My partner is Jana Hitgano. In her performance, she wrote the words, “Sometimes when words aren’t enough…” on the board. She, then, came forward to take a chair back against the wall with a large Polaroid camera in her hand. She stood on the chair and tried to take a picture of the whole class. She didn’t seem to get everyone to fit in so she got off the chair and repositioned it in the corner of the room. She still didn’t seem to be satisfied and thus, repositioned the chair one last time. When she was just about ready, she asked everyone to come closer with a hand gesture and then flashed the camera. At the end, she said, “That’s me” with a big smile on her face.

Jana’s performance was very insightful and entertaining. She used audience participation to make her self-portrait not just about her but everyone in the room. It displayed her friendly personality and desire to shine a spotlight on others. Having interviewed Jana, I know that she wants to explore photography while in college. Her many attempts at taking the picture really showed her persistence and determination to perfecting her photography skills. She took the picture not just by standing on the floor but on a chair, giving us a new viewpoint to think about.  Her smile was the constant element in the performance and it showed her positive outlook on life. The performance was great and really showcased a part of her personality to the class. Her concluding words of “That’s me” were a perfect ending.

When watching the performance over, I realized how different it feels to watch the performance without the video recorder in front of me. My main focus while watching Jana was making sure I capture her movements within the screen and zooming in at the right moments. When I watched it over, I concentrated on the various aspects of the performance and got to fully appreciate her portrait.