CILLA VEE LIFE ARTS /
CLAIRE ELIZABETH BARRATT
NEWSLETTER – SPRING
2013
Dear friends,
Greetings from Asheville North Carolina’s “Appalachian
Spring”!
Much of this past year has been spent re-visiting the
experience of everyday life and work in New York City.
Since establishing Cilla Vee Life Arts there between 2002 –
2007, I have returned regularly to the city to work and remain connected. About eight months of the past year
have been spent in NY and it has been good to deepen that connection again and
take in the current scene ….. including my excellent timing in being there for
Hurricane Sandy!
Before beginning my latest Cilla Vee report, I want to spend
a moment in recognition of those still displaced and in a state of upheaval due
to the storm.
For some, nothing is “back to normal” yet – far from it, in
fact.
I was very fortunate to be in Bay Ridge - a relatively
unaffected area – whereas, for some it was a totally life-altering event.
I’d like to share with you a brief summary of the past
year’s activities and then to highlight some of the organizations and
individuals I’ve been associated with who are creating things of on-going
significance in their artistic fields and deserve a mention …. So keep
scrolling down …..
EVENTS MAY 2012 – MAY 2013
2012
MAY
Saturday 19th
"the shortest distance between three points"
"the shortest distance between three points"
Bicameral Research
Sound & Projection System:
real-time multi-media improvisation
David Linton - live audio visual feedback system
Maria Chavez - turntable
Claire Elizabeth Barratt - movement
La Sala, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
real-time multi-media improvisation
David Linton - live audio visual feedback system
Maria Chavez - turntable
Claire Elizabeth Barratt - movement
La Sala, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
JUNE
Friday
1st
"Distended Cinema - audio visual performance in the time of temporal collapse"
Curated by David Linton
Walter Wright - live sound & video & Claire Elizabeth Barratt - movement
The Firehouse, East Williamsburg Brooklyn
"Distended Cinema - audio visual performance in the time of temporal collapse"
Curated by David Linton
Walter Wright - live sound & video & Claire Elizabeth Barratt - movement
The Firehouse, East Williamsburg Brooklyn
Saturday
2nd
“Lee Ann Brown on Black Mountain Poets”
Part of the Passwords lecture series
Lee Ann Brown discusses the poetic movement at Black Mountain College.
Video piece by Tony Torn with performance by Claire Elizabeth Barratt (dance) with Marianne Giosa (music)
Poets House, Battery Park City, NY 10282
“Lee Ann Brown on Black Mountain Poets”
Part of the Passwords lecture series
Lee Ann Brown discusses the poetic movement at Black Mountain College.
Video piece by Tony Torn with performance by Claire Elizabeth Barratt (dance) with Marianne Giosa (music)
Poets House, Battery Park City, NY 10282
Wednesday 13th
– Monday 18th
“Asheville Butoh Festival”
Curated &
produced by Julie Becton-Gillum / Legacy Butoh
Claire Elizabeth
Barratt – “Monochromatic Monologues”
a series of
movement installations, each based on the theme of one colour.
Thursday – BLUE,
Friday – BLACK, Saturday – RED, Sunday – GOLD
To be performed
in the street outside the BeBe Theater – Asheville NC
Thursday 28th
“An inter-disciplinary evening of Poetry,
Movement & Music”
Claire Elizabeth
Barratt – dance
Elisa Faires –
music
Katherine Soniat
– poetry
Tracey Schmidt –
poetry
Black Mountain
College Museum + Art Center – Asheville NC
JULY
Friday 13th
“ELIXER # 444 -
Elisa Faires CD promotion event”
Claire Elizabeth
Barratt – “Golden Goddess” Motion Sculpture Movement Installation
The Artery
(Asheville Area Arts Council) – Asheville NC
Saturdays July
28th, August 4th, 11th, 18th
“DANCE SAMPLER at the Y with instructor
Claire Elizabeth Barratt”
Exploring
the dance styles of BALLET, MODERN & JAZZ - their similarities &
differences.
Asheville downtown YMCA
Asheville downtown YMCA
AUGUST
Monday 13th
“Marshall Auricular Hour”
Hosted by Tony Torn and Lee Ann Brown
Lee Ann Brown – poetry & Claire Elizabeth Barratt –
dance
FBI at Good Stuff, Marshall NC
Thursday 23rd
“Tangerine Tango: An Evening of Fashion &
Dance”
Benefit for the
Asheville Area Arts Council
Claire Elizabeth Barratt – “Tangerine Dream” Motion
Sculpture Movement Installation
Altamont Theater, Asheville NC
SEPTEMBER
Saturday 15th
“Brooklyn Ladies Text
Salon”
Lee Ann Brown – poetry & Claire Elizabeth Barratt –
dance
The Drink, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
OCTOBER
Saturday 6th
“The Autumnal Salon –
Seasonal Saturday Sanctuary Salon Series”
Mark Lamb Dance
Claire Elizabeth Barratt – “Autumn Gold” Motion Sculpture
Movement Installation
Metro Baptist, Hell’s Kitchen NY
NOVEMBER
Friday 9th – 30th
“Collective Energy
(Bronx)”
Curated by Jeanine Alfieri
Claire Elizabeth Barratt – “The Shrine of the Golden
Goddess” – interactive installation (live performance / video installation)
Cephas Center for the Arts, Bronx NY
2013
FEBRUARY
Saturday 9th
“Blind Dates - Seasonal
Saturday Sanctuary Salon Series”
Mark Lamb Dance
The evening will
consist of a series of “blind dates” in which one dancer and one musician will
be chosen on the spot to improvise a duet when their names are picked from a
hat.
Metro Baptist, Hell’s Kitchen NY
Friday 22nd – Sunday 24th
“X-FEST”
Curated and produced by Walter Wright
Improvised music, visuals, movement, and poetry
119 Gallery, Lowell MA
Sunday 24th - Wednesday 27th
“Collaboration with
vocalist Jill Burton”
Sunday 24th
COMA series with Evan Lipson – bass
Curated by Blaise Siwula
ABC NO RIO, Lower East Side NY
Monday 25th
With Jane Scarpantoni – cello, I’d M Theftable – voice /
gadgets, Ryan Krause – voice
109 Gallery, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Wednesday 27th
With Jack Wright trio – sax, bass, dance
Highwire Gallery, Philadelphia PA
APRIL
Saturday 6th
“{Re}Happening 2013”
Benefit event for Black Mountain College Museum + Art Center
Claire Elizabeth Barratt – “Blue” – wildcard character for
“Chance Operations”
Black Mountain NC
Thursday 25th – Monday 29th
“Asheville Butoh
Festival”
Curated &
produced by Julie Becton-Gillum / Legacy Butoh
Cilla Vee Life Arts presents “FLUX” sound installation
performance as part of the “Uninvited Guests” show
(FLUX performers: Claire E Barratt, David Linton, Elisa
Faires, Chandra Shukla, Kima Moore, Dash Lewis, Rae Whitlock, Emily Monteith,
Richard Brewster)
BeBe Theater, Asheville NC
“HONORABLE MENTIONS”!
Julie Becton Gillum / Legacy Butoh / The Asheville Butoh
Festival
Lee Ann Brown & Tony Torn / The Geraldine Page Salon /
French Broad Institute
Mark Lamb Dance
Jeannine Alfieri / The Fountainhead Gallery / Collective Energy (Bronx)
Julie Becton Gillum / Legacy Butoh / The Asheville Butoh
Festival
Although the Asheville Butoh Festival is in it’s eighth
year, for much longer than that there has been a steadily growing Butoh scene
in Asheville NC – due to Legacy Butoh director Julie Becton Gillum.
The former baton twirler, tap dancer, modern dance
choreographer fell in love with the raw emotional commitment of Butoh dance in
1998 and never looked back.
Most of her intensive study has been with Mexican Butoh
master Diego Pinon – plus three months in Japan funded by a North Carolina
state grant award.
She has been a pioneer of this art form in the Western North
Carolina region and the resulting work presented at the festival is a testament
to the integrity of her instruction.
For the festival this year, I assembled a group of wonderful
sound artists to create a sound installation performance entitled FLUX. This
was inspired by the essence of Butoh movement & the Japanese concept of MA.
It was presented as an environment for the audience to visit during
intermission.
Lee Ann Brown & Tony Torn / The Geraldine Page Salon
/ French Broad Institute
Poet Lee Ann Brown and husband, Actor and film-maker Tony
Torn live a double life! Based in NYC in a Chelsea brownstone that houses the
Geraldine Page Salon (to continue the work of Tony’s parents, Geraldine Page
and Rip Torn, in fostering the growth of emerging actors and film-makers) - they also own the FBI.
The French Broad Institute, named after the river running
through its location – the little town of Marshall NC, is a lovely old church
building. It is currently occupied by Good Stuff – Marshall’s groovy deli, bar,
venue, store, hangout spot.
Whenever they are down South, Lee Ann and Tony will host a
variety of happenings – including the “Marshall Auricular Hour” – they always
provide a good time of poetry, music, dance, film and whatever goodies they can
come up with.
Since meeting Lee Ann at a Black Mountain College conference
about five years ago, we have collaborated in NY, NC and remotely from the UK.
I find a spontaneous and effortless connection to her poetry
from which movement very naturally flows.
Mark Lamb Dance
A long loooong time dear friend and colleague – Mark
Granville Lamb – who I share a history with stretching back to Outdoor Drama on
the Cherokee Indian Reservation, to founding Circle Modern Dance in Knoxville
TN circa 1990.
Mark arrived in New York City about a year or two after I
had moved there in the early/mid 2000s. He brought his queer Southern charm
with him and has been charming the pants off New Yorkers ever since!
His regular Salon Series at Metro Baptist church in the
“Hell’s kitchen” area of Mid-town Manhattan has become quite a hit with
audiences and critics alike.
He has built a core group of dancers and musical
collaborators who improvise movement, music and text – weaving a spontaneous
web of story-telling.. not to mention the
hors d'oeuvres, the wine … the cheese straws!
This past year I had the pleasure of participating in two
Salons. For the Autumn, I created a Golden Goddess of Autumn installation in
the entrance area of the church.
And at the Winter Salon I had a “Blind Date” with fabulous
vocalist Maryanne de Prophetis.
Jeannine Alfieri / The Fountainhead Gallery / Collective
Energy (Bronx)
The South Bronx was my first New York home - and I was immediately welcomed and
embraced by the vibrant grass-roots arts scene springing up there ten years
ago. The Bronx Council on the Arts is a very practical support system for a
strong community spirit with a high caliber of work.
Over time, there have been various individuals who’ve
stepped in to create and produce an environment in which artists –from Bronx
and beyond – can present their work. A couple of years ago, Jeanine Alfieri
came to the Bronx and didn’t hesitate to take on this role herself.
Recently, she has been curating group shows under the title
of Collective Energy (Bronx).
I was very honored to be recognized as part of this group
and to be invited to create a piece for their show at Cephas Center for the
Arts. The piece “The Shrine of the Golden Goddess” was an inter-active
installation in which I performed live for the opening reception and then
continued as a video during the run of the exhibit.
The video version of the Golden Goddess – viewed through a
peephole as part of an inter-active installation “The Shrine of the Golden
Goddess”: http://youtu.be/1irJtVPeB_8
OTHER NEWS
Last year CVLA established the Mountain To Sky Artist
Exchange program – to foster interaction between New York and Asheville based
artists.
In March 2012, NYC Audio/Visual artist David Linton worked
with four Asheville sound artists on the multi-media movement installation
KOLORZ at The Artery – hosted by the Asheville Area Arts Council.
And this year in February, David invited one of those
artists – Chandra Shukla - to New York for two events. One was a performance of
Chandra’s own work in which David collaborated with him under Chandra’s project
“Xambuca” – performed at The Bowery Electric http://www.theboweryelectric.com/.
The other was to play Sitar in David’s Bicameral Sound & Projection System
“60 HZ Raga” at the opening for ESP TV’s residency at The Museum of Arts and
Design http://www.esptvnyc.com/MAD-RESIDENCY.
Next month CVLA will be taking the sound installation
performance FLUX to the New Dischord Festival of Intermedia in Chattanooga TN.
The festival runs Thursday June 6th – Sunday June
9th and is produced by composer Tim Hincks. There are many
performances in several venues – FLUX will be closing the festival Sunday
evening at The Folk School of Chattanooga. http://timhinck.wix.com/newdischord2013
$1.00 FUNDRAISER 2013
This year’s One Dollar Fundraiser is much belated … however
it will still continue and run through the month of JUNE.
This year, funds will go towards the Summer-long project of
up-dating all CVLA documentation from the past few years. Video footage, images,
articles, links and project descriptions of pieces and events will be gathered,
edited and configured into a presentable on-line presence. (Wish me luck!)
Please don’t hesitate to respond to this newsletter with
your comments and ideas – I would love to hear from you!
Wishing all the very best,
Claire*
Claire Elizabeth Barratt – director - Cilla Vee Life Arts
photos:
1.
“Tangerine Tango: An Evening of Fashion &
Dance” – Mignon Petrini
2.
“ELIXER # 444 -
Elisa Faires CD promotion event” – Rainer Doost
3.
“Asheville Butoh Festival” 2012 – Black –
Rainer Doost
4.
“Asheville Butoh Festival” 2012 – Red –
Rainer Doost
5.
"the shortest distance between three
points" – Jeanann Dara
6. “The Autumnal Salon –Saturday Sanctuary
Salon Series” - Sam Kanter
7. “Collaboration with vocalist Jill Burton”
at COMA – Reuben Radding
