And For Dessert

The last Tall Table Supper at the SPINE House was a hit.  Thankfully, we have decided to keep them going until we move house possibly in 2013.  The next supper will be in September.  Watch this space for a date. Cory took many lovely pictures of the evening as she always does.  The one above is one of my favorites, the Plum Buckle Ice Cream Sandwiches. The other one I took. Go Team SPINE!  Check out more delicious pics at Tall Table's facebook page.

-k

What may be the Last Supper...for now

This month's Tall Table may be the last for this season, this year, this house. 
The SPINE house will be moving home. 
Come enjoy our space, our hospitality, our food, our drink, and of course our backyard.

The Height of Summer Feast, Tall Table Supper Club, Sunday, July 29th, at 7pm at the SPINE House with the SPINE crew.

The Menu:

Grilled Yellow Pepper Arancini with fonita cheese, walnuts, and parsley oil
Coconut Poached Tofu with shiso galagal sauce, sauteed cucumber, and spicy avocado relish
Tomato Spaetzle with fried heirloom tomatoes, brussels sprout, jicama and green bean salad
Plum Buckle Ice Cream Sandwich with lemon vanilla and plum ice cream, streusel cookie, and spiced plum syrup


4 courses $45
Wine pairing $15 (optional) includes digestif and coffee or tea


There are still a few seats available.  To reserve a seat please send payment by Friday, July 20th, via PayPal using email address jicamajane@hotmail.com.


Hope to see you. Hope to feed you.


Tall Table is a communal dining experience at the SPINE house featuring recipes from the restaurant Dirt Candy, and other fun dishes curated and prepared by Kristen Revier with the assistance of SPINE house co-founders Cory Nakasue and Brent Felker.

VIDEO ART SALON MARCH 24th, SPINE HOUSE 6-9

VIDEO ART SALON MARCH 24th, SPINE HOUSE 6-9

Join us on March 24th for salon featuring 5 video/audio artists. Each artist will present a piece and discuss their work in an informal setting. There will be food from Kristen Revier, of Dirt Candy and Tall Table Supper Club, and libations to keep the discourse flowing. This is the 4th salon we have hosted and the first featuring video art. $5 suggested donation for food and drink. Please RSVP

The SPINE house is a community/events/living space in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. An exercise in communal living, working and art making, SPINE is home to SPINE Arts Collective, Body Intelligence, Tall Table Supper Club and a host of other smaller projects. Located at 81 Maujer St, #1 in Brooklyn (between Lorimer and Leonard).

PRESENTING ARTISTS:

Amanda Long
www.amandalong.org

KimSu Theiler from Gobolux
www.gobolux.com

Marisa Sher
https://vimeo.com/marissasher

exdeadguy
www.exdeadguy.com

Oliver Lyons
http://bombsite.com/articles/6303

Thanks and hope to see you here.

Pilates for Inner Strength at Jai Yoga Arts

Join me next week for this Introductory Body Intelligence workshop hosted by Jai Yoga Arts

Postnatal Pilates for you and your friends on YOUR schedule, every weekend

Hi Everyone,

I’m offering a new weekend option for postnatal Pilates at the SPINE house in Williamsburg, here’s how it works:

#1 You schedule a time on Saturday or Sunday for yourself and a couple friends.
#2 The schedule can change from week to week depending on your needs.
#3 If you can’t find someone to take class with I will find someone.
#4 Class will always be held at least 10mins.for late-comers.
#5 REPEAT EVERY WEEKEND

The SPINE house is a casual, comfortable place for you to do postnatal Pilates with your friends, and even hang out after class for tea and snacks prepared by our Tall Table Chef, Kristen Revier.

Plan on doing a Pilates mat workout mixed with yoga, strength training and Pilates equipment. Each class holds only 3 people, so each class is a semi-private. Please forward to your friends.

See you soon,
CN

More Cory More Greenpoint!

Cory is showing up in two new places in Greenpoint:

Caribou Baby, a gorgeous shop with a large, beautiful, sunlit studio in the back. She is teaching postnatal Pilates on Monday afternoons starting Sept. 12th for $20 a class. The space is big, bring your friends. The shop has everything you can think of and all of their products are organic, sustainable, artisanal, and progressive leaning.

Greenpoint Tattoo Company, an equally beautiful venue that feels like an artist's studio and gallery. At the moment, their Pilates class is only open to the artists and their friends, but they may be willing to accept a couple crashers next month. Watch out, they may want to "initiate" you, if you know what I mean...

Introducing Tall Table, a supper club at SPINE house

Hi friends,

As some of you know I have spent the last several months consumed by cooking. Long story short, I started recipe testing for Dirt Candy, a restaurant in the East Village, and I can't stop. It is a delicious addiction. But, in order to support and feed my addiction, I need to feed YOU. See long story.


So, I invite you to Tall Table, a supper club at SPINE house, our beautiful and spacious apartment in South Williamsburg. Please help me get started by first liking Tall Table's Facebook page, then coming for dinner and finally spreading the word.

INFO:

Tall Table features recipes from the restaurant Dirt Candy, and other fun dishes curated and prepared by Kristen Revier with the assistance of SPINE house co-founders Cory Nakasue and Brent Felker. There will be occasional, surprise wine and cocktail tastings as we get access to them, and when available, live performances from local artists.
Price: Suggested donation $30. BYOB
Location: SPINE house in Williamsburg (5 blocks from Lorimer L stop).
When: Sundays, and upon request for private parties.

Tall Table's Inaugural Dinner

We are having a very special first dinner on Sunday, September 25th at 7:00PM. Along with delicious Dirt Candy dishes, our maiden dinner is unique because it comes with a select Italian wine service courtesy of Aroma Kitchen and Wine Bar, and of course, you'll be able to enjoy the meal with access to Kristen's Italian wine expertise. An added perk to this evening's seating is that all proceeds from the evening go to Brent Felker's latest project that he will be exhibiting this month; he will be on hand to talk a bit about that. If you or anyone you know would like to enjoy a scrumptious intimate dinner with delectable wines please email Kristen.spine@gmail.com for a reservation, and feel free to forward this to your friends.

SEPTEMBER 25TH MENU
Jalapeno Hush Puppies w/ Maple Butter
Portobello Mushroom Mousse
Grilled Asparagus Paella
Roasted Pear Sorbet with Crystallized Ginger/Molasses Cookies
All dishes paired with Southern Italian Red, White, Sparkling or Desert Wine.
All dishes are vegetarian.

$60 suggested donation per person.

(menu subject to change)

-kristen

Illustrations by Edwina White

Island living

I've been installing some video art for the past week on Governors Island. My work was selected by 4heads for the the Governors Island Art Fair. After a slightly rocky start where I was offered a room with no outlets that people could not enter, we worked something out. I had initially applied with 4 pieces, and when accepted said my only requirements were as many outlets as I could get. As a video artist, they come in quite handy. The plan was to install 6 pieces into a room as a cohesive installation.


In college we had a theater called the Cellar. Because it was a cellar. The beauty of naming its entrance aside, the place was a logistical nightmare. 8 ft (at best) ceilings meant the lights were so low, no one over 6ft could effectively be on stage. There were 4 entrances to the space. One "entrance" led to the prop room from which there was no exit, so anyone exiting there had to remain in storage for the rest of the play. The other three could only be accessed by leaving the building and running outside to another door. Not fun in a Maine winter. The floor, walls and ceiling were all cement and acoustically atrocious, not to mention hell for any dancing or stage combat. It was as if someone dropped a giant cinder block into the foundation of the theater, and we were left to perform in the cavity it formed.

It was a wonderful space. We did dozens of shows there in my four years. We did shows in the round, proscenium, thrust, alley you name it. The space forced us into heights of creativity by its very intractability. I spent the first day at Governors Island trying to get a different space, but ended up compromising by taking a few rooms with no outlets and running power up from the floor below. In fact, they gave me a whole section of the attic including the hallway, so people can view the different pieces from different doorways. I spent the next day figuring out exactly how it would all work, and ended up rearranging just about everything. The end result is a much better exhibit, I think, that incorporates the space in a way that would be impossible using a neutral room.
All in all, I am grateful for the restrictions that force creativity, even if the initial reaction is to rail against any imperfection. While I would like to get everything I want to realize my vision (obviously) and will try to create the opportunities that allow it, I know I will also look for the boundaries to push against. Knowing that those concrete walls are never as solid as they first appear.

-Brent

Compositional editing

I was shown the following video by the illustrious Steven Kidd.



I was struck by the editing of the piece, and not surprised to see that the editor and director were one and the same (William Hoffman). I mentioned after that picking apart all the edits would be like a master class in compositional editing. Steve asked what I meant by that, and I realized I hadn't heard the term before.

What I am talking about may (probably) already have a name, but I have not been able to find it using the google.

When I use the term "compositional editing," it is in contrast to "narrative editing" and implies a focus on the part of the editor. Any time 2 or more pieces are placed in proximity, you have composition. Any time 2 or more pieces are placed in a sequence, you have narrative. So any edited footage must contain both compositional and narrative elements.

Compositional editing focuses on the content of the two pieces on either side of the cut in a more abstract way. This is often done visually, where the two clips "rhyme" in motion. For example, the line being drawn on the test paper cutting to the surgeon slicing flesh with a scalpel. Same movement, same direction. However, clips may also rhyme in theme, color, overall visual composition (within the framing of the shot), etc. One of the more interesting (and successful) cuts in the piece above moves from a close-up of a person stepping in (presumably dog) crap to a close-up of a tongue licking ice cream. Both motions are close and towards the camera, although the placement of the actor is in opposition. The tongue appears in the exact same place as the crap, causing a disconcerting moment for the viewer. While the two elements being acted upon are in juxtaposition thematically (crap and food), and in color (dark brown and white), their texture is similar, furthering the rhyme between the two.

As I mentioned previously, all editing has components of composition and narrative. The best techniques use both to tell a story, and there is certainly a story (or, more accurately, a number of tiny stories) being told above. But the narrative arises out of the composition, and not the other way around. In narrative editing, composition is second fiddle to driving the story forward. Although it must not be ignored, even in a simple conversation between two actors.

--Brent

October Events and News!

Hi All,
Fall is here (FINALLY)! And along with the cooler weather, we have some pretty cool events coming up:

Tonight is Brent's opening for "Tidal" in its final form. If you saw the preliminary draft at Monkeytown last year or at the SPINEsalon last month, you're in for a real treat. He's added sound by the incomparable Alan Sondheim and some stunning visual effects. You can catch it in all of its very large and loud glory at Greenpoint Gallery as part of the BIG GUNS! group show, and all weekend as part of Greenpoint Open Studios. The opening is tonight though and the party lasts 'till 2AM! We will only be there opening night because...
(more info)
http://asset3.flavorpill.com/brooklyn/events/2010/10/1/greenpoint-open-studios
http://greenpointopenstudios.org/

SPINE will be visiting our friends at EMPAC for Filament 2010, where we plan to see about 2010 shows, and come back with a full report and pics, and then...
(more info)
http://filament.empac.rpi.edu/

Off to Providence for the Firstworks Festival where we will be screening a fully remastered and re-edited Reframed --part of the Pixilerations program on October 5th.
(more info)
http://www.first-works.org/firstworks-pages/firstworks-festival-2010-01.php
http://www.spineart.com/reframed.html

After we take a moment to catch our collective breath, we will be announcing the new SPINE and Vietnam Fund collaboration, Lotus and Lightning on October 24th at the annual Vietnam Fund Fundraiser. Please save the date, for there will be much gorgeous art, yummy nibbles, and equally yummy wine. A slew of info will be headed your way after our art excursions, including project website, trailer, and ways you can support this project and the children who will benefit from it.
(more info)
http://www.vietnamemifund.org/

Hope to see you soon!
Cory

Ummmmmm...

I was working on a long overdue project (do I have any other kind?) with Allen where he tells stories on the streets of Brooklyn, when I had an idea. Of course this new idea HAD to take precedence. The way the edit of the story itself shaped up made me think about using everything I had cut out, a negative image of the story using just the footage pre and post talking.

Well, I put it together and here it is. A reverse image of a story:

Impromptu Gathering!

You are invited to join us at the SPINE house this Sunday the 5th for the unveiling and discussion of video work, film, photography and works in progress from exciting new and established artists. There will be wining, grilling, music and dining. Feel free to bring something special to throw on the grill, or the projector, or something special to drink.
We will be answering the door around 4PM and we will stop answering the door on Monday. Drop by if you're in the 'hood. Email for directions: kristen.spine@gmail.com

Artists Featured:
Brent Felker http://spineart.com/who.html#
Edwina White http://www.edwinawhite.com/
Alexis Raskin http://www.collectiveye.com/about.html
Oliver Lyons http://www.collectiveye.com/videos/d1review1.html
Cory Nakasue http://spineart.com/who.html#

In other news:
I'd like to plug the Dancenow/NYC Festival which starts next week and runs September 8-11. This festival is a true heralding of the New York City fall dance season. This year 40 of NYC's most innovative choreographers are taking the Dancenow Challenge to "say more with less." Cory Nakasue will be sitting on the panel this year and help decide on one choreographer who's going to win some amazing opportunities to create and share more work. More details: http://www.dancenownyc.org/index.php

That's all folks! Enjoy these last gasps of summer...*gasp*

Dusting Off Old Skills

Brent does all the fabulous video editing for SPINE. He is our Computer Guru, helping with all things creative and technical. I did a small amount of video editing at Cal Arts. I really enjoyed it, getting to exercise my choreographic muscle on frames instead of bodies. I thought I might try my hand at it again in the hope that maybe in the future I could alleviate Brent from some of his creative, but probably not technical, responsibilities.

This is just a little something for fun and practice. My first stop motion experiment:

(Thank you, Brent, for helping me play.)

Summer/Fall Events--Save the Dates!

Dear Friends,

Hope you are having a fabulous summer! Just thought we’d let you know about some new developments with SPINE. Here’s what we’re up to for the rest of the summer into fall. Save the dates! Hope to see you at any/all of these:

EVENTS

AUGUST 6^th

Cory Nakasue in conversation with Aynsely Vandenbrouke at Mount Tremper Arts’ Food for the Arts Friday nights. The two share critical writings and a sneak peek at their research and development of new work. New media writer, Alan Sondheim is scheduled to perform as well.

http://www.smarttix.com/show.aspx?showCode=BAR27

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/16/arts/dance/16dancefests.html

http://hudson-valley.chronogram.com/issue/2010/7/Arts%20&%20Culture/The-Avant-Garde-Invades-Mount-Tremper

SEPTEMBER 8^th-11^th

Don’t miss four nights of dance choreographed by NYC’s freshest talent alongside established veterans. This year the DanceNOW/NYC Festival is issuing a challenge to NYC choreographers to create a new work or present a repertory work of seven minutes or less, that offers a concise, clear, and complete artistic statement. The artist that best meets the DanceNOW Challenge will be awarded a week-long residency at Silo at Kirkland Farm in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, along with a $1,000 residency stipend, and a paid teaching opportunity at DeSales University. Cory Nakasue will be there on the selection panel.

http://www.dancenownyc.org/the-festival.php

OCTOBER 6^th

Reframed directed by Brent Felker, will be screened at the First Works Festival in Providence, RI as part of the new media platform, Pixilerations. More details TBA.

http://www.first-works.org/

Trailer:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/SPINE/190554590096?v=app_2392950137&ref=ts#!/video/video.php?v=185719264002

OCTOBER 23^rd

SPINE, in conjunction with The Vietnam Fund for Education, Music, & Infrastructure is producing a documentary about a living musical and cultural legend of Vietnam; a look through the eyes of Nguyen Ngoc Khánh and his experience of coming to the States to share his music with western artists. All proceeds from this film will go to The Vietnam Fund. Brent Felker will be directing this film and Cory Nakasue is producing. There will be a Vietnam Fund fundraiser on October 23^rd along with an official announcement and celebration of this new documentary venture. More details TBA

http://www.vietnamemifund.org/

NOVEMBER 9^th

Cory Nakasue and Aynsley Vandenbroucke share a work in progress at The Chocolate Factory’s THROW series. More info. TBA

http://www.chocolatefactorytheater.org/home.html

Please fan us on Facebook for impromptu invites to gatherings, readings and showings at the SPINE house. Enjoy the rest of this hot hot summer.

EVERYONE NEEDS A MASSAGE

Massage Therapy is not to be confused with a hot fudge sundae. Massage should not be considered some sort of treat, nor a luxury, only to be received when you feel you deserve it.

EVERYONE needs a massage just as much as they need exercise and a healthy diet. It should be included in a health regime to assist in a well balanced, fulfilling, and happy lifestyle. It's like when you take your car in for maintenance. To ensure it is running efficiently you have to clean the pipes, change the filters, change the oil, and periodically get it smog checked, but don't forget to get it detailed every once and awhile.

The confusion with massage is that people think they are 'indulging' instead of 'healing'. The massage I practice, Thai Yoga Massage, like so many eastern medicines or practices, offers a balancing of the body's energy. Balance is obtainable when treating the whole body, not just one ailment. Bringing the body into a balanced state will allow healing, including more restful sleep, better digestion, ease of anxiety, soothing of bodies aches and pains, and opening of the heart and relaxing the mind.

Of course there is always the question of money. Massage tends to be expensive. One hour of massage may cost you one hundred dollars. This tends to make massage a practice geared to the wealthy. But I believe EVERYONE should get a massage, whether it be Thai Yoga Massage, Deep tissue, or Shiatsu. This is why I offer Thai Yoga Massage by donation, PAY WHAT YOU CAN. I have suggested $65 in the past, but I am truly offering PAY WHAT YOU CAN. Come, get a massage, and drop something in the donation jar at the end of the session based on what you can afford. I am encouraging this with the hope that people who have never had massage before will give it a try, and people who would like to get a massage on a more regular basis can.

I am in the intermediate portion of my studies, and have been learning many new postures and new approaches including lifestyle and nutrition studies. I am excited to share it with you. Please contact me to set up an appointment. We have a lovely air-conditioned studio in Brooklyn. You can find more information about me and my partner, Cory, who is an amazing certified Pilates and yoga teacher at our website, Body Intelligence.

SPINE LIVE!

May 13,15, & 19 at 8pm SPINE will be performing Stupid (an excerpt) as part of The Comedy In Dance Festival at Triskelion Arts in Williamsburg. A one-woman performance showcasing the physical comedy stylings of Kristen Revier. Self-Flagellation in all of its masochistic glory.

The Comedy in Dance Festival May 12-16 & 19-23, 2010. 8pm A new annual performance series featuring over 20 curated works, including Abby Bender Schmantze Theatre's full-length premiere Geegahdongpeoria

The festival runs for a full ten days and includes work with a comic bent by: Phil Lanzetta/Vantage, The LeRoy Sisters, Amy Larimer, alexanDance Performance, cakeface, The Donovan Ensemble, Rhea Daniels, SPINE, Alisa Fendley Dance, Janessa Olsen/equal and opposite, Two-Hander, New Extreme Dance Explosions Awesomes, Billy Schultz, Cirque This, Jacobs Campbell Dance, EmmaGrace Skove-Epes, Leanne Schmidt and Company, Ashley Meeder Movement Project,, Adrian Jevicki/Movementpants Dance.

Inspired by the medieval dancing plagues, Schmantze Theatre's Geegahdongpeoria, included in the festival on on May 13-15, & 20-23, follows a landmark day-in-the-life of a fictitious people compelled to dance. This performance conjures up one of humanity’s lost tribes…lost with good reason. This tiny nation of likeable human dodo birds swaggers blithely through fable and folk dance, while tromping over atavistic technologies and cornball Satan-worship. Geegahdongpeoria is performed by Abby Bender, Jonathan Ciccarelli, Sara K. Edwards, Katie Federowicz, Rebecca Frank, Charles Gushue, Sarah Lannon, Lyz Merida, Reshma Patel, Brandon Polanco, Natasha Ross, Hanlon Smith-Dorsey and Charmian Wells. Story and choreography by Abby Bender and co. Script by Jeremy Wilson. Songs and video by Derek Breen, Jeremy Wilson, and Rebecca Frank

Visit Triskelion Arts for a detailed festival schedule. Tickets: $15 general admission/$12 students Reservations strongly recommended: info@triskelionarts.org or 718-599-3577

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

The Sustainability of Dance Writing: A report and a couple of opinions

Relevance and Sustainability

By Cory Nakasue

Dance/NYC’s Town Hall: Solutions for Sustainable Dance Writing

April 12th, 2010 at Joyce SoHo

This town hall was moderated by Marc Kirschner, General Manager, TenduTV. The panel included: Tonya Plank (Swan Lake Samba Girl), Robert Johnson (Newark Star-Ledger & Dance Critics Association), Jaki Levy (Arrow Root Media), Elizabeth Barry (Gendance, EB & Associates) and Brian McCormick (bmacmedia.net, The New School, Bessies Committee).


Few stones were left unturned in this discussion about the sustainability of dance writing, journalism, and criticism. Unfortunately that is because we have had this talk before, and a new discussion needs to be broached; instead of talking sustainability maybe we should be talking about relevance. Who cares about dance?

We have all heard the horrific figures cited again and again, such as the number of full-time dance writers in the country (1), how the inches and pages relating to dance are dwindling from arts news sections and other publications, and how the blogosphere has turned into a murky free-for-all in terms of dance content. The problem doesn’t reside in the world of publishing (although the future of publishing in general is uncertain), marketing, or quality control (though, once there is an audience for dance writing, this issue should be on table.) The problem resides in audience development, the huge cultural shift from live art, and demand—the problem resides in the dance “ecosystem” (a buzz-word of the evening, along with “branding”).

Robert Johnson provided one of the most compelling arguments of the evening stating that the increasing suburbanization of America has created a population that cannot relate to urban culture. And, right now, suburban America is the largest consumer of information on the web and print media; a population whose dance appetites are sated by TV shows like “So You Think You Can Dance” and “Dancing with the Stars.” They are simply not interested in reading reviews of modern dance companies, much less an intellectual discourse of a post-modern aesthetic…for example. It has become irrelevant for most of the country. One writer in the audience who previously worked for a major publication claimed she was asked by editors to “dumb down” pieces of writing because a large part of their circulation wouldn’t understand it. It seems that dance has positioned itself in an elitist ghetto.

Another audience member commented on the insular nature of dance as a contributing factor and the short runs that most companies have in theaters, thus turning an already ephemeral art form into an art form that almost doesn’t even happen. Who will pay for writing about a non-event?

Moderator Mark Kirshner was teased throughout the evening for his capitalist take on the issue, but his pragmatism on the simple economics of supply and demand also put the responsibility back on the dance world to figure out how to grow its audience, or in this case consumers. Perhaps one of the funniest moments of the evening was when panelist Elizabeth Barry was trying to sell the legendary (and very vocal) Elizabeth Zimmer on branding herself, at one point exclaiming, “Old people are cool!” Herein lay the frisson of the evening; watching young marketers and web gurus try to consult with intellectuals and artists, especially those of another generation.

Bottom line: If there is no more dance writing, there will be no more dance. If we can turn this conversation into one about building audiences who are hungry for dance content, and making the art form more relevant to our culture, our writers will be compensated. I made not one peep during this town hall meeting, so, “peep.”

WE NEED YOU...

SPINE has been accepted into Triskellion's Dance Comedy Festival. We are looking for some performers for the event. The piece we are performing is four minutes. It will be performed three times throughout the festival. It should be a fun time.

We are looking for:

girl: a little dancing, and lots of laughing and flirtatious running
boy 1: have articulate long arm and hand
boy 2: a little acting and play with yo-yo
boy 3: a little acting, mostly sit and read newspaper

Rehearsals: two a week until the show

Performances (all at 8pm):

Thursday, May 13
Saturday, May 15
Wednesday, May 19

Tech:

Tuesday, May 11 at 9pm

Description of piece:
Convenience Girl, is a piece based on a video SPINE (http://spineart.com/) created last year (link to rough draft below). The premise: Girl is stuck in a hula hoop while being controlled/seduced by an arm that hands her things sometimes lovingly and sometimes violently (the arm's body is hidden by a white board), simultaneously being seduced by a boy that is dancing with a yo-yo in the background always out of reach, while a girl dances by freely, flirting and whispering in yo-yo boy's ear, and a man watches in chair in the far background. The piece exemplifies our enjoyments of and our struggles with the insidious nature of convenience.

Link to rough draft: click here

Let us know if you are interested (email: kristen.spine@gmail.com), or if know anyone who would be please pass information along to those people.

Paaaaiiint oooooon meeeeeee...(paint on me)....taaaake meeee hoooomee....

I felt the A-ha reference was apropos to this very slick group of work by Alexa Meade. I don't want to paraphrase too much, but I really enjoy and appreciate this kind of art. At first glance, I assumed it was paintings photoshopped into real life situations, but it's real people painted on to appear as if they're in a painting. I've said it before, I'm not art student, but I know neat when I see it.

Check it out.

Here are a couple highlights.



This is the kind of art that makes me more interested in art. It makes me want to see more by Meade and see what else she can come up with. It also helps me to want to stop seeing the box.

Lecture as Art

Last Wednesday evening I attended Deborah Hay's 'A Lecture on the Performance of Beauty' at the Great Hall at The Cooper Union. While my expectations were of a lecture on Beauty, it turned out to be a Performance Art piece in disguise. 'Beauty' is a solo piece Deborah Hay created for herself in 2002, and performed at least twice, once in Helsinki and once in London. The piece is based on 'Oh Beautiful...'. The 'lecture' begins as she speaks into a microphone in front of an easel displaying a doodle on white paper. Next to her are two large projector screens. I continue to think this is a 'lecture' while she explains her political motivations, the rehearsal process, the choreographic process, and explains that the doodle behind her is a blueprint of the piece, 'Beauty'. While she continues to speak the two video monitors begin. One shows the Helsinki performance of 'Beauty' with Hay performing in a post apocalyptic costume (punk/biker outfit with soda cans taped to each hand). The other screen shows the London performance of 'Beauty' with Hay performing in her new 'more appropriate costume' as she called it (naked, the idea conceived in a hot donated rehearsal space where she took off her clothes to cool down instead of turning on the air conditioner to save the space money). Hay, the one present, begins dramatically to read the text off a sheet of paper. As I watch her, the screens, and the doodle together I realize I am watching a composed live performance. I am not watching a lecture. The three Hays dancing together, the two on the screens and the one present, creating the union of all the incarnations of 'Beauty'. Once I got home I researched the piece a little more. I came to find out she had all the text for the lecture on her website written out somewhat like a play with character action notes and everything.

I have seen artists do this before: turn formal conventional speaking events into Art. The Artist can use the formal lecture as a vehicle of performance, and do what they do best, in Hay's case, a live dance performance. I guess you could say that all lectures are a sort of performance, but when the lecture becomes Art it extends the boundaries of a formal lecture. It creates an elusive piece of work that is composed and meant to be interpreted by the audience members.

The 'performance' ends, and we are brought back to the formal lecture with a Q and A session. In which the audience acts as they usually do in a lecture hall, although I think Hay is still performing. The last question was asked slowly, awkwardly and with a self-aware dramatic pause by a gentleman in the back row who I couldn't see. He asked Hay what she thought Dance had to do with it all. Like, why do we dance, but he asked it like he was asking what is the meaning of life. Hay stood there for awhile. To be fair it was a loaded question, but Hay replied humbly, 'All the major lessons I have learned about life I have learned through my body while dancing'. (she repeated this twice). I think Hay may interpret her whole life as a dance.