1969 ‘Happening’ Restaged

Dressed all in white, performers drew in the audience to participate in a restaging of “The Sky Is the Limit: A Happening” Oct. 10 at Hamilton Murray Theater. The installation, originally created by artist Geoffrey Hendricks in 1969, featured students and Princeton community members moving stacks of white cardboard boxes against a blue background suggesting the textures and shapes of clouds. It was sponsored by the University Art Museum to promote its exhibition, “New Jersey as Non-Site.”

“This is probably the most alternative, outlandish art performance that has ever happened at Princeton,” said Emi Alexander ’14, one of 17 performers who tossed white beach balls into the crowd and wrapped a plant in toilet paper and shaving cream. Midway through, a white sheet blanketed the viewers’ heads. Audience members were perplexed but entertained. “I like that it was interactive,” said Ronan O’Brien ’16, “but I got the impression I was missing context.”