Shawyer dissertation May 2008 final version - The University of ...

48). In one sense, the community of revelers—both hippie and activist—at the Yip-Inwas the performance, whether the participants chose to sing, dance, shout, eat popcorn,snake dance, or just watch the action. The crowd performed for the media, the police, andalso for themselves the full extent of the New York hippie and activist network. And eventhe police became part of this network when they moved to break up the crowd afterwatching the Yip-In from the sidelines for several hours. Their intervention was notplanned as part of the performance, but the Yip-In’s open-ended scenario thatemphasized the chaotic energy of the crowd also allowed for any spectator to participate.In the hubbub of the crowd, the line between who was a performer and who was anobserver blurred.The police were trying to prevent further vandalism of the terminal, yet byentering the open framework of the Yip-In Happening structure, their action became partof the performance, and they unwittingly became participants in the Happening. In settingout the rules for Happenings, Kaprow contends that “the line between art and life shouldbe kept as fluid, and perhaps indistinct, as possible” (Assemblage 188). The Yip-Inaccomplished this by organizing itself like a party or celebration with an emphasis on doyour-own-thing.Eating popcorn, bouncing balloons, throwing confetti, or even doing thesnake dance were all everyday actions in hippie and activist culture. These actions mighthappen at real-life hippie parties, cinema showings, be-ins in the park, or demonstrations.Responding to vandalism and trying to clear a rowdy crowd were typical police actions.Like a classical Happening, the Yip-In therefore emphasized the aesthetics of ordinaryactions and everyday life performance.130