September 27, 2010
Chaos
Lori Weidenhammer, my collaborator on Chaos, has carefully recorded her impressions of the other performances during Chaos over on her Beespeaker blog and has collated information on Sandra Johnston, Pauline Cummins and Sinead O’Donnell’s work. including some photos documenting the performances at Open Space and offsite at the Maritime Museum courtroom. I promised to do this but have been unable yet to deliver. My brain is rather seized at the moment, so for those who’ve been asking me for details please visit Lori’s blog and learn about the other artists work. Plus you’ll see a few goofy pics of us in rehearsal/prep mode and at the breakfast table aka larking about. We’ve no pics of our performance as yet.
Open Space also recorded video, stills and will produce a catalogue and essay on Chaos, plus the most exciting prospect of all… a flipbook.
September 27, 2010
Of note on a Monday
1) I ate a large green bean from my greenhouse contraption. Just the one, but what a bean she was and it almost October.
2) Ed Milliband scraped the labour leadership thanks to the Union vote. That dirty word New Labour hoped would go the way of the petticoat.
3) Extraordinary weather events on BC coast (or water events?) that I am unable to track and pay attention to due to performance art respiration and recovery.
4) Sean Fitzpatrick — LOB.
5) I still cannot yet swim to an acceptable standard.
September 27, 2010
Chaos
This was part of the video projection during our Chaos performance. The sound was mute, it was played on a loop along with Lori’s beekeeping sequence during two parts of the performance. I added the sound just now, since the original sound was just the racket in the gym and bad house music.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fN1m80-vrcs&fs=1&hl=en_GB]
September 26, 2010
Powerful stuff in the two performances this evening at CHAOS a series of events at Open Space that I am participating in. We did our performance last night to a very responsive and receptive audience. More on that once my head settles.
Tonight though in the Victorian Courtroom in the Maritime Museum Sandra Johnston did a performance that was affecting and disturbing and I am still reeling from it. Again I will have to write more once my head recovers.
Back at Open Space Pauline Cummins did another powerful performance involving video, actions and a trumpet player.This is a very late night, wordless description, but I am flooded with exhaustion, exhilaration, too much laughing and beer!
We had our final Mna na h’Eireann chat and drink it up ensemble in Open Space afterwards with stories and laughter, roaring, (we know soo mnay of the same characters) and we then all walked back to the hotel in the rain — the first storm of the season. So great to get a good old blast of these women. This won’t be the end of it, we’ll meet again and hopefully take the project to other cities together.
I urge you to look up these artists work. Extraordinary work it is. Privileged to share a space with them.
September 24, 2010
Chaos II
Prepping all day in the gallery space. Tech guys working v hard to accommodate the needs of our piece and the other artists. This evening the artists were all taken to a place called The Superior where we enjoyed an array of tasty appetizers and wine and swing jazz music. One of the musicians, an older male, had a interesting vitamin bottle which I investigated that was called Turbo.
Had a good old natter to the lovely, lovely Pauline Cummins about Irish feminism in the 60-70’s period. We’d great craic the lot of us. Inspired, divine company. So mighty to have these strong minds to exchange ideas with and to hear about art related actions and so on in Belfast and Dublin.
Mna na h’Eireann rocking it ensemble in Victoria.
September 23, 2010
Chaos 1
First day of the Chaos project here in Victoria with Open Space. Tonight three artists talks at Camosun College (sp?) — a full room of students and community. The artists Sinead O’Donnell, Pauline Cummins and Sandra Johnston gave engaging talks on their work. The prolonged physical component in Sandra Johnston’s work fascinated me and I discussed it with her in the bar afterwards. Both Sandra and Sinead have made actions where the performance takes place in a public place and sometimes people are not aware a performance is even taking place. There were several slides from actions/performances in Romania that were particularly compelling in this regard. It made me think of performance within documentary. Except the documentary is otherwise undocumented moments in life. There was a hearty discussion at the end about documentation and its interference with performance.
But the extent to which these three artists engage in collaborative processes was extraordinary listening and I can only imagine how extraordinary some of this work was to witness. Also hearing Sandra talk about Belfast still operating with an artist run ethos (artists supporting and encouraging other artists, spaces etc) reminded me of how much has been lost on this coast in that regard.
More from my notes tomorrow.
September 22, 2010
Myself and the small man have watched an episode of GLEE.
We watched an episode because almost everyone watches it.
Since we do v little everyone does this is a necessary gesture.
We do not understand who the characters are, but agreed that the matter of a whole season back story watched in reverse could be a boon.
I think the chips and ginger beer improved matters.
I do not think our telly would cope with repeated viewings in this current series. It’s a bit patchwork looking on the screen. I don’t know what’s happened to TVs since it’s been about six months since we turned it on. I think a new system is established and our telly is now in the fuzzy felt zone of blackbirds tweeting in the dull of night and unable to receive a signal.