Contain That Force: 7 Solo Acts, Ottawa ON

studio rehearsal. objects arrive in all forms ranging from shipping boxes to delivered by hand.

For SAW Video Media Art Centre on May 24th 2013 at 7:30pm in Club SAW, 67 Nicolas Street, Ottawa, I will present Contain that Force: 7 Solo Acts; a new project comprising video projection and live performance. Contain that Force: 7 Solo Acts features objects solicited from seven artists to be utilized in this project, including: Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Ann Beam, Laura Ortman, Waubgeshig Rice, Zachary Fabri, Sterlin Harjo and Andrea Geyer. Objects range from original work created specifically for this event to the symbolic. Activating these objects through performance, I attempt to form a new compendium of personal and historical narratives that intersect Native American performance art.

This performance is presented in association with the National Gallery of Canada’s International Indigenous project SAKAHAN, which will feature programming contributions from many galleries and artist-run-centres across the city in conjunction with the NGC’s main exhibition. 

The event is free admission.

For more info see link: http://www.sawvideo.com/

All is Moving, New York NY

Performing with Jaune Quick-to-See Smith’s painting “Turtle Island” at Accola Griefen Gallery, 2013. Photo credit: Rob van Erve.

“All Is Moving”, performance from March 28, 2013, in conjunction with the exhibit, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Water and War, ACCOLA GRIEFEN GALLERY, 547 W 27th Street, NY NY 10013. Video by Meredith Drum. See link to view performance:

http://vimeo.com/63378798

The titles of Jaune’s paintings I responded to, in order of appearance:
1.Sissy and the Plutocrats (a female Sisyphus pushes her shopping cart up a mountain, which is laden with elegant foodstuffs)
2.Imperialism
3.Black Ice
4.Shock and Awe
5.Turtle Island
6.Underwater

Images of Jaune’s paintings can be found here:
http://accolagriefen.com/artists/jaune-quick-to-see-smith/slideshow#image-1130

Fixed-Time, 7a*11d Toronto

 

Fixed Time. 15min, “7a*11d International Performance Festival 2012, Toronto ON. Retro Polariod performance documentation by Arthur Renwick, Artist. In Fixed Time I respond to the role memory plays in documenting performance art. As stated by performance artist Marina Abramovic in Dialogue with Heidi Grundmann, 1978, Abramovic says, “the performance you do in fixed time, and in that fixed time you see the whole process and you see the disappearing of the process at the same moment and afterwards you don’t have anything, you have only the memory.” During the performance I use oral tradition strategies as I move through a series of basic customs and procedure to create a set of unique visual triggers that mark the space between me (the artist) and the audience, utilizing interpersonal interactions to imprint for recall the memory of the performance. Various materials put into action include holographic glitter lips, jingle gloves, and flagging tape.

Reflection Step, Museum of Art and Design NY

Collaborative interactive live performance and video projection with musician, Laura Ortman at Museum of Art and Design, New York. 20min. With Violin performed live, pink surveyors tape, blue tape, mylar survival blankets, tin jingles, coloured flags, audio tract and video projection. Audio track composed by Laura Ortman.

“Sound moves through the body as a physical vibration and a tangible felt experience that brings us back to our corporeality and reminds of our connectivity to our world.”

“But a deeper impulse than means and currency may be at play, namely a call for a renewal of embodiment and wholeness.” Ellen Moffat, Sounding Spaces Listening Bodies, BlackFlash pg.33 Issue 29.2 Winter 2012

Images posted below are the remaining post production residuals from the performance. Photos are by Dakota Cash.

For more info on music by Laura Ortman see links:

http://thedustdiveflash.bandcamp.com/

http://soundcloud.com/laura-ortman

Reflection Step, collaboration at Idyllwild Arts

Laura Ortman performing our collaborative performance “Reflection Step” live with violin, jingles, video/sound installation and tape. Dimensions variable, height 5’9”. At the opening reception for “Invitational Exhibition: 12 Artists, 6 Collaborations”, Idyllwild Arts 2012.

Yes that is a “silvery jingle glove” on Laura’s bow arm! For this collaboration I was excited to work with the talented Laura Ortman – a real musician based in Brooklyn NY. Together we shape a stairwell structure and atmosphere matching actions and sounds with light, props and the body.

For more info on Laura Ortman’s music see link:

http://thedustdiveflash.bandcamp.com/

Occupy This! Grace Gallery 2011

 

Click on the link to see video documentation by Laura Ortman: Occupy This Video Link

In the performance Occupy This, I enact a range of strategies to occupy space and awaken our consciousness in a present moment. Through my practice I investigate how culture is informed by our bodies drawing upon my knowledge of nomadic and oral traditions, from the items we carry on our person to interpersonal communication. Moving through a series of basic customs I recall our connection to spirit, one another and the cosmos using action, objects and sound.

Engaging the space on different levels the work is comprised in three parts. The first set of actions focuses on defining and claiming space by marking out a territory using silver tape lines, posting a flag, and establishing eye contact with audience members. Florescent surveyor tape is tied to pilers, objects and individuals dividing the room in a physical web of interconnectivity. The second series involves activating the space through the spectacle of display using a bear mask, more direct interaction with audience members and flag waving. Exchanges are marked by the gifting of my signature wooden tokens. The finale produces a pair of jingle boots, when worn on the feet utilize sound and movement to create a space in which the mundane may approach the sacred through repetition. Stepping up to a microphone a breath of holographic glitter is applied to the lips and the remainder blown like sparkle dust. After the the sound of the jingles resides the glitter is removed through the stroke of the back of a hand. The words “We are the moon” is spoken into the mic.

Vestige Vagabond performance on art blog!

Lara Evans writes about “Vestige Vagabond” for her art blog Not Artomatic. This collaborative performance with Charlene Vickers was part of the exhibition “Counting Coup”, Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, Curated by Ryan Rice. It was great to have a regular at Santa Fe Market provide an insider’s perspective on our work.  Thanks Lara! You rock.

http://travelpeapod.wordpress.com/

Lady Moonrider: Time Traveler, Belfast 2010

Lady Moonrider: Time Traveler, Belfast 45min performance 2010

This work was performed at Market Square for the Crossing Residency, an international exchange between artists living in Belfast, Ireland and artists of aboriginal ancestry in Canada, hosted by SAW Gallery in Ottawa ON and Bbeyond Collective in Belfast. In performance I am interested in the power of our bodies and the tools we create as our primary modes of exchange when crossing language, land and cultural barriers. As Lady Moonrider, I take action interpreting, “human acts,” as an approach to universal paradigms, inserting myself into new conversations with objects functioning as tools: bones quantify cultural memory, travel cases provide sleeping portals for spirits, braids double as antennas to the cosmos and wooden coins indicate value for human exchange. I reject romanticizing the past – looking backwards denies my existence in the present.

Contact me for video documentation of this performance.

Lady Moonrider: Time Traveller, Ottawa 2010

Lady Moonrider: Time Traveller, Ottawa 20min performance 2010

Lady Moonrider was created for the Crossing Residency, an international exchange between artists living in Belfast, Ireland and artists of aboriginal ancestry in Canada, hosted by SAW Gallery in Ottawa ON and Bbeyond Collective in Belfast. For my contribution I wanted to challenge myself to exist beyond the limitations of cultural signifiers. As my solution I chose to become a universal traveler as a symbol for movement across time, space, cultures, spirit, body and the universe.

Double Self Double 2010

Collaborative performance with Merritt Johnson for the exhibition “My Evil Twin” Curated by Timothy Long, Head Curator, Mackenzie Art Gallery, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.