BROAD SENSE: Interviews and Event Recap
Marshall, North Carolina By Quinn Dukes @quinndukes Last October, six artists from across the United States were welcomed to the picturesque mountains of Marshall, North Carolina by curators and performance artists, Alice Vogler and Vela Oma for their multi-experiential event, Broad Sense. I was delighted to receive an invitation to perform in Broad Sense despite the NYC stress cyclone I was managing at the time. I knew it would be a logistical challenge but the promise of nature, crisp air and performing with a group of artists that I have known and respected for years was irresistible. So, I fled NYC. Flight delays led to nearly missing my rental car pickup but I successfully retrieved my car and drove two hours to a magical place in the middle of nowhere. The next morning, I awoke to the sounds of event preparation and artist discussions of material, performance site location and politics. Collectively, the 6 of us (Sandy Huckleberry, Jeff Huckleberry, Joseph Raven, Phil Fryer (Moondrawn), Coorain Devin and yours truly) performed across multiple locations on the 7-acre property for 9 hours. After Broad Sense concluded, I reached out to Vela, Alice and all participating artists to preserve the event's memory from multiple perspectives. Performance art documentation typically counts on visual documentation but in a campfire discussion, we realized that our collective memories write the history of performance. It was a beautiful weekend of local community exploring unknown paths in sporadic rain showers to discover durational outdoor actions. I am pleased to share the event through the words of the artists and thoughtful curators.
0 Comments
An influential group of performance art curators have teamed up to organize Outside/Inside, a multi-day performance event featuring site responsive performances on Spectacle Island, and Georges Island in the Boston Harbor, MA. Outside/Inside is an evolution of last year's Time, Body, Space, Objects. Among many performers were the Brooklyn-based performance collaborative, PPL (Esther Neff and Brian McCorkle) who performed a work influenced by the history of the island. Check out our discussion with PPL about their Spectacle Island performance here. The curatorial team has launched an Open Call for performance works to premier on the islands on JULY 16th and AUGUST 13th. The application deadline is JUNE 3rd. More details below. APPLY! - QUINN DUKES "There is a rich history of art happenings on the Boston Harbor Islands over the last twenty years, including last year’s installment of TBOS4 on Spectacle Island which was under the umbrella of The Island Arts Initiative that happened on Georges and Spectacle Islands during the summer of 2015. The Bumpkin Island Art Encampment which happened from 2007-2011 and was curated by Megan Dickerson, Carolyn Lewenberg and Jed Speare and was co-presented by Studio Soto, an artist performance/screening/exhibit space in Fort Point; Mobius; and the Island Alliance. Boston Cyber Arts, the National Park Service and Boston Harbor Island Alliance collaborated on an ongoing project on the LED screens at the Boston Harbor Island Pavilion on Boston’s Rose Kennedy Greenway for a 24 month stretch during 2014-2016, and through its public art program (formerly called Vita Brevis), the ICA Boston hosted Art on the Harbor islands in 2007. We are seeking proposals for site-specific performance art work that responds to the history and natural environment of each island. This public space in the Boston harbor invites artists to think about their work in a public destination which includes families, tourists and Bostonians. Being conscious and considerate of this audience is a must.
Many performers choose to choreograph actions that allow them to embrace slowness. Ernesto Pujol and Marilyn Arsem are two current practitioners that come to mind when considering the necessity of slowness and silence. Both present focused and unwavering meditations on (seemingly) simple gestures. Our next featured artist, MARTINE VIALE, also occupies this similar performance landscape.
I am particularly fascinated by Viale's body of work entitled, "Infiltration in Public Spaces". Viale's ability to interrupt the standard dynamic of public space into an enlivened and bodily architecture is quite wonderful. Viale is based in Montreal and presents both short form and durational actions around the world. In our interview, Viale explains her approach toward "process actions" and reveals details about her upcoming projects. I am pleased to share our conversation below! Enjoy! - Quinn Interview with PPL (Esther Neff and Brian McCorkle)
By Quinn Dukes The summer is quite possibly the busiest (and liveliest!) time for performance artists. Across the globe, performance festivals, fairs and live-art series awaken the heat-hazed city streets. This weekend Time, Body, Space, Objects continues its programming on Spectacle Island (Boston, MA) with works by PPL, a Brooklyn-based performance duo (Esther Neff & Brian McCorkle). I am excited that PPL is a part of the TBSO4 roster this year, especially considering the performance location. I reached out to PPL to learn more about their upcoming performance concepts and am delighted to share our conversation with you below. Enjoy and head out to Boston this Saturday, August 22nd! - Quinn There are a handful of cities within the U.S. that not only recognize performance art as a meaningful contribution to the contemporary art world but also financially sponsor its development. As noted in last weeks post with performance art curator and practitioner, Jill McDermid-Hokanson, there is limited funding for performance art. Limited, but not non-existent. This year The Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) Boston awarded 2 out of 4 James and Audrey Foster Prizes to current performance art practitioners - Vela Phelan and Sandrine Schaefer.
I have followed Vela Phelan's work for many years. His visually alluring performance rituals blend contemporary culture, technology and religious deities. Phelan has a bewildering ability to charge spaces and objects. This energy often lingers with viewers post-performance and further extends into the secular world. I am pleased to share Vela Phelan's work for our next Artist Feature. The feature focuses on Phelan's exhibition and performance series "Obscurus Fidem" is a site-specific video altar dedicated to Jesús Malverde, a folk legend elevated to the rank of sainthood by Mexican narco-traffickers currently on view at ICA Boston. Thus far, Phelan has completed six of nine live actions entitled "Obscurus Novena" in honor of Jesús Malverde. Enjoy the interview and go see the exhibition! (On view thru August 9th.) - Quinn |
CONTRIBUTORSIan Deleón Archives
July 2023
|