Jim Burton
Performer Isolation Event

Jim Burton, Larry Nelson, Roger Nelson, Alan Finkel

Organized by Jim Burton

“Performer Isolation Event” required four performers to remain in isolation by lying down in coffin-sized boxes for twelve hours. The event began at 9:00AM and ended at 9:00PM. Each box was equipped with a microphone fed to a public address system in the gallery. Each performer wore earplugs and blindfolds to minimize his contact with the environment. During the period of isolation, the performers were instructed to improvise vocal variations on the five vowels, in order. Each vowel was allotted two hours and the final two-hour period was for free improvisation. The performers could only estimate the two-hour divisions; thus, the vowel variations often overlapped.