Spring Newsletter - 2014

 

Dear Friends,

Greetings from the land of Southern Appalachian mountain Spring showers!
This past year has been one of new enterprises & undertakings, while also revisiting familiar traditions.

The Mission For Temporal Art

The biggest undertaking being the new home of Cilla Vee Life Arts – The Mission For Temporal Art, located in historic downtown Marshall NC, by the ancient French Broad River & haunted by the frequent whistle of the freight-trains blowing through town.

After much discussion & debate, my partner David Linton (audio-visual artist, recently moved to these parts from NYC) managed to persuade me to take on the somewhat overwhelming, yet full-of-potential task of renting a beautiful 1912 Methodist Church building from friends of ours in New York who had bought it about six years ago. Tony Torn (actor) & Lee Ann Brown (poet) founded the FBI (French Broad Institute) – with a vision for a multi-art space.

 

 

Our goals for The MTA are: to provide residencies for local & visiting artists, to present a regular program of events, performances, exhibitions & workshops & to have a space in which to develop our own artistic work.

For more information, please go to our start-up blog at 
http://themissionfortemporalart.blogspot.com/ 
& on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TheMissionforTemporalArt 
Or view our Indiegogo fundraiser video http://youtu.be/VC2FTyNHCts 
You can also view media from our events so far
New Years Eve http://youtu.be/qR0dsIraPX0 
Vernal Equinox http://youtu.be/GZyQAQfa-DY 
Asheville Citizen Times http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20140320/ASHEVILLESCENE/303200020/1005/ENT 
Mountain Xpress http://mountainx.com/arts/art-news/spring_for_the_mission/

Transart Institute

The other news of significance is that I have been accepted into an MFA Creative Practice program with the Transart Institute. It is a remote study course accredited by the University of Plymouth in the UK & holds a Summer residency in Berlin & a Winter residency in New York. Throughout the semester, students are assigned advisors & develop their own course of study based on the work they are pursuing in their own artistic practice & how they wish to steer that towards future goals.

As director of Cilla Vee Life Arts for the past twelve years (yes – twelve years!) I have been developing modes & methods of creating & presenting inter-disciplinary performance that I now feel it would be beneficial to compile into a pedagogical format that can be integrated into a teaching curriculum.

If you would like further information on this, you can view my application proposal here –
Statement 
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4cHBYnXHpXzcVNENklRT3cwSVU/edit?usp=sharing 

Proposal   
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4cHBYnXHpXzVnE2NmRjNlRtbXc/edit?usp=sharing 

& for more information on the Transart Institute - http://www.transart.org/

Event & Performance Reports

  
2013

June:

“Madonna & Child” – a solo Motion Sculpture Movement Installation performed at the Asheville Art Museum for the First Friday Art Walks.

Movement for “Dialoga Aquila” – a sound & light installation by Elisa Faires at The Apothecary, Asheville NC.

“FLUX” - a sound sculpture performance installation (originally created for the Asheville Butoh Festival) was presented at the New Dischord Festival of Intermedia in Chattanooga TN.

This festival is the enterprising endeavor of composer Tim Hinck & demonstrates an interesting experimental arts scene immerging in Chattanooga.

For this performance I invited Asheville collaborators Elisa Faires, Chandra Shukla, Kima Moore – plus partner David Linton. My Dad’s old Buick also became the star of the show once we realized the venue (Folk School of Chattanooga) had a fabulous big garage door!
Video http://youtu.be/1UlAO7BByPM 
Festival website http://timhinck.wix.com/newdischord2013

Sound of Movement collaboration with Elisa Faires at King Dusko coffee house gallery, Charleston SC.

 

August:

Guest teacher for Center Stage Dance Summer program (Asheville NC) with “Making Dances” workshop.
A short video sample of my fabulous students … 
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=664190656934002&set=vb.163424370343969&type=2&theater

September:

Movement for Lee Ann Brown reading excerpts from poem “In The Laurels Caught” – Page Poetry Parlor at the Geraldine Page Salon, NYC.

 

October:

Featured in “Far From the Centers of Ambition” Lorimer Press – book set on the subject of Black Mountain College compiled & edited by Lee Ann Brown.

Video installation of “LUNA” for book launch at the Black Mountain College Museum + Art Center, Asheville NC. 
http://blackmountaincollege.org/blog/blog/book-launch-reading-far-centers-ambition.html

 

2014

February:

X-Fest

Speaking of re-visiting traditions …  X-Fest has been an annual tradition for me since it’s inception in 2009. It’s a wonderful conglomeration of improvised, experimental live sound, movement & video curated by Walter Wright.

However – breaking with it’s traditional home venue at 119 Gallery in Lowell MA, this year it was held at Gateway City Arts in Holyoke MA.  
http://www.gatewaycityarts.com/#!x-fest/c238e 
http://www.119gallery.org/?p=11520

X-Fest videos:
Friday night’s last (strange but fun) set … my false eyelash glue was making my eyes stick together! 
http://youtu.be/rz_X0AKc3Is 

A set from Saturday night that has inspired further thoughts of collaboration … 
http://youtu.be/tFxgYBTfhl4 

Homemade electronics, construction fencing, wet floor signs … 
http://youtu.be/8_JAZGvHiLw

It’s all mayhem & craziness at X-Fest!

 

 

March:

Marginal Arts Festival

Roanoke VA is the home of a collection of very interesting artists doing some very interesting things!

My association with the scene there has gradually accumulated over the past few years – originally as a place to stop on my frequent trips up & down I-81 when heading North & South – but this time was a special trip just to be in Roanoke.

The Marginal Arts Festival grew out of the Community High School in downtown Roanoke – an extremely progressive, arts-centered institution. It has now developed into a fully-fledged weeklong extravaganza that takes over many of the downtown’s empty buildings & brings in international guest artists – while keeping a focus on the community spirit.

Roanoke Times article: 
http://www.roanoke.com/arts_and_entertainment/columns_and_blogs/columns/arts_and_extras/arts-extras-marginal-arts-festival-in-roanoke-is-delightfully-absurd/article_53b18ebc-b065-11e3-aa3f-0017a43b2370.html

Article by Catherine Mehrl Bennett (my work is referred to near end of article & gives information about my festival contributions) 
http://networkedblogs.com/VxqEB 

Follow flickr link for images.
Video of improv -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnllW4_VEsE&feature=share&list=PLy4EF9RJM55-keqnLSHqZANPrxgXcB1GT

 

 

April:

{RE} Happening

Another tradition, now that this event is in its fifth year.

On the site of the famous historic Black Mountain College, {RE} Happening was happening – it was definitely & unmistakably HAPPENING! 
http://rehappening.com/ 

This year I was one of the many performers in Elisa Faires’ multi-disciplinary “Exquisite Corpse” installation - featuring a collaborative mélange of exquisite corpse style paintings, poetry, music, dance &

surrealist puppetry!

…. And I think that brings us up-to-date.

Thank you for taking the time to come along for the ride!

Details about this year’s ONE DOLLAR FUNDRAISER are posted separately in a different link that accompanies this newsletter.  
http://cillavee-lifeartsnewsletter.blogspot.com/2014/04/cilla-vee-life-arts-annual-one-dollar.html

Very best wishes to all for 2014,

Claire*

Claire Elizabeth Barratt

Director – Cilla Vee Life Arts

www.cillavee.com

photo credits:

The MTA – CEB, Madonna & Child – Laila Alamiri, Dialoga Aquila – Hannah Sommer,  X-Fest(red & white) – Wisteriax Gravy,  X-Fest(wet floor) – Shorty 2 Hands,  It’s A Sign – Reid Wood, MAF improv – Jim Leftwich, Exquisite Corpse(swan) -  Elisa Faires, Exquisite Corps(light) – J Smilanic