Saturday, March 4, 2017

WINTER NEWSLETTER 2017

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Dear friends,

Greetings this mid-winter day!
Although, as I write this, it is the middle of February – the sun is shining, the birds are singing and the daffodils are blooming here in Asheville, NC!

MFA

I now have official letters after my name and a certificate stating that I have earned a Master of Fine Art degree!
This was achieved through an intensive two-year program offered by the Transart Institute – an international, low-residency institution based in Berlin and accredited by Plymouth University, UK. I would highly recommend Transart to any artists seeking an independent practice and research based MFA or PhD program.









 My graduating class & graduation celebration at UferStudios, Berlin.



If you are curious and have a lot of time on your hands, you are welcome to peruse my project work and thesis at:










My class’s final summer residency, final project presentations and graduation party was held in the grand city of Berlin at Ufer Studios.
Our graduating class had decided to present our final projects in dialogue with a peer. So throughout the summer, there was a series of Dialogues events … and mine was the very first one! My Dialogues partner was painter Robyn Thomas, with whom I presented an immersive, audience interactive performance installation of painting fragments, text, spoken word, sound, movement, image projection and live-feed video.  This was entitled RAW/MATERIAL/SELF/PORTRAYAL and addressed our common exploration on the roles of selfhood.



Photo: Lindey Anderson


During this year’s residency, Transart was also celebrating its Triennale with a weekend of special events. The one I was participating in was what I can only describe as a wild, crazy Happening! SpaceBodies 2 – curated by Andrea Spaziani, for which I took on the role of a generic humanoid entitled The Selfless Non-Subject – who roamed throughout the space deprived of sight, relying on the sense of touch and the kindness of others to navigate amid the cacophony of performances, video projections, readings and material objects.








The ART of the WORD

Returning to Asheville in September plunged me straight back into production mode – with Cilla Vee Life Arts presenting The Art of the Word – an evening of poetry collaborations at Weaverville Yoga studio.
The Asheville area is blessed with a diverse poetry and spoken word scene. From regional folk to political activism to rap – as well as the Black Mountain College legacy of those such as Charles Olson and Robert Creeley. Many of these artists are highly inter-disciplinary in their work – crossing over into and collaborating with other art forms. It is this enthusiasm for crossing disciplines that inspired me to curate and produce a show that would spot-light three regional poets – Randi Janelle, Jeff Davis and Tracey Schmidt – in collaboration with other artists and art forms of their choice.
In addition, the warm tones and thoughtful lyrics of Momma Molasses embraced our ears and a pop-up gallery of visual art by all participating performers completed the engagement of all senses.
For more information about The Art of the Word, please see:







SPLAT! and PFFF!

One of my most fun performance pieces got another run last autumn. SPLAT! is a live-action-paint performance that has had numerous renditions over the years.
Last September I performed a two-hour outdoor installation version for the opening of the 2016 annual Reviewing Black Mountain College conference at UNC Asheville.






Photos by: David Barratt, Ken Fitch, Diana Brewster



Then SPLAT! hit the road and headed for Roanoke, VA to Art Rat Studios and a collaboration with sounds by: Jules Vasylenko, Ralph’s Stool Sample and Second Order Logic. Opening for the night was Moths (Eric Wollersberger) with dancer Cambria McMillan-Zapf.



Eric later purchased the resulting painting from SPLAT! – shown here with Eric’s cat!



Next, SPLAT! went to Philly and joined Pfff!
The Philadelphia Free Form Festival – an annual event presented by ISOP (the Impermanent Society of Philadelphia) – a crew of radical artists and thinkers who perform all things improvised. This weekend-long festival includes performances, workshops, lectures and really fun after-parties! I felt truly blessed to be included in the line-up of amazing artists and left feeling creatively re-charged.


Video linx for my two performances at Pfff!

Pfff! 2016 Philadelphia Free Form Festival


Friday October 21, 2016
@ Icebox Project Space, Philadelphia

Set 4
Liz Meredith, Violin
Bbob Drake, Electronics
Karen Nelson, Dance
Janna Meiring, Dance
Cilla Vee, Performance


Sunday October 23, 2016
@ Icebox Project Space, Philadelphia

Set 1
Alexander D’Agostino, Dance
Cilla Vee, Performance
Jim Strong, Inventions
Kaia Gilje, Performance
Luke Stewart, Double bass
Mauri Walton, Performance

Photo:
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LIFE-AS-ART

Over the winter I have been performing my longest, most grueling, most durational site-specific installation piece EVER … it’s entitled “Elevator Operator at the Grove Park Inn”. I have a costume I wear every day, actions I perform repeatedly with each audience member and I get paid minimum wage – plus an occasional tip!
This performance project gave me excruciating problems with my legs and feet from standing for hours on end and I had to seek physical therapy. But now I’ve come through it better and stronger and out of credit card debt!

Omni Grove Park Inn website:


Photo: John Lomax


NEXT


X-FEST

As I close this letter I am here at X-Fest and excited to be returning to Massachusetts for the ninth annual festival.
Originating at 119 Gallery in Lowell, the festival’s new home for the last three years is Holyoke – at the big ballroom in the city hall.
This festival of improvised music, dance and video projection is always so much FUN! This year I am collaborating with Philly based DJ Rob Kopi in between the improv sets as: DJ Rob & Cilla Vee the DaDa GoGo Dancer.




THANK YOUS

To be completely honest – I was about to make a big Thank You list … but it feels like an overwhelming task! There are just SO many people who have done so much to help me through the past year. All I can do at this time is to send out heart-felt collective gratitude!

Joy & Blessings to all

Claire
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Cilla Vee Life Arts
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