Amid the usual eagerness and anticipation for the weekend, Fridays have recently featured additional excitement on campus. Whether it consists of students holding doors open in Valders and the Union, executing grid exercises on the Library Lawn or performing interpretive dance while painting, sculpting and drumming outside the Union, these students and their weekly “happenings” are hard to miss.

Two new courses have recently been added to the Theatre/Dance and Art departments, both focusing on post-modern art forms. Jane Hawley’s course Performance Research: Experiential Happenings and Richard Merrit’s class Introduction to the New Media expose students to new forms of expression using the body and media as forms of expression.

Hawley proposed the idea for her class when she was trying to figure out a way to help students with their independent study projects.

“I became interested in how to create a way to serve students in their individual research in an independent study paradigm,” said Hawley. “[Experiential Happenings] serves students individually, as well as a course.”

Depending on the terms set by the student and Hawley, the course fulfills credits for independent study, dance composition, directed research or performance practicum.

Students work individually outside of class and come together every Monday, Wednesday and Friday to collaborate on upcoming student-directed “happenings.” But what exactly is a “happening”?

A “happening,” a form of live art that takes place in the mundane world, first arose in the 1960s and 1970s when artists grew frustrated with the excessive need for form and structure in their art.

“It’s art in the form of theater,” said art major Mark Fehlandt (‘08), who is enrolled in both Hawley’s and Merrit’s new courses. “It was started by artists, not performers.”

The student-directed “happenings” are described in the course syllabus as an “attempt to open a disquieting discourse on contemporary daily life.” Although they have general themes, intentions and parameters, “happenings” are largely improvised.

“[‘Happenings’ focus on] how we can infuse art into our daily life,” said Hawley, articulating the importance of art and expression. “ [Art] really affects the way we feel.”

Theatre/dance major Kate Blaire (‘08) explained that the course focuses on exploration through a process.

“It’s a lot about creating things before you know what you’re creating,” said Blaire, who acknowledges that often the performances do not make sense.

This nonsensical aspect of the “happenings” is actually an important component of the theory of the course.

“Just because it doesn’t make sense doesn’t mean it doesn’t have meaning,” said Fehlandt.

The class has been videotaping all the “happenings” on campus, which has been effective in capturing people’s reactions. Hawley said that some people will smile. Others will ignore the “happening” and others will avoid the situation all together. Some people avoided the whole building of Valders to circumvent the abnormality of having a door held open for them.

“Abnormal timing and contrast out of daily life attracts attention,” said Hawley, who produces a main stage performance at Luther every other year.

Hawley explained that the performance research of the course is helping her prepare for her next production, as she considers what attracts attention and how people view different artistic work.

The course is intended for theatre/dance majors and non-majors alike. Hawley said that among the 10 seniors enrolled in the course, there is a broad representation of student interests, including anthropology, music and Africana studies, as well as art and theatre/dance majors.

“We’re learning how to think differently by approaching the same problem,” said Hawley. “It’s been super stimulating.”

“That’s what makes it fun — having a wide range of perspectives,” said Blaire.

Merrit, who was unavailable for comment, is also teaching a new course the semester called Introduction to New Media. It is considered post-modern art but takes a different approach to this new and diverse form of expression.

“A medium is charcoal, paint etc.,” said Fehlandt. “New media, in the plural, refers to technology and performance-based media.”

Because of the similar exploratory focus and overlapping class hours, Merrit and Hawley’s classes occasionally meet together, especially for Merrit’s Monday lectures.

“Mine is experiential learning, and his is theory,” said Hawley in describing the collaboration between the classes. “[The courses] work beautifully together.”

Hawley’s course regards the body as the medium whereas Merrit’s art form involves different forms of media.

An example of the methods in Merrit’s class includes an assignment called performance drawing, examining how drawing can be performed as an art.

“As long as you’re in front of the class you could do whatever you wanted,” said Fehlandt. “You could throw a bunch of newspapers on the floor and call that drawing.”

Another form of this new media includes relational art, in which students create something that deals with human interaction.

Fehlandt explained that his experience was quite stimulating. He chose to hang five $20 bills in an entryway of the Center for the Arts and stepped aside to observe the reactions of people. To his surprise, no one touched the money.

The new classes have certainly altered interactions among students on campus, and both Hawley’s and Merritt’s new course offerings have provided their students and the whole campus with new stimulations, highlighting original post-modern art forms.

“I feel like it opens up possibilities for how we interact in life,” said Blaire. “You see there are more options than you thought.”

The final “happening” will take place on May 9 in the CFA. Hawley’s class plans to show off what she describes as being the most exciting, provocative research that has come up throughout the semester.