The American Dream

The American Dream by Petter Alexander Goldstine (USA/Norway). With The American Dream Goldstine continues to work in a small, intimate and social format, this time by inviting the audience to dinner in his temporary home.

In The American Dream by and with Petter Alexander Goldstine interested spectators could call a phone number to be invited for a dinner with an included lecture/conversation in an apartment rented by Petter Alexander Goldstine for the occasion. They got a hand-written invitation with an address. In Oslo it led to a flat in the street Griffenfeldts gate.

For every seating there was room for eight guests, who after being served Goldstine's homemade dinner with dessert got to see slides from his meetings with homeless Americans. Goldstein had asked people he met about the dreams they had and with the portraits of the people he displayed images of handwritten notes describing their dreams for the future.  The evening continued with Goldstine wanting to hear what kind of dreams his guests had and then with a conversation about what they had seen and whatever else was on their minds.

One of the The American Dream dinners was documented by the art program Safari, broadcasted by Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK). In Oslo the production was very popular and the first 12 performances were followed by ten extra.

In an article in the weekly newspaper Morgenbladet one of the dreams presented by Goldstine is recited:

"- I dream about being a star. My name is Mona Lisa. Not like the image, better than that - I am real. My dream has always been to have a home of my own and a family of my own. I come from a disintegrated family. I looked for my father for 22 years, and I found him. I was 33, he was 72. He rests in peace now. I have a son, he graduated from kindergarten yesterday.  I was 38 when I had him. Unfortunately I am divorced. I still wish for a home for my son, and I will get one. (The rest is quoted in English in the Norwegian text):

- I'm a wonder woman. I wonder what I'll be doing next, and I'll do it with extra TLC.
  -TLC stands for Tender Loving Care, Petter Alexander Goldstine explains."

Goldstine also established a webpage for The American Dream, through which the art program Safari’s coverage is available and where several other people and their dreams for the future are presented.

In the programs of BIT Teatergarasjen and Black Box Teater, the production was presented in the following way:

"The Dated Artist Statement 28.03.2006:

I am naive. I am curious. I can only be myself.

My life in art began with fine art photography, which manifested into a social documentary form. The past six years I have lived among homeless Americans, Gypsies, Palestinians and Israelis, Kurds, Bangladeshi illegal immigrants and guerrilla soldiers; the outcasts of our society. My experiences with these people taught me about a humanity I have rarely felt from photographs. I began to understand that a world of media and advertising has desensitized our ability to be affected by mere images. Thus I set out to search for other forms to contact the 'viewer'. From my journalistic background I have found that art takes up where news and media fall short; to inform people.

Concerned with my influence on society and the influence of society on my actions, I began to see communication from a new perspective. Performance is a direct form of communication, one in which we experience on a daily basis, person to person being the most intimate form of communication. Through this awareness I have begun to understand that the audience’s experience helps define my form of expression and that a community must be formed among the audience along with the performer. My attempt is to make the visitor an essential physical part of what is going on, so that thought and interpretation come from outside the performance and some time later, ultimately confronting them with their own humanity.

The Theme: It's about Americans. The American Dream is a question under constant discussion, it exemplifies the idea that through hard work, courage and determination one can achieve prosperity resulting in success. I have been met with consistent cynicism when I have asked younger people about the American dream. Cookie cutter answers of the clichés we have grown up with are the responses to my questions. To find out what the American dream means today, I have to find another approach; I am seeking the personal dreams of Americans.

I have been living abroad for the last four years, during which I have travelled though Europe and the Middle East, worked with multi-cultural groups, lived in communal artist collectives and seen America from a distance. Among other things I have learned that nations do not make up individuals. Yet this is exactly what is occurring around the world, nations representing individuals, not the other way around. The United States has become a symbol produced by media and pop culture, creating a false sense of America and the people living there. This misrepresentation is growing not only abroad but domestically as well. My goal is to stop generalizing, at least not as much as before.

The Scenario: A dinner party: Guests receive an RSVP invitation for two in the mail. Six guests are invited each evening, introductions are made and drinks are served. Music is playing in the background, something American. It’s a dinner party, guest mingle while I prepare the food, recipes from people I have met in the United States. After dinner I show a slide show of my travels through the United States. Nothing highbrow, just a slide show. Food for thought you might call it. Discussion. The gathering of strangers usually convenes around a table with this food for thought. The topic of discussion includes, but is not limited to, the ambition of personal dreams and their tie to the American dream as opposed to humanitarian dreams? How the American dream has moved throughout the world and its effects on the global community today? Are dreams manufactured by society or its individuals? What can be read into the fabric of a society through its dreams?"

The American Dream was supported by Arts Council Norway and The Fund for Performing Artists.

Sources:

Hatlevik, Svein Erik (22.12.2006). Article titled Kokken, publikum, journalisten og hans fotograf (literally: The Cook, the Audience, the Journalist and his Photographer) Morgenbladet, morgenbladet.no, 06.12.2010, http://www.morgenbladet.no/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061222/OKULTUR/112220017

The American Dream Today, theamericandreamtoday.blogspot.com/, 06.12.2010, http://www.theamericandreamtoday.blogspot.com/

BIT Teatergarsjen, spring program 2007. 08.09.2010: http://www.bit-teatergarasjen.no/article/64

Hatlevik, Svein Erik (22.12.2006). Article titled Kokken, publikum, journalisten og hans fotograf (literally: The Cook, the Audience, the Journalist and his Photographer) Morgenbladet, morgenbladet.no, 06.12.2010, http://www.morgenbladet.no/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061222/OKULTUR/112220017:

"After the meal Goldstine shows slides from his voyage through USA this summer. There he interviewed people he met about their dreams. After, if Goldstine felt that the mood allowed it, he asked his interviewees for food recipes. These recipes make the framework for the meal served by Goldstine to his guests – or, if one wishes, his audience."