My assignment for the week was to crumple and flatten a piece of paper over and over again to the point of destruction. Easy enough. Seemingly boring. Because Fluxus calls for being completely focused on what you’re doing, I decided to keep my senses open to the many details involved in crumpling a piece of paper. It’s interesting what a little of your attention can help you notice.
At the start of my crumpling experience I had a nice 8 x 12 sheet of printer paper. My crumpling became methodical overtime, as I rolled the paper between my hands like I was praying. After a while, I noticed that the texture was beginning to change significantly. Crumpling started to create small fissures within the paper which made it more easily bendable and soft. Eventually it took on a texture similar to that of toilet paper.
Another thing I noticed was the change in opacity. The paper became increasingly thin and sheer, and began to develop some holes much later into the crumpling. I thought it was interesting to note that at certain points, the paper would let off dust as I crumpled it up. It kind of freaked me out at first and I thought I was seeing things but it continued to do it over and over again.
I can’t say that I gained any value out of crumpling up my piece of paper. But I will say that it got me to reevaluate how present I am in daily activities. I must be missing a lot if I thought that there wasn’t much to notice in this simple act of paper destruction.
