two in the experiment and their viewers. There was no limit to the extent Harris and Tanya were recorded, as in Quiet, they were taped on the toilet, having sex, eating, showering, reading. At one point, Tanya couldn't remember where her wallet was and asked viewers for assistance finding it. There was really quite a bit of interaction between the two being taped and the people watching them.
Learning about Harris' experiments is only one part of the film; he led an interesting life and really wanted to be someone that could be considered an artist. His social experiments were definitely interesting and I believe can be classified as a happening. Did Harris achieve his goal of being considered an artist? Watch the documentary and decide for yourself.
-1490803
