An Article by Camille LeFevre

On Location: The BodyCartography Project Talks About the Importance of Place

Someone wrote my paper!

This paper looks great:

The audience completes the piece: Site-specific dance choreographers as unalienating laborers
by Rachel Engh 

I love that I wrote down the same quote from the book, One Place After Another: Site-Specific Art and Locational Identity,  that Ms. Engh begins her paper with. Thank you Miwon Kwon!

What IS the artwork?

I love this...

Suzanne Lacy, of Chicago’s public art project Culture in Action, claims: “…what exists in the space between the words public and art is an unknown relationship between artist and audience, a relationship that may itself be the artwork” (Kwon, 105).  

I'm curious how this unknown relationship exists in dance in public spaces. I think the new experience created by having performances in familiar, public spaces is the art. The context creates the art. 

What do you think?

Yet another awesome community-building art project..

Just look...

Turning Empty Spaces into...

What would you do with an emply storefront? It's rent free, for up to three months.

Take a look at UK's biggest "slack space" project- Brixton Village indoor market. Damn...why don't I live in the UK?

Making Performance Space into Pulic Space

Yesterday in my Producing class we were talking about the open-door policy of S.L.A.M, which is the rehearsal/performance space for STREB. I love this idea of making a performance space into a public space. Anyone can literally walk in the door, watch a rehearsal, take a class, eat their lunch, and use their wifi. How cool is that?

I've been thinking of ways that public spaces could be used as performance spaces, but this is sometimes difficult for dancers. Our dancing environment needs to support our bodies...and concrete floors hurt after awhile. So...how can a space that is funcional for dancing and movment be useful to the public? 

Here's a rehearsal video providing a sneak preview of the "whizzing gizmo."

Penninsula

An ongoing programme of artists' commissions, investigating and interrogating the Greenwich Peninsula as the area undergoes a huge transformation.

 These projects are so neat!

Again, we have social spaces, community involvement, and art. What a delicious culture sandwich that makes.

Street with a view

We all know what Google Street View is...those mildly creepy photos of your street when you are probably not there.

What if you had control over how your street was seen?
Check out this project by Robin Hewlett and Ben Kingsley, called Street With A View.

This project is really interesting, especially how they involved the people that live in that neighborhood. So, we've got site-specificity, community involvement, and social spaces...

I'm seeing connections here.

I'm writing a paper!

Yes, that's right, I'm writing a paper. A professional paper. (Now say that in a British accent..." A professional paper!")

The main ideas I am thinking about are:

• performances in social, public spaces
• developing a community within physical social spaces and virtual social spaces (like this one!) through the engagement in a public performance
  

I just stumbled across this video of Professor David Gauntlett's inaugural lecture, 'Participation culture, creativity, and social change', from November 12, 2008. It's pretty rockin'.  After watching it I feel like there is some common  language used in his talk and in my head. For instance: MAKING and DOING. How do we put more opportunities to make and to do in the social, public sphere? How can performance do that?

This may be a bit tangential...but there's something there. I'm just not sure what yet.

A little excerpt from Saturday night...

Wrapping it up

Happy Holidays All,

Just a few loose ends to tie with left over wrapping paper...

1. Hopefully, if you requested a DVD and supplied your address, you have received it! If not, please send Lily a message.

2. Did you watch the DVD? No? Well, you've been busy. We understand, but when you do, please drop a little comment about what you thought.

3. If you were able to come to the show, do you remember it? Did you have too much eggnog since then? Well, if you remember, drop us a little comment and let us know what you thought.

Bethany and I are entering our LAST semester of graduate school, and we're writing separate papers about the project. So, in addition to the fact that you are awesome, this is why we would love to hear your feedback.

Thanks again for all your support in 2009. Lets do more in 2010! Happy New Year everybody!

-Lily

Reviews!

I've got some smart bloggers in the family! Check out my mom's blip on her blog about Complex Environments.

Teeny Video

My brother, Robin, posted about Complex Environments on his blog, including this little video.

Complex Environments CAKE!

Complex Environments, originally uploaded by lssloan.

Awwww

Complex Environments, originally uploaded by lssloan.

What a good cast!

Complex Environments

Complex Environments, originally uploaded by lssloan.

Fun before out Saturday night performance.

Whoa!

I can't believe it's been a week since we did Complex Environments. Within a few days, Bethany and I were driving down to Austin for a workshop with Nancy Stark Smith, so I don't think I ever did a re-cap of the performance.

In short....it was GREAT! Great crowd, great response, great feelings all around!

Tomorrow, we make the dvds and get them ready to ship off to all the Backers. I can't wait to see the footage. I'll be sure to get a little clip of the performance up on the blog soon.

Till the next time...

-Lily

Well....just as our dear mentor who shall remain nameless suggested, some of the best performances happen after chaos.  Well...we had that this morning.

1. It snowed. (in Texas!)
2. The projector did not work because it was so cold.
3. I ran over Bethany's hair while moving a couch.
4. Bethany ran into a chair and bruised the !@#$ out of her knee.
5. José yelled at Melissa (oh wait, that was planned)
6. Did I mention that the projector DID NOT WORK?

AHHHHH!

But after a strange, but fun and still great rehearsal, everything and everyone is OK. The projector works now. It just needed its fuzzy slippers.

After all that, all I have to say is ......... BRING IT!

Bring it!

It is time.

We are ready.

So, bring it!

Come to Banter at 219 W. Oak in Denton, TX THIS Friday and Saturday at 8p.m.

Here's a theoretical question to ponder over ( and comment on)...

What is the aesthetic of "awesome"?

ok.

bye.

Postcards are on the way!

The final postcard design is done and printed. Look for them around Downtown Denton, or if you're lucky, in your mailbox!