Listen to me, Sam...POG is where it's at!

April 28, 2007
Performance
(im)parting @ YYZ Artists’ Outlet & Cinecycle
Duration: Approx. 2 hrs

Description:

“POG’s” and “Slammer’s” were made available to the audience in two separate bowls. Throughout the night, myself and members of the audience played the game in the alleyway between YYZ Artists’ Outlet and Cinecycle.

For more information on POGs: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pogs

Statement:

In a lecture by Dan Gilbert, a Harvard Professor of Psychology (click here to view lecture) the concept of “synthetic happiness” and the possibility of producing happiness was first introduced to me. In the lecture, Gilbert describes “synthetic happiness” as a psychological immune system of sorts which insures our happiness, especially and most effectively, during gridlock situations with few options. Our mind alters our perception of happiness based on what we have and are able to get. Gilbert stresses that, contrary to popular belief, “synthetic happiness” is of the same level of quality and “every bit as real and enduring as the kind of happiness you stumble upon when you get exactly what you were aiming for.” I was fascinated to realize the power of the mind to produce happiness. I began to think and question what happiness really is.

The biggest catalyst of synthetic happiness is the lack of options. Dead ends force us to accept our circumstances and ultimately grow to enjoy them. Thus, for the performance the limitations of space, location, time, and duration were purely dependant on the other artists participating in the performance night. My piece would have to work within the confines of less than ideal situations. With such restrictions, I feel was able to produce a piece which effectively embodied my intentions… then again, my perception maybe biased on the count of synthetic happiness.

As I began to explore the confines and possibilities for the performance, it seemed only logical to continue addressing the issue of ‘happiness’. It seems as if everything in the past was more enjoyable and fun than it really was… it’s interesting that we always remember ourselves happier than we really were. Nostalgia seems to have this effect. During the actual activity or moment, regardless of how happy we think we are, it is incomparable to how happy we will perceive ourselves in hindsight.
This performance attempts to produce happiness through nostalgia.

POGs were all the rage during my childhood, and thinking back, playing it in the playground were some of the best times of my life (but that may be the nostalgia talking). Those in the audience of my age group were eager to play and shared my enthusiasm for the game. Those unfamiliar with the game learned to play and vicariously experienced our childhood fascination with POGs, while we had chance to live our nostalgic fantasies… yet, in the end we may have only ended up making another nostalgic memory…