promo photo shoot with tilla and bruce

last week - or rather 2 weeks ago, at this point - tilla kuenzli (costumes), bruce tom (photography), and i took over the frank agency headquarters to create a small segment of the bridging wounds world.

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3600 post-it notes. hand placed. one at a time.

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a haircut and some extra dots became necessary.

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this is the first prototpye of my costume:

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a handfull of shots from the shoot:

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the winners:

work-in-progress showing no. 1

"traversing"
jherek bischoff (bass) - alex guy (viola) - ezra dickinson (movement)
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amanda moore and jamie iacoli experimenting with the first string screen prototype
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the string trio
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the string trio, the bag story, and the breath section (sam boshnack, trumpet - beth fleenor, clarinet)
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"peripheral systems"
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audio samples - tearing paper!
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audio samples - undoing velcro!
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audio samples - finger tapping!
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conducting the audio samples
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video samples - swaying together
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video samples - moving eyes
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video samples - chin scratching
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paurl walsh (audio production) and the first post-it experiment
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video samples - people in their shoes
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all photos by the amazing bruce tom
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LOADS AND LOADS OF THANKS for supporting our cause, coming out, and participating!!! you guys were incredible! i was absoultely blown away.
thank you. thank you. thank you.

Martha

It's the morning of the first work in progress showing, so it seems past time for me to weigh in:

Martha Graham is touted as The Mother of Modern Dance, she has a wide net of accomplishments and accolades trailing the legacy of her long art-making life. If you want to google her, you can learn all about them, and you can also see photographs of her tremendously intense face in grisly, dramatic poses... It's worth the effort. This powerhouse woman danced and choreographed for more than seventy years.

For me, Martha has a different flavor than The Mother of Modern Dance, she is the woman whose long arm reaches across the span of a century just to nail my life against the wall. All my successes and failures supernaturally detected and commented on by that keen director's eye. Her words have been running on a loop in my head for the past twenty-four hours, and they seem a great notion to carry with you into your first showing.

Martha, telling it like it is:

According to Agnes de Mille: "I was bewildered and worried that my entire scale of values was untrustworthy. ... I confessed that I had a burning desire to be excellent, but no faith that I could be. Martha said to me, very quietly,"

'"There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. ... No artist is pleased. [There is] no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others"'

from The Life and Work of Martha Graham

and

"I have spent all my life with dance and being a dancer. It's permitting life to use you in a very intense way. Sometimes it is not pleasant. Sometimes it is fearful. But nevertheless it is inevitable."

today's string rehearsal:j-rock!

alex!
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clarinet score
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tonight's work station

the sunday marathon

last night's work space

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amanda, paurl and my sunbutter breakfast kickin' it at the grand illusion: 9am on a sunday morning...

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the bag story on the big screen for the first time!!

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the first string screen prototype in action!!!

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beth and sam on break at today's 5 hr music rehearsal

in the cave again

'the cave' is what paurl and i call the studio in our basement. tonight, we're working on the 'body parts machine' with hopes of finishing it up before my rehearsal with ezra in the morning...

recording vocals...

(handbill design by niterrant: www.niterrant.net)

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Here in the land of BRIDGING WOUNDS, we believe the human experience to be a great big experiment - our creative process is no exception. At our first work-in-progress showing, you’ll get a peak at what we’ve been up to and can opt to help us create the next phase by following directions like, “turn in a circle pausing every 90 degrees” and “chomp that gum into this microphone.” Think of it as a sort of ‘science lab of life experiences’ - we’ll give you a drum set wrapped in post-its and you give us a bit of your humanness.

one week out

i was in a car accident last week. these gifts saved me.

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tonight, this is my work station. it moves a lot.

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this is paurl. he is working on the 'body parts' machine sounds.

this is happening...RIGHT NOW

we are working late into the night.

tick. tock. tick. tock. tick. tock.

crunch time

the first work-in-progress is 2 weeks from tomorrow and i'd be lying if i said i wasn't feeling a bit overwhelmed, though in an excited way (for now...). yesterday i went over to amanda's and experimented with the sand (now salt) bubble animation. after a few hours of failed attempts, we found our method and devised a plan. today i firmed up plans with jamie for what components she'll have done for the 21st, and spent the rest of the day organizing and putting out fires.

assembling the puzzle one tiny piece at a time...

musical sleepover

that's right. i'm having a sleepover at my house tonight. beth fleenor, sam boshnack, and i are hunkering down in my little nest to improvise and work through some sketches i have for the body parts section of the piece (to be shown at the first work-in-progress at the henry art gallery on APRIL 21 AT 7PM). the thirteen year old in me is ecstatic.

(the twenty-four year old in me is too)

an announcement

the amazing lasara jarvis has joined the BLOGland of bridging wounds and will hopefully be lending some of her observations/discoveries/thoughts/etc. on the human experience to our cause. i'm absolutely thrilled to have her along for the ride.

it's time to get real (as crazy as it makes me sound)

why is it so damn difficult to just be where you're at? why does it pose such a battle within yourself and when interacting with others?

it can be difficult enough just to discover/navigate/maintain/be okay with/feel strong in who you are, where you're at, and what you need without any other factors (people) involved. that separation is so rare. and when other factors (people) are in the mix, you then have to assert and defend and stay strong in who you are, where you're at, and what you need while navigating who they are, where they're at, and what they need. multiply this by the number of people you encounter in any given day and add the level of intimacy you experience with each of them. i realize that this is the human experience, but i'm genuinely starting to feel like it's all just a silly game - a game we play to avoid doing the real work (and i'm not talking the 9-5 kind).

when one is lost, why not pull strength from oneself by facing those dark aspects of being...?

there are just some things you can't escape. they follow you across an ocean and into the shower - relentlessly - like an obedient dog. fear is one of those things.

(it's such a funny little thing)

it doesn't exist without recognition. none of us want it, and yet we feed it and grow it anyway. our little companion, always there when we call it.

why do we fear the greatness in ourselves? why do we avoid it, bury it, sink into the mundane holding on to that stasis with all we've got, hating those who are doing what we secretly wish we 'could'?

fear rots us. we could be so much more.

even oragutans thrive on creative output

by 'towan' - the orangutan

last night i read an article in 'city arts' magazine about how, "artistic talent is not uncommon among primates in captivity, as it's a healthy way to keep them active and engaged." the particular one they write about here has been painting on canvas for 41 years. the writer also recently encountered an orangutan who, "immensely enjoyed working in crayon," and says that they all show different artistic talents. for instance, "most of the females are more interested in weaving activities. one female made a swing by stringing up a milk crate with some denim. another would rather paint on the wall or on a barrel (graffiti artist)." amazing.

now can we start recognizing how vital creative output is for humans...?

no more grants!!

for now...

last night i met with paurl, amanda, and jamie to start filling in the details for the 1st work-in-progress showing (to be held at the henry art gallery as part of their open floor series on april 21, 7pm). we've got a movement study, more animation, new music (to be played live by alex guy (viola), beth fleenor (clarinet), sam boshnack (trumpet), and maybe others), a prototype of a projection screen, and a collection of activities in the works.

today, i'm working on movement. after so many years of not dancing, i'm having to retrain my body to do what my mind is telling it to do - an interesting process that feels really great, but certainly comes with its frustrations.

jamie just sent me a 3D rendition of new screen ideas - it's super cool and will be composed of string. lots of string.

a gift from frank

for your genius...

beyond amazing

kittens inspired by kittens

that foot's not actually flaming...

chapter 2: body parts
movement notation from yesterday's rehearsal

fake miniatures (aka tilt shift photography) - check it

tonight's open floor presentation

Art Versus Science Debate II

"Which is more important to society – science, or art? In February’s program, Open Floor reprises another heated face-off between art and science. Two teams consisting of artists, designers, students, scientists and thinkers will battle until the question is finally resolved. The debate will be overseen by a moderator and a pre-selected jury; audience participation is welcome."

Henry Art Gallery
7-9pm
FREE

the body part study has begun

foot
to back of knee
to hip
to elbow/hip
to elbow/knee
to hip
to stomach
to elbow/rib
to elbow/elbow
to shoulder blade
to neck
to throat

st. john's wort is my new best friend

organize. write project description. schedule rehearsal. write long bio. organize. schedule meeting. compile budget. organize. plan. go to meeting. write about project impact in 1000 characters. make phone calls. write emails. prepare for meeting. figure out work samples. write work sample descriptions. ask people to do non-fun things like write resumes. attend grant writing workshop. copy edit. plan. shift dates. write promotional plan. rehearse. go to meeting. write emails. schedule meeting. write. write. write. write. write. write. write. write. write. write. write. sigh heavily. take off glasses. rub face. start again.

VOTE IN OUR POLLS!!!

we are gathering information that is directly informing our piece and need as much input as we can get! you're not voting in vain! it's anonymous and you don't have to do any sort of registering to participate just a little reading...a little thinking...and two clicks....that's it!

grasping for air...in a good way

2009 has really hit the ground running and i'm trying to keep up without burning out. some days or weeks are better then others...

lately, i've been so inundated with working on grant applications, writing blurbs and project descriptions, short bios and long bios, flushing out the storyboard, and trying to secure venues and dates that not much effort has gone into the actual creation of the piece. my theory is that if i make it through all of my most current deadlines by the end of february, the completion will usher in the time of creation.

glossary entry no. 1

:the bubbles:

:each represents a person/experience
:audio - travel interviews
:rat maze perspective (audience is inside)

new project description

Bridging Wounds is a performative multimedia work that melds the interconnectivity of nouns with the concept of travel, exploring what it means to be human from a multitude of perspectives. Blurring the lines between co-existing realities, the piece pulls from universally shared experiences and sentiments inviting participants to step into a world where people are bubbles, bags travel, and unconventional body parts take precedent.

weekly animation station

in light of our successful 'sweatshop-style animation party' back in november, amanda and i have decided to make it a weekly thing. we are looking for a collection of unique hands to draw tiny hatch marks and/or shade pages of newsprint with charcoal pencils. whether you roll inside the lines or out, we have a place for you! so, come out and relive those days of childhood where all you had to think about was what to color next.

WHEN: every monday from 4-6pm - drop by any time any week

WHERE: the oddfellows tavern (on 10th between pike and pine)

WHO: anyone!