Marcy B. Freedman

Beacon Building — 427 Main St.

I am an artist and an art historian. As an art historian, I have been a teacher, curator, consultant and public speaker. As an artist, I have created paintings, drawings, collages, sculptures, photographs, videos and performance art.

For the last several years, my work as a performance artist has been dedicated to the proposition that we all need a break from our growing reliance upon virtual forms of communication, such as email, texting, and social networking. Consequently, I create performance pieces that are one-onone, face-to-face interactive encounters that involve real people, in real time and real space. I have found these projects to be powerful, engaging and often, fun.

For this year’s Windows on Main, I designed a project called “Site-Specific Dreams.” I spent hours on the streets of Beacon, inviting people to converse with me. Using my video camera, I documented their responses to this question: “What would you like to see in the Beacon Building, located at 427 Main Street?” Now, on the doors and windows of this building, one can find photos of each participant, along with their comments, transcribed from the video footage.

For me, the most meaningful part of this project was the time that I spent interacting with people — all sorts of people! I had the chance to chat with a group of skate- boarding teens, to exchange ideas with young new-comers to Beacon, to listen attentively to some long-time residents, and to brainstorm with a few tourists.” I think that all of the participants enjoyed themselves, too.

However, I believe that the installation is also important and valuable. As viewers stand in front of the Beacon Building, reading the posted statements, they will discover a wide range of suggested uses for the site. Some of the proposed ideas are impractical — but wonderfully imaginative and creative. Other concepts make a lot of sense and could be implemented. Interestingly, a majority of the proposals reflect a deep-seated concern for the general well-being and enrichment of the diverse populations of Beacon.

In short, I believe that “Site-Specific Dreams” is a successful project on many levels. In addition to exposing people to an unusual form of contemporary art (interactive performance), this piece has the potential to stimulate conversation — and perhaps, action!