CILLA VEE LIFE ARTS – NEWSLETTER – WINTER 2019
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| with the art work of Dana Zurzolo at Glenn Dallas Gallery, Santa Barbara CA - photo: Laila Alamiri |
Greetings and Happy New Year!
2018 has been a very full and eventful year for Cilla Vee
Life Arts.
This newsletter covers reports of:
SPRING / SUMMER – Regional South East USA Events
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{Re}Happening – Black Mountain College, NC
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Lush Agave – Revolve, Asheville NC
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Freedom From Sickness (Genesis P Orridge) –
Revolve, Asheville NC
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Guerilla public intervention 1 – Innsbruck Mall,
Asheville NC
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Dreamtime Salon – Pop-up, Asheville NC
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Warp & Woof – Revolve, Asheville NC
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Fresh Dirt Surrealism Sympatica – Art Town,
Birmingham AL
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Guerilla public intervention 2 – Pritchard Park, Asheville
NC
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AfterMAF – Art Rat Studios, Roanoke VA
AUTUMN – USA Cross Country and West Coast Tour
- Portland OR – Seattle WA – Bellingham WA – Bay Area CA –
Santa Barbara CA – Los Angeles CA – San Diego CA – Tijuana MX – Flagstaff AZ –
Albuquerque NM – Austin TX – Houston TX – New Orleans LA -
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| from Hasta Cero / Until Zero at Nett Nett gallery, Tijuana MX - photo: Lorenia Flovel |
(make sure safety settings are on "Moderate" when viewing Flickr links)
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| from Site of Negotiation at {Re}Happening 2018, Black Mountain College NC - photo: Jesse Kitt |
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| from Butoh Burlesque with Death Posture at the All Ways Lounge, New Orleans LA - photo: Cree McCree |
SPRING / SUMMER 2018
{Re}Happening
2018
Now in its ninth year, the annual Re-Happening is a huge extravaganza
of simultaneous art events situated around Lake Eden on the historic Black
Mountain College campus in North Carolina. Cilla Vee Life Arts was one of the
original participants and have continued our involvement over the years.
This past year I was invited to join a team of artists in
a durational performance installation entitled "Site of Negotiation" inside the cabin known as the John Cage
Room. The piece was devised and curated by members of Revolve Gallery, Make
Noise and MAP. It consisted of a continuous series of sound and movement
artists responding in-the-moment to visual cues provided on screens inside
separate rooms in the cabin. The audience could view the performances and also
interact with a live sound mix in the main room.
As I knew that the sound from each room would be a key
element, I brought a long roll of crunchy-sounding white paper to enhance both
visual and audio aspects of the performance.
Paper from Site of Negotiation at
Re-Happening 2018 – photos by Jesse Kitt, Eric Baden, Matt Peiken
Report by Blue Ridge Parkway Radio’s Matt Peiken
http://bpr.org/post/rehappening-beckons-those-who-dont-need-answers-their-questions
Sound mix
https://siteofnegotiation.bandcamp.com/album/re-happening-2018
Sound mix
https://siteofnegotiation.bandcamp.com/album/re-happening-2018
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| from Site of Negotiation at {Re}Happening 2018, Black Mountain College NC - photo: Jesse Kitt |
Revolve
Gallery
Cilla Vee has been involved in several events at Revolve
Gallery this past year.
Revolve has become THE to go venue in Asheville for contemporary
experimental arts and performance. Colby Caldwell is the gallery owner and must
be commended for his support of this vital work in the Western North Carolina
region.
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| from Yellow with Daniel Levin at Warp & Woof, Revolve Gallery, Asheville NC - photo: Grace Engel |
In the spring, Cilla Vee performed with Lush Agave (Alisha Earo) – a dear personal
friend and valued collaborator. A classically trained singer, Lush Agave
combines segments of operatic arias in whimsical compositions. She also
utilizes movement and dance as a visual companion for her music. It’s always a
joy to work with her.
Performance with Lush Agave – video clip by Matt Earo:
Also at Revolve was Freedom
Beyond Sickness – a benefit event for Genesis P Orridge in her fight
against leukemia. (Gen was present via Skype)
This was produced by Chandra Shukla (Xambuca, Erototox
Decodings) who gathered an impressive line-up of regional noise, industrial and
eclectic bands.
For this event I presented a durational, interactive
performance “Cilla Vee, the Living Dress-up Barbie Doll” for which audience
members were invited to dress me up and apply make-up, giving me a character
with which I performed to the music for several songs, then returned to my
make-up station to remove everything and await the next costume. Some of my
designers were very inventive!
Cilla
Vee the Living Dress-Up Barbie Doll at Freedom Beyond Sickness –
photos by Chandra Shukla, Sara Baird, Melanie Foxfire, Amanda Ray Danko, Ivan
Seng
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| from Living Dress-Up Barbie Doll (with Solemn Shapes) at Freedom Beyond Sickness, Revolve gallery, Asheville NC - photo: Melanie Foxfire |
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| from Living Dress-Up Barbie Doll at Freedom Beyond Sickness, Revolve gallery, Asheville NC - photo: Sara Baird |
Another event at Revolve is the Warp & Woof series.
Amy Hamilton is a dynamic, anarchic, subversive mover and
shaker of the Asheville arts scene. She can often be found scaling the architecture
around town! However, she has come inside to a slightly more conventional art
space to curate and produce the Warp & Woof series. Warp & Woof pairs
one musician with one dancer plus one concept and gives them twenty minutes for
an improvised performance.
I was invited to participate in the very first one last
May with cellist Daniel Levin and the subject “Yellow”.
Yellow with
Daniel Levin at Warp & Woof #1
photos by Grace Engel
video by Kima Moore
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| the dancers from Warp & Woof - Cilla Vee, Sharon Cooper, Amy Hamilton |
Dreamtime
Salon
Recently Asheville has been fortunate to see a number of
visionary young women pioneering in the art scene. Two of these ladies are
Madalyn Wofford (aka Mad Dog) and Kaylee Dunn, who, with a small team of peers,
have been forging their own path with their Dreamtime Salon events. Using
temporary borrowed spaces, they will curate and assemble submitted work and
transform a place full of junk into a magical world overnight!
I enjoyed being part of one of these adventures in May,
when I was let loose on a big room all to myself! I created “It’s My Party!” –
a multi-media rave party room installation and performance.
It’s My
Party! At Dream Time Salon – video clip by Mad Dog:
The Dream Time Salon event promo video:
Fresh
Dirt
Surrealism in Birmingham Alabama? – Yes – indeed!
Since the 1970s a dedicated group of surrealists have been
making it happen in the iron city.
This little-known fact piqued the interest of Canadian art historian
Steven Harris, whose research led him into specializing in the subject of
surrealism, then onto the under-reported scene of surrealism in the southern
United States and into this specialist sub-division – Birmingham AL. Harris is
currently writing a book on this group and in May last year, made the
pilgrimage down to investigate his chosen subject in person.
Key instigators of this surrealist phenomenon are: LaDonna
Smith, Davey Williams, Johnny Williams, Neko Linda, Janice Hathaway and many
others who joined them. Most of these original members also went on to pioneer
other projects, many of which are still active – such as The Improvisor and
Bearing Light Butoh.
With no awareness of the depth of history I was stumbling
into, I began to get involved in the Birmingham scene via my improvisation
collaborations with LaDonna Smith. These led to an invitation to be an
artist-in-residence for the 2010 Improvisor Festival (celebrating thirty years
of The Improvisor) and resulted in my continuing broadening and deepening
investment in this fascinating group.
Fresh Dirt Surrealism Sympatica was timed to coincide with
Harris’s visit.
Cilla Vee received the honor of being invited to participate
in this surrealist extravaganza. I was asked to present “Fe” – the performance
installation I had created for Bearing Light Butoh’s event at the Birmingham
Museum of Art last January. For Fresh Dirt, I was commissioned to develop the
work further – and, again working with sound artist ‘U’u, invited Birmingham
sound and metal-working artist Hunter Bell to create a metal sound sculpture
and perform with us, as well as using iron sculpture pieces by Johnny Williams.
Our performance was durational throughout the opening reception event – both
outside in the courtyard with a large bonfire, as well as inside – interweaving
with the artwork on exhibit and other performances in the space. It was an
incredibly satisfying event to be part of. I look forward to reading Mr.
Harris’s report.
Fe at
Fresh Dirt with ‘U’u and Hunter Bell – photos by Tony Bingham, David Murray
(begins halfway down flickr page and continues on page 2)
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| from Fe (with Hunter Bell) at Fresh Dirt Surrealism Sympatica, Art Town, Birmingham AL - photo: David Murray |
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| from Fe (with 'U'u) at Fresh Dirt Surrealism Sympatica, Art Town, Birmingham AL - photo: David Murray |
AfterMAF
2018
Cilla Vee has enjoyed a close connection with another
southern USA avant-garde collective over the years – this one in Roanoke VA.
They don’t have a name as a group per se – but run the annual Marginal Arts
Festival. Their mode is DIY, dada, anarchic, intellectual and academic. The
festival includes in-your-face performance art, zines and literature,
interactive art projects and some pioneering research lectures on the history
of the avant-garde by a certain Olchar Lindsann.
This past year the festival saw an Asheville invasion when
an influx of Asheville artists all descended on AfterMAF, throwing down the gauntlet
in a dada challenge to Roanoke! (Although I think Roanoke’s Wayne Llewellyn,
who single-handedly garnered a cave-man cult in the parking lot over the course
of the weekend, would be hard to beat!)
AVL crew group improvisation at AfterMAF 2018 – video by
Ralph Eaton
(Cilla Vee, Julie Becton Gillum, Chloe Harnett-Hargrove,
Elisa Faires, Chandra Shukla, Geo Lynx, Megan Mulhearn, David James Lynch)
Guerilla
Activities
Innsbruck Mall, Asheville NC – the left over shell of a
1960s hot spot. Now houses a small local beauty school, a clothing alterations
business and many vacant stores.
Ideal spot for some random acts of dada!
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| the gang (Cilla Vee, Julie Becton Gillum, Liz Lang, Amy Hamilton, Martha Skinner, Adam Koan) random act of dada at Innsbruck Mall, Asheville NC - photo: Kima Moore |
In June I had a delightful encounter with my friend and
colleague from the wilds of Maine – vocal and sound-object wizard Id M Theft
Able. He stopped through Asheville and we had a moment of public intervention
in downtown Pritchard Park.
Cilla Vee and Id M Theft Able at Pritchard Park AVL –
video by Id M
AUTUMN 2018 – TOUR
Over the autumn season I embarked on what is probably my
most epic tour to date.
Ten weeks on the road in Sally Saturn (1999 Saturn Station
Wagon) across the USA from Asheville NC via the Rockies and the Nevada Desert
into Northern California, then up the west coast as far as Vancouver, Canada –
then down the Pacific Highway as far as Tijuana MX – then back across the deep
south and a three week stay in New Orleans before returning to Asheville.
My mission was to travel as a solo performing artist in
order to connect and collaborate with artists of various disciplines in each
city. As my goal was one of connection and collaboration, I had no fixed
agenda, no particular show or theme to present – instead, each production
evolved as a process in dialogue with the artists and venues over the preceding
months and weeks. There were some reoccurring themes and structures as it
became apparent that what would work well in one place would also work well for
another, but each still with a very different set of preparations. Although
this was an extremely complex process, the result was incredibly rewarding
because it meant each artist could be true to their work, as well as a
production that was a good fit for each venue.
Sally Saturn was packed to the brim full of materials for a
myriad of possibilities!
The following is a brief report of each event. It was a
great honor to have the privilege of working with so many incredible artists.
Each one a treasure. Although I don’t have the capacity for details on each
artist in this newsletter, I have provided links and highly recommend following
up for more information.
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| from Hasta Cero / Until Zero at Nett Nett gallery, Tijuana MX - photo: Lorenia Flovel |
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| from Butoh Burlesque with Death Posture at the All Ways Lounge, New Orleans LA - photo: Cree McCree |
First port of call after recovering from the cross-country
trip was the Jefferson State FLIXX Film
Festival in Northern California. Just in its third year, it is already
garnering a lot of attention from the international film industry and locals
alike.
Although not officially a “tour” event for me, as I was
there to assist Megan Peterson – festival producer and close family friend, it
is definitely a note-worthy happening.
PORTLAND OR
Bricolage at
Linda Austin’s Performance Works North West.
dancers, musicians, poets and visual artists of a variety
of backgrounds and styles came together in this eclectic mix –resulting in some
very unexpected collaborations.
With Linda Austin, Caspar Sonnet, Tim DuRoche, Tim
Connell, Colin Manning, Shane McDonnel, Alex Dang, Jennifer Robin, Mizu
Desierto
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| from Bricolage (with Tim DuRoche, Cilla Vee, Jennifer Robin) at Performance works NW, Portland OR |
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| from Bricolage (with Colin Manning, Cilla Vee) at Performance Works NW, Portland OR |
SEATTLE WA
Psychic
Bandwidth – Seattle at Wayward Music Series, Chapel Performance Space
– Good Shepherd Center.
Psychic Bandwidth – music, dance / performance, spoken
word.
Part One: names are drawn at random to create improvised
duos and trios.
Part Two: group improvisation with a structure that builds
from beginning to end.
With Bill Horist, Vanessa Skantze, Arrington de Dionyso,
James Falzone, Alia Swersky, Alex Rider, Karen Nelson
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| Psychic Bandwidth theme image |
BELLINGHAM WA
Noise
Church at the Alternative Library.
Let me just say that I love Bellingham, Washington! It is
a town where the people actually still run the town – resulting in a cool,
funky, DIY assortment of projects, companies and businesses. The Alt-Lib is a
great example of what can evolve out of and be sustained by a community like
this. Kudos to Bellingham!
With Future T. Man and Dylan Awesome.
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| from Noise Church (with Future T Man and Dylan Awesome) at the Alternative Library, Bellingham WA - photo: Thade Deus Warrington |
MENDOCINO CA
A quick visit with artist and Transart co-alumni Jaye
Moscariello, who was getting ready to open a huge group show she curated with
area artists affected by the horrendous California fires.
BAY AREA CA
A ten-day stay in the Bay Area.
Listening
Sounding Moving Being at Tom Bickley and Nancy Beckman’s Tiger Garage –
Berkeley.
With Tom Bickley, Nancy Beckman and Karen Stackpole
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| the gang for LSMB (Cilla Vee, Karen Stackpole, Nancy Beckman, Tom Bickely) at Tiger Garage, Berkeley CA |
Living
Art workshop at CSU East Bay.
With Eric Kupers and the Inclusive Interdisciplinary
Ensemble (check them out!)
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| the incredible IIE from CSU East Bay - photo courtesy of Eric Kupers |
Sound of
Movement improvisation workshop at San Francisco Waldorf High
School.
With Philip Greenleif and students.
Active
Music Series at the Uptown – Oakland.
A beautifully focused and satisfying group improvisation.
With Phillip Greenlief, Kyle Bruckman, David Boyce, Sharkiface,
Jacob, Felix Heule, Aurora Josephson, Crystal Pascucci
Active Music Series performance -edited video: https://youtu.be/4ybAEROnS7U
Psychic
Bandwidth – San Francisco at Outsound Music Series, The Luggage Store.
Same structure as previous Psychic Bandwidth. This one was
very varied in moods.
With Gino Robair, Cheryl Leonard, Amy Reed, Rent Romus,
Alex Cruse, Tongo Eisen-Martin, Eric Kupers, CSU East Bay Inclusive
Interdisciplinary Ensemble.
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| the gang from Psychic Bandwidth SF (pre-show meeting) at The Luggage Store, San Francisco CA - photo: Amy Reed |
Submersion
– Oakland at Pro Arts gallery.
Submersion – an immersive, durational installation of live
sound, movement, imagery and environment.
With Thomas Dimuzio, Chandra Shukla, Kit Young, Lori
Varga, Aurora Josephson.
This lovely little report on Submersion – Oakland by Cat
Synth TV:
Vocal set on Thomas Dimuzio’s Frequency Modulation Radio 94.1 KPFA.
We were blissfully unaware at the time, but this turned
out to be the final show of the long-running FMR series – sad, but glad to have
been part of it.
With Tom Bickley.
Plus collaborative improvisation with Tom Bickley, Thomas
Dimuzio, Aurora Josephson, Derek Gedalecia.
Cilla Vee, Tom Bickley duo set:
Cilla Vee, Tom Bickley, Thomas Dimuzio, Aurora Josephson,
Derek Gedalecia group set:
SANTA CRUZ CA
Meeting with the delightful duo Jon Scoville (composer)
and Tandy Beale (choreographer)
SANTA BARBARA CA
Pre-opening dance ritual and photo shoot at Laila
Alamiri’s Glenn Dallas Gallery.
With the art work of Dana Zurzolo.
Photos by Laila Alamiri and Dana Zurzolo:
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| with the art work of Dana Zurzolo at Glenn Dallas Gallery, Santa Barbara CA - photo: Laila Alamiri |
LOS ANGELES CA
Bubble
& Squeak at The Battery Books & Music – Pasadena.
“Some people ought to know how to behave in a book store!”
– Rich West, store owner, commenting on our performance interactions with the
environment.
With Lukas Ligeti, Robert Jacobson, Vinny Golia, Grayson
Morris, Blair Boggin
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| the guys from Bubble & Squeak (Vinny Golia, Robert Jacobson, Lukas Ligeti) at The Battery Books & Music, Pasadena CA - photo: Rich West |
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| the girls from Bubble & Squeak (Cilla Vee, Blair Boggin, Grayson Morris) at The Battery Books & Music, Pasadena CA - photo: Rich West |
Submersion
– LA at Coaxial Arts Foundation.
Same structure as previous Submersion. We went in deep!
With GE Stinson, Joseph Hammer, Miller Wrenn, Carole Kim,
Kio Griffith, Grayson Morris, Blair Bogin
Submersion
LA - video by
Michael Intriere
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| from Submersion LA at Coaxial Arts Foundation, Los Angeles CA - photo Dani Dodge |
SAN DIEGO CA
The
Sound of Movement at Weird Hues Art & Music Collective – Chula
Vista
Pairing dancers and musicians in improvised
collaborations.
With Nathan Hubbard, MJ Stevens, Drona Ra, Mitchum Todd,
Andromeda Breeze
TIJUANA MEXICO
“Hasta
Cero / Until Zero” at Nett Nett gallery.
An intensive collaboration based on concepts of the
Japanese “ma”, the in-between, opening up space. (Thanks to Haydeé
Jiménez and all at Nett Nett)
With Roberto Romero Molina.
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| from Hasta Cero / Until Zero (with Roberto Romera Molina) at Nett Nett gallery, Tijuana MX - photo: Lorenia Flovel |
TUCSON AZ
Meeting with Tucson mover and shaker Kimi Eisele
(choreographer)
FLAGSTAFF AZ
Psychic
Bandwidth – Flagstaff at Interference Series in Kickstand café.
Same structure as previous Psychic Bandwidths. This one
got pretty wild!
With Owen Davis, Rob Wallace, Briana Grace Hammerstrom,
Uncle Don – plus others.
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| from Psychic Bandwidth Flagstaff with Interference Series at Kickstand, Flagstaff AZ |
SANTA FE NM
Meeting with artist duo Susanna Carlisle and Bruce
Hamilton (video, sculpture, installation art)
Visit with artist and co-Transart alumni Ana McArthur.
ALBERQUERQUE NM
Our
Familiar Dead at Tortuga Gallery.
A poetry, music and dance event for Day of the Dead.
With John Roche, Jules Nyquist, Nate Maxson, Pax Garcia,
Kevin Kinane
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| from Our Familiar Dead (with Jules Nyquist) at Tortuga Gallery, Albuquerque NM |
AUSTIN TX
“Spirit
House” at Haiku Flash Studios.
A collaboration with artist Stephanie Reid to create a
community spirit house and performance ritual for Day of the Dead. An intimate
experience with local community members.
With Stephanie Reid, Michael Lopez, Audra
Tillman, Bob Collier, Robert Bingham
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HOUSTON TX
They,
Who Sound series at Lawndale Art Center.
Nameless Sound’s David Dove curates this weekly
experimental performance series.
With Jason Jackson, Ruth Langston, Gabriel Martinez,
Rebecca Novak.
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| from They, Who Sound at Lawndale Art Center, Houston TX - photo: Lynn Lane |
NEW ORLEANS LA
A three week stay in this exquisite city.
“Butoh
Burlesque” at The All Ways Lounge.
Yes – as insane as it sounds!
With Death Posture – Emmalee Sutton, Donald Miller, Rob
Cambre, Chris Robert
and costumes by Cree McCree.
Butoh
Burlesque - costume session and performance at All Ways Lounge – photos
by Cree McCree:
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| from Butoh Burlesque (with Death Posture's Emmalee Sutton) at the All Ways Lounge, New Orleans LA - photo: Cree McCree |
Liquid
Land trio at BJs Bywater.
I was invited in on an impromptu set with this unique sound
and poetry group.
With Rob Cambre, Simon Berz, Moose Jackson.
Figure model for artist Adrian Deckbar.
and finally … last, but by no means least …
“Gate Keeper” at the Vanishing
performance art festival, curated by Cypress Atlas and hosted by The
Mudlark Public Theatre.
This particular event was additional to the tour, as the
piece I created was not for the purpose of connecting and collaborating with
other artists – but tailor made for the concept of the festival, which was to
consider ideas of space (and in particular – vanishing space) “Gate Keeper” is
a nod to the Marina Abranovich / Ulay Living Door piece ‘Imponderabilia’. It forces audience members to
reconsider space as they pass through the liminal area of the doorway. The Gate
Keeper occupies the negative doorway space, offering smaller fragments of
constantly shifting negative space plus a living, breathing, colorfully painted
human sculpture through which people must negotiate as they enter or exit.
It was a joy to return to The Mudlark. Throughout my stay
in NOLA I enjoyed several events there and got to experience the community that
Pandora and Andy create in this venue.
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| from Gatekeeper at the Vanishing festival, Mudlark Public Theatre, New Orleans LA - photo: Enya Shu |
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| audience interaction from Gatekeeper at the Vanishing festival, Mudlark Public Theatre, New Orleans LA - photo:Cree McCree |
COMING UP FOR CILLA VEE IN 2019 …
Spring:
Short teaching residency with the honor students
Performance Art class at Northern Arizona State University – Flagstaff AZ
Summer:
Producing a new annual dance with sculpture Summer
Solstice event on Two Diamond Art Farm – Saco ME
Tour North East USA
Performing in the annual AfterMAF Marginal Arts Festival
at Art Rat Studios – Roanoke VA
Performing in X-Fest Cyprus – experimental and improvised
performance collaborations festival at Petreon Sculpture Park – Mazotos, Cyprus
Performer and Guide at FreeXit Butoh Cultural Exchange
Camp – Novi Sad, Serbia
Plus more TBA …
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| from Fe at Fresh Dirt Surrealism Sympatica, Art Town, Birmingham AL - photo: David Murray |
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| from Hasta Cero / Until Zero at Nett Nett gallery, Tijuana MX - photo: Lorenia Flovel |
