КИНО
CHARLOTTE
About the game as a field of interaction between two mammals
Charlotte is a dog I know who has a very strong play instinct. It seems that even fatigue and the need for food are unable to switch this dominant. I decided to test the limits of what is possible.
Charlotte usually brings an object (for example, a ball), places it next to your hand or leg, looks you in the eye and makes inviting gestures with her muzzle. What she wants from you is clear without words. If you accept the invitation, take the ball and throw it away, do not expect that this will be the end of it. Before you can catch your breath, the ball will be back in your hands.
How many times do you need to throw it? It is unknown. It is the process that is important, not the result. When you look at Charlotte, bringing the ball to your feet for the 15th time, you will understand from her body language that these previous 14 throws did not exist for her. There is no sign that she is tired or has lost interest in the game. As soon as she grabs the ball with her teeth, all previous throws are reset. Now it's your turn, your throw.
At this moment, only you, Charlotte, and the ball exist.
Charlotte usually brings an object (for example, a ball), places it next to your hand or leg, looks you in the eye and makes inviting gestures with her muzzle. What she wants from you is clear without words. If you accept the invitation, take the ball and throw it away, do not expect that this will be the end of it. Before you can catch your breath, the ball will be back in your hands.
How many times do you need to throw it? It is unknown. It is the process that is important, not the result. When you look at Charlotte, bringing the ball to your feet for the 15th time, you will understand from her body language that these previous 14 throws did not exist for her. There is no sign that she is tired or has lost interest in the game. As soon as she grabs the ball with her teeth, all previous throws are reset. Now it's your turn, your throw.
At this moment, only you, Charlotte, and the ball exist.
CHARLOTTE
About the game as a field of interaction between two mammals
It turned out that the recording was only for the first half hour, or 29:29 to be exact. Then it stopped automatically (the camera preset was turned on, which I did not know about). Watching the video, I noticed that the recording stopped a moment before Charlotte and I suddenly reached the idyll. Whether this was a coincidence or a pattern — I do not know. But according to researchers of this phenomenon, the state of "true play" cannot be faked or performed on camera.
And suddenly at some point everything worked out! Charlotte started behaving in a familiar way, we finally tuned in to each other, that chemistry arose, and our contact became continuous. I was able to relax, surrender to the current moment, emotions, my own playfulness. I caught myself thinking that I could play with Charlotte for many more hours in a row. How long we were in this state of "true play" - 15 minutes, 30, maybe 50 — I do not know. We were interrupted, the experiment had to be ended, I went to the camera to turn it off, and was horrified to see that the recording had already been stopped.
Finally, having guessed the moment, having once again changed the location, having temporarily eliminated competitors for Charlotte’s attention, we were left alone with her.
We started playing, but the general tension was still felt. She was distracted, sometimes she ran for a long time after the ball, leaving me completely alone in the frame. I was worried that between us there was no such rapturous contact that was expected.
We started playing, but the general tension was still felt. She was distracted, sometimes she ran for a long time after the ball, leaving me completely alone in the frame. I was worried that between us there was no such rapturous contact that was expected.
The shooting was supposed to be a documentation of what was happening without subsequent editing, as dictated by the genre of performative media. My seemingly simple plan to film our usual game did not work. Every time I put the camera on a tripod, something went wrong: Charlotte’s mood changed dramatically, other things came up, other friends appeared. I was perplexed: after all, she had never refused me a game before.
