Art galleries aren’t often thought of as outlets for an honors thesis.
But Peter Pendergrass, a senior double majoring in performance studies and studio art, is presenting his at the Student Artery.
The installation and performance — called “Dreamlife” — intertwines dream with reality by exploring the experience of dreaming.
“The piece is about dreaming, but it does not deal with dreams in the sense of interpreting them in order to glean some sort of meaning,” Pendergrass said in an e-mail. “This work is about the experience of dreaming.”
“Dreamlife” combines sculpture, audio, video and performance in an intimate and immersive environment. It is a largely interactive piece in which Pendergrass and his drama group, the Performance Collective, interact with each other and the created space.
“I really hope people spend time in the space,” said Lori Baldwin, a performer in “Dreamlife.”
“In an instillation it’s easy go walk in and walk out. Letting yourself experience and be a part of the duration I think will be really exciting — you can just sit there and be an active member of what is going on.”
As an honors thesis project, the piece developed largely within the guidelines for thesis work. But the performance aspect of “Dreamlife” came together more freely.
“It is very much going to be an open process. We have created a sort of performance vocabulary, but it will definitely open to spontaneity,” Baldwin said.
