Tying People Together
Nicole Patrick
“All human beings are also dream beings. Dreaming ties all mankind together.” - Jack Kerouac My perception of Nuit Blanche was greatly altered as I encountered a quiet but very unique relational aesthetics art piece. The streets of Toronto were littered with people who were flocking around the humongous installations that were advertised as the night’s main attractions. The most interaction people had with the hundreds of other art seekers was bumping arms as they attempted to catch a glimpse of the installations, which were generally swarmed with such large mobs of people that the art pieces were barely visible. Although these installations brought enormous amounts of people together, they did not provoke the same interaction as the balloon piece. As I was walking away from a particularly obnoxious installation that shot flames high NICOLE PATRICK AT NUIT BLANCHE into the air, I was approached by a stranger who proceeded to silently take my hand and tie something around my finger. Once the girl securely knotted the string she smiled and walked away. I looked down at my hand from which a large blue balloon was now hanging, and I noticed an inscription that gave me a newfound appreciation for relational artwork. The quote that was written in black on the side of the balloon was by the French-Canadian novelist Jack Kerouac: “All human beings are also dream beings. Dreaming ties all mankind together”. I began to interpret this quote in relation to the distance amongst the people who were traveling between art pieces. This small act of approaching a stranger and tying a balloon to their finger created more of a connection between two people than all of Nuit Blanche’s other art works. I was inspired to continue the relay of passing a balloon on to another stranger in an attempt to make a small but memorable connection with someone. This balloon piece encouraged social interaction between strangers and managed to do so with a simple concept. I was fortunate enough to experience this interaction, and when I approached a random person in the crowd and tied the balloon to their finger I felt as though I was a part of the artwork and also a part of someone else’s experience at Nuit Blanche.
issue no.1 / november
2011
13