DOUBLE VISION Abroad 2009

Arrivederci!

2009-03-20T08:59:00.000-07:00

+ MORE!

Short on time..

We've had a great time meeting more artists, dancers, musicians, etc. (most from the US)... our most learning likely came from the incredible Futurist exhibit at the Scuderie del Quirinale.
http://www.scuderiequirinale.it/

Here is the program for the exhibit. It's excellent and if you look up all the works you'll definitely learn a lot about cubism, futurism, etc.
http://www.double-vision.biz/Shortguide.pdf

Here's the new photo sets (to view as slide shows, just click on the slide screen icon to the right of each set):

Castle St. Angelo
http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulinej/sets/72157615683284700/

Trastevere - Gianicolo:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulinej/sets/72157615682817680/

St. Peter's / Vatican, part 2:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulinej/sets/72157615682634306/

Capitol Museum:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulinej/sets/72157615420289973/

Forum, Capitol and Coliseum:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulinej/sets/72157615194812901/

I think I've already posted links to the rest...

Futurism shedding more light on the debate...

2009-03-12T13:26:00.000-07:00

Today we continued our research into the Futurist movement by attending Brian Eno's installation "Presentism" at the Palazzo Ruspoli, Rome. The program for this was very well written and I'll try to find a copy online as its explanations of Futurism were very articulate - here's a bit:

"the con-fusion between man and machine prophesised by the futurists led to the con-fusion between tradition and digital technology. Marinettie, who wanted to provide a soul not just to the crowds, but also to the industrial yards, to the trains, the transatlantics, the cars and the planes, entrusted the music to express the domain of the machines and the victory of electricity. We have to admit that the prophecy of the mechanic man has been completed: the man is not only 'composed' by objects realized by the technology and transplanted in his body, but he also uses machines as real prosthesis of himself; the computers and any other type of machine able to process informations are prosthesis of our mind, extension of our mental possibilties."

The installation greatly reminded me of the novel or phisolophical essay by Henri Bergson: Creative Evolution. Bergson explained human change by comparing essentially two metaphors: (1) watching a life through photo or film frames v. (2) seeing a life as a snowball that continues to roll down a hill - collecting ever more snow, etc. and subtly changing (but not removing) any parts of itself. I.e. westerner's attempt to force everything into concrete parts, moments in time, etc. v. an organic evolution. The installation, whether intentionally or not, really played with these two ideas. If you were focused on a tiny part of it and eventually changed your focus you might notice a change, but depending on memory, couldn't be sure. If you didn't notice a change, it was dramatic in most cases (i.e. a completely different color or design). However, if you simply took the entire video installation in, you could go for quite awhile without realizing that the installation as a whole or its parts had evolved. This is difficult to explain, but it was a brilliant use of timing and organic evolution.

Getting back the discussion of needing both creative / technical impulse coupled with financial support... I have yet to find a place where both are in equal or great enough amounts. (I sincerely doubt, though I do not know for sure, that the Futurist movement relied upon major funding.)

In Austria, what we discovered was that artists (dance-artists specifically) were expected to create whatever they wanted to, thus giving a sense - more so than in the states, i would say - that there was freedom in the arts. That said, their funding to do this work is based on the whim of a group of politicians. If funding is cut or moved to a different form of expression, that art is fully cut. (By funding, I mean a lot -- I just received an email for a new grant in San Francisco that will provide, if awarded, $250 per artist with an operating budget under $250,000.00! so ridiculous.. though it's better than $0) During the conference we attended, the Choreographic Platform Austria, someone finally asked the panel "Why are there only solos?" (as almost every piece in the festival was a solo)...to which an artist on the panel replied essentially that there were only solos because that was all that was funded by the Platform. There was no artistic reason and in fact most of the artists typically worked with groups. I couldn't help but wondering or comparing the merits of such a response versus the dedication of our dancers and collaborators to go on tour for 5 weeks without pay (versus 1.5 hrs from their home base for a weekend). Dedication to a vision and somehow making it happen v. a job. Or, in the case of much of what we're seeing in Italy - doing great artistic work, but doing so with forced content by a patron. In fact, I read recently that Michelangelo's family considered him no more than a blue-collared worker - a basket weaver in contemporary terms.

I don't know what the answer or ideal situation is. I found myself getting into conversations with Europeans about the fact that I only rehearse 3 hrs a week. The typical response was complete shock and "you cannot possibly make work with only 3 hrs of rehearsal per week!!". To which I'd defensively reply that I had to due to rental costs and competition for space and then I'd rationalize it by saying I used an intuitive method to choreograph. This is BS. I might work intuitively in practice to a degree, but never before have I said that. I use complex spatial designs, complex rhtymic sturctures and my work is conceptionally rooted in the struggle to determine which technologies are good extensions of human capabilities and which (i.e. facebook) limit our human abilities and interactions. However, I now realize, having had time away from the studio, away from the pressures of producing new works constantly, and having finally had time to reflect and think that I really have had NO time to reflect and think about what I'm doing or why I'm doing it for the past 5 years. Alas.. the debate over money v. creative necessity continues.

Speaking of Masterpieces

2009-03-11T13:48:00.000-07:00

I usually tell everyone about this piece - The Listening Post.

It's the only other piece I've seen so far (oh, and maybe one of Pollack's giant murals), that has held my attention - both intellectually and emotionally, if you will - for the same length of time as today's trip to the Pieta.. David came close. There's also a couple dance pieces that I would include in the absolute Masterpiece list that I've seen including works by Nijinksy, Jooss, Taylor, Cunningham and Forsythe.

At any rate, if you ever have the opportunity to experience the Listening Post (which is coincidentally billed as the modern-day Sistine Chapel), please do!!!!!!! It is not something to be experienced through photos or video online, but live. Here is the info:

http://www.earstudio.com/projects/listeningpost.html

Dreams come true (at least for one of us)

2009-03-11T08:14:00.000-07:00

Today was the fulfillment of a number of childhood dreams for one of DV's directors...and another phase in our ongoing debate of historically important art v. contemporary art and what the heck is virtuosity. (We'll be seeing the huge Futurists exhibit tomorrow).

First, the Vatican Museum is by far the coolest museum I've ever been to - even if most of its contents (and St. Peter's) may be stolen goods. It has EVERYTHING. Every kind of art. We got there at 10am and managed to avoid lines (due to a tip that if you go during the weekly 10am pope address, you will avoid lines). We walked for probably over 30 min once inside before reaching the Sistine Chapel. As with the David, nothing could have prepared me for the scale of this amazing room. I could draw (not well) the paintings in my sleep I've studied them so much, but to see how huge the figure are and how incredible the perspective is.. it's like these huge figures will just leap or fall out of the sky onto you! It also took a bit of time to realize that everything you were looking at and thinking it was carved or part of the architecture was really painted and flat. Crazy. Of course, knowing how much Michelangelo hated the project made me chuckle... knowing that he also didn't think he could paint also made me shake my head and laugh some more. You couldn't take photos in the Sistine Chapel, not that it would do justice anyway.

We then spent a couple hours making it through just like 2 of the million galleries within the museum.. .the Animal Room, a sculpture area (one of many) and the Egyptian collection. They say it takes 2-3 days to make it through the entire museum and I believe it.

Next up, St. Peter's.

(to see it large, click here for the original web site: http://panathinaeos.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/michelangelos_pieta_5450_cropncleaned.jpg)

This place is impressive to say the least, but what blew me away the most - to be honest, it brought me to tears... and even thinking of it now, still does... was Michelangelo's Pieta. I've studied the Pieta and it's considered by most authorities worldwide to be the greatest sculpture ever created. Anyone can see this when viewing it from a technical standpoint. Just looking at Mary's fabric is enough to blow you away.

But more than the sheer technique, how anyone could create the Pieta is impressive...how a young man, at age 22 could do so in such a technically perfect manner and embody so much meaning about life, death, peace, love, devastation, tranquility - of a mother's loss of her son is just unbelievable.

Looking at the Pieta, you're overwhelmed first by the immense sense of loss. Of time being lost, literally slipping out of the Madonna's hands (in fact her left hand is seen up, as if both physically and metaphorically letting go)... you feel that this piece of marble will just melt or slip into time... though it's a fleeting moment that again contains all of these emotions... The other impressive feat, I think, is that this Pieta, more than any I've ever seen, is not about the crucified Jesus - it's about Mary. While Jesus' withered figure is part of Madonna's slipping fabric, the strongest point of this sculpture is her face. It's shrouded, but one can make it out and see that It is full of peace, acceptance and tranquility - it is the only aspect of the sculpture that seems that it will last all time rather than simply melt into an abyss of loss.

The other interesting thing is that in all the photos the Pieta looks large, heavy, but it's so small and fragile compared to the colossal David. Oh, it's just beautiful. You could take photos of the Pieta, but it's behind glass due to an attacker, so --they didn't really come out.

Anyway, here are more photos from the Vatican City (there were five architects involved with St. Peters, and Michelangelo is largely responsible for the gorgeous dome.. sadly most of my photos did not turn out as it was so dark). Oh, there's no descriptions, so I'd just watch the slide show. Most of the images are actually of floor mosaics that were just part of the Vatican Museum's decor. (Apologies for the awful photo of the famous Laocoon sculpture -- it was SO crowded).

Flickr Vatican slideshow: http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulinej/sets/72157615107319106/show/

A brief note about funding and the arts

2009-03-10T14:15:00.000-07:00

There will be a long, critical essay - and likely a debate - coming at the end of this voyage regarding funding and the arts. While Sean and I disagree to a degree regarding whether funding or passion is more essential to quality, innovative artwork and a thriving scene, one thing we do agree on is that having both is best.

Having both is not so easy though and usually artistic restriction or censorship comes about through funding. We - contemporary, young artists - usually are heard saying "oh, things were so good back in the day".. often referring to such prolific times as the Italian Renaissance. Well.. having spent days now seeing the same Madonna and Child motif done by a zillion artists a zillion times over, I will no longer state such a thing! One could argue that the artists wanted to paint the same image over and over, but having read Michelangelo's diary years ago, I don't think that is the case.

I also discovered a new bit about the Sistine Chapel in my tour book today (which does not make me any the less excited to see it!), so I'll share, as it's relevant:

Essentially it begins by explaining that in the Sistine Chapel paintings, M. chose a punitive and terrifying god, as he was told to depict the stories of Genesis - all of them. "In real life, poor M. answered to a flesh-and-blood taskmaster who was almost as vengeful: Pope Julius II...he was intent on uniting Italy under the power of the Vatican, and was eager to do so by any means, including riding into pitched battle. Yet this 'warrier pope' considered his most formidable adversary to be M. Applying a form of blackmail, Julius threatened to wage war on M's Florence...unless M. agreed to return to Rome and take up the task of painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling.

A sculptor first and foremost, however, M. considered painting an inferior genre - 'for rascals and sissies' as he put it. Second there was the sheer scope of the task, leading M to suspect he'd been set up by a rival...[M considered it impossible, in fact, it being 135ft long x 44ft wide!!]..." six years later, it was done.

So... was he funded? yes. Was he incredibly gifted? yes... Was it what he wanted to be doing? absolutely not. nothing has really changed.

Or has it? that debate will have to wait.

Roma

2009-03-10T09:27:00.001-07:00

Buon Giorno!

I'm too lazy at the moment (busy) to blog about all we've seen in really just a few hours, but there's stuff on flickr.

If you flip through them you can see the titles and descriptions... or you can view as a slide show...

So:
Photos with descriptions: http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulinej/sets/72157615070164978/

Slideshow: http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulinej/sets/72157615070164978/show/

Rome is crazy. Totally crazy, insane and wonderful. I'm conducting tons of historical research regarding things that have long-influenced my work and we've come across a number of Futurist exhibits, concerts, etc. 100 year anniversary!

Step by step sunset and a bit more research into the Renaissance

2009-03-07T12:47:00.000-08:00

Mark Twain stated: “Far off in the Valley Lay Florence, pink, gray and brown, with the enormous ancient dome of the Cathedral dominating the center of the city like a big balloon; ...rising above the horizon a fringe of mountains surging on high. Sprinkled with enumerable white villas ... After nine months of familiarity with this panorama, I still believe as I did at first that this is the most beautiful image on the planet, the most enchanting to look at.”

Watching the buildings, river, mountains and sky change colors over the period of 2 hours was definitely a highlight and made up for the rest of the day of art history activities (or missed activities as the case sadly was for the Medici Capella).

Photos taken from Piazzale Michelangelo, unless otherwise noted.

FYI... those are snow capped mountains in the background and yes, people were sunbathing today along the Arno river. Like summer out.

Two views from the Uffizi Gallery's deck first...

This is a reflection of the Duomo, but you can see the people standing at the top in it if you click to enlarge :)

Now the step-by-step....

Day 2ish

2009-03-06T08:52:00.001-08:00

So luckily Day 1and Day 1ish have passed :P Day 2 was a personal achievement for me.. I'll explain.

There are a handful of experiences I've always wanted to have (in no particular order):

1. Meet Paul Taylor
2. Meet Merce Cunningham (done)
3. See the Egyptian pyramids
4. See the Sistine Chapel (to be done soon)
5. Go on tour (done)
6. See Michelangelo's Florence (including the David and the Prisoner sculptures) (done)
7. Perform internationally (done)
8. See Green Table by Kurt Jooss live
9. See Nijinsky's Rite of Spring live (done)
10. See Nijinsky's Afternoon of a Faun live (done twice actually - once excellent, once not so good a rendition)
11. Go to Ireland

That's about all i can think of at the moment.

Today, I saw the David and 6 of the Captives / Prisoner sculptures by Michelangelo. Oh my goodness.

Here's some background. I LOVE everything I've ever seen in books that Michelangelo has sculpted, designed architecturally, and painted. His work has greatly influenced my art. In fact, I even made a solo once that was simply moving through the Captives/ Prisoner series while at Mills.

This all said, I was worried about seeing David live. I was afraid it wouldn't live up to my expectations. All the artists I've met while abroad have assured me that it would in fact surpass my expectations. They were right.

First, the thing is HUGE. HUGE! Unbelievably huge. Second, it's so full of life. The longer I studied it the more I loved it.. the more you felt you were meeting a man rather than a stone. His eyes were so intense and the veins throughout the body were amazing.. as were the tiny bones you could see in the feet. An artist in 2004 took a hammer to it so it's now surrounded by plastic. I took one blurry photo just so you could see the scale of it... and am posting other photos I've found online to give some sense of it... but really, it's one for seeing in person.

The story behind it is quite cool too. There was this huge block of marble that no one wanted... a sculptor had thrown it away in the Duomo's lot basically. The workers there called it "El Gigante" jokingly since no one wanted it. Then, along comes M. at age 29 and asks permission to take this ugly awkward piece of marble... from it comes the most famous sculpture in the world. Funny, huh? Also, it's portrayal of David is new. We don't see David in the act of killing, nor do we see him on Goliath's head. Here we see David poised, calm, looking ahead and intelligent. In his left hand (if you look closely in person), you'll see the sling and in his right, the stone... but they're hidden because they're not as important as his mind. Tools of the mind rather than physical force. Finally, the other cool thing is that M. designed it to be atop the Duomo, so the proportions on it are really odd... the head and arms are larger than they should be when viewed from close. Somehow, though, he designed the proportions so that they would look accurate from far below.

I also couldn't help thinking about the fact that the Florentines cheered this David for it's show of intelligence and bravery or physical might... much like how we've been cheering Obama. I know it all comes back to Obama, but seriously.... the look of David reminded me of how often we've seen the "look of Obama"... poised, forward-thinking, serious, confident and intelligent.

Anyway, I ramble. Sadly the library where he designed "the world's greatest staircase" was closed for renovation.

In the end, it was a moving experience to see that someone (at age 29 no less!) could sculpt such an alive, perfect image from stone.

As for the Captives... they're amazing in their own unique way... the longer you examine them the more you physically hurt for them.. you begin feeling how they're trying to break free from the marble (or at least I do)... one is trying to pull his head out.. .another is trying to release his right hand.. another is twisting in a run away from the rock. What's amazing is that the muscle of the right arm who's right hand is locked really looks like it's pulling.... but it can never break free.

Finally... today was sunny and warm. Florence came alive and was totally crowded and chaotic and loads of fun :)

Also, I was complimented on my Italian!! A storeowner was so impressed he asked me where I was from!! Love Italy.

Oh, but Sean's point about Disneyland, etc is kinda accurate. There are so many fake sculptures everywhere (you'll see what i mean below in views of Florence area). Because the lines are SOOOOO long to get into any gallery or museum here, they've created plaster replicas all over the place of the biggies. Interesting.

We tried the Uffizi again today, but the wait was 1-2 hrs. We now have reservations for 11 tomorrow.. we'll see.

The David (you can also see two of the Prisoners on each side). It's blurry cause photos were not smiled upon so i had to take it fast :P

The Prisoners (two of them, not as seen in gallery)

Views of Florence

Mercato Plaza... there's a baker up in the window if you look closely

My

Medicci Chapel

Day 1ish in Firenze

2009-03-06T07:29:00.000-08:00

Sean and I have had very different experiences of Firenze / Florence thus far.

Let me tell you first about Day 1ish. Then Sean will :) (now he won't... for now - we've removed his blog entry)

So Day 1 doesn't really count. We got off the train and thought we had a 10 min walk to the hotel. Not the case. First, it was pouring. Second, as with all euro towns it's very very narrow cobblestone sidewalks and streets. ugh. I have one suitcase that is 60lbs plus my backpack with computer gear. Sean has a suitcase that's deceptively smaller in appearance but weighs much more than mine..plus his computer bag. So, we're walking... .walking... walking. Turns out that the address I had gotten from the web, 76-red via s. gallo, was wrong. It's actually 76-black.. though I think it's really 76-blue since we're now here. The street numbering system in Florence consists of three different colors and so if you're at 76-red you may very well be 10 blocks away from 76-black. I'm rambling.

Needless to say, we finally found it and it's lovely. A true Florentine apartment.

Unfortunately, Sean spent what I refer to as the true Day 1 in bed and knocked out with some decent muscle relaxers. We missed our Uffizi appointment but managed to stumble into the Duomo for a moment. I later went out in the pouring rain myself to explore the Duomo and its adjacent museums further...The Duomo btw is the world's largest brick and mortar dome... and it's old. still not surpassed. here are my photos:

Our hotel..

Detail of Duomo facade

Mosaic designs that would have been on the floor

Oh, this is cool and I didn't feel like paraphrasing it. It's regarding the Pieta by Michelangelo... he's got two Pietas... this is his last one. The other, the one I knew about and want to see is in Rome.

The Pieta from far away.

Renovation room

Donatello's Mary Magdeline

Pieta detail.. oh, i should mention, this is unfinished. You'll notice parts that look really rough.

Floor Duomo

Dome in the Oper Bascillica I think is what it was called.. all gold leaf

Duomo

Inside the Duomo

Venezian Paradise

2009-03-03T07:00:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure what to say about Venezia. Sean and I have spent nearly 48 hrs wondering around, exclaiming "It's so beautiful" about every 5 min.

To say it's the most beautiful place I've ever been feels like an understatement. It is. It is a true paradise in every way. While photos cannot capture it, there's a few below :)

Venice is a city apart from the rest of the world... even though it's modernized it still feel somehow encapsulated in its own unique place. It is so unique, so well thought-out, every detail functional and beautiful. It is man's ingenuity - technologically and artistically - coupled with great natural beauty.

It is a labyrinth that you hope to get lost in in order to discover something new. You find yourself continuously rounding corners to dead ends or steps into the water.. only to go back and find a new route. You never want to use a map. That said, here's a decent one: http://www.hikenow.net/images/Venice/img/MapOfVenice.JPG
The tails been cut off in this map, but Venice is supposed to look like a fish and does :)

None of the below has been photoshoped, btw. I like saying that from time to time.

Sadly, there was a huge Futurist retrospect at the Guggenheim, but it was closed today.

Oh, also, the reason there's images of boats hauling garbage etc is that there are NO CARS. Everything is by foot or water.. ambulance, trash, construction, etc.

FINALLY: I recommend clicking the link here: http://flickr.com/photos/paulinej/sets/72157614750430748/show/with/3325262827/ to view the slideshow of Venice. The photos are a better size for viewing and the colors are better (the blog dims them a bit) than in this blog :) You won't get my comments there, but still..better viewing.

Pistachios are huge here.... Dolce Pistachio is what we're eating.

Views of Venice

Woman (sculpted into building) yearning for the sea... reminded me of myself :)

jh

"Bus stop" vaporetto

Garbage

Construction

Fish Market

Breakfast in room

Sean doing sound recording for a port submission

Sean on pier.

S. Marco

Clock tower

Venetian Masks

S. Marco - all of that's marble.

S. Marco

Our hotel

S. Marco Cathedral (exterior). No photos were allowed inside which was a shame, as the floors and ceilings and walls were the most intricate, geometrical mosaics of marbles and stones and gold leaf I've ever seen - live or in books! Anyway, what you see is all various colored marble. Oh, and by the way, there were 6 domes inside this thing, if I remember correctly. crazy.

S. Marco

Venice's Lion

Detail of S. Marco entrance

A new journey / research - Bordalino + Futurism

2009-03-01T09:51:00.001-08:00

The train ride out of Austria

Train station in Innsbruck

Views from train - Italy

Bordalino...

Winter olives, close-up (these are like the leftovers)

Olive trees

Grape vines

)

View of people sailing in Lake Garda - the largest lake in western europe i think... too foggy to make it out in the photos, but there's a giant lake with huge mountains on the opposite side.

Downtown Rovereto - home of many, many Futurist ads and Depero (who made Macchina 3000, which we restaged back in 2007)

Futurism everywhere....sadly we couldn't take photos inside the galleries, but here's some of what we found on the streets...

Final views of the MQ, this time around at least

2009-03-01T09:46:00.001-08:00

As for thoughts.. that will have to wait. Sean and I have PLENTY to say though...

The horses - they're everywhere. Remember this used to be the stables of the Imperial Palace.

TONSPUR sound art hallway

Leopold and Kunsthalle

MOMUK

Central MQ

Pet My Monkey Excerpt

2009-03-01T09:20:00.001-08:00

The long awaited for excerpted has arrived!!

Pet My Monkey video and audio footage:

www.double-vision.biz/petmymonkey.mov

More videos on the way - after Sean approves them :P

Educational Lessons

2009-03-01T09:09:00.000-08:00

So today we went to a huge Futurist exhibit, but more on that later - after I've gotten the photos downloaded.

I woke up this morning in beautiful Bordalino, Italy and thought about a decision I had made many many years....

Back in 2001 I had gotten tix to visit Rome (or maybe it was even before this), but then traded them in to visit Mills College in San Francisco. So, I went to Mills and incurred such huge debt (added to my undergrad) for my grad degree to learn. Yet, I had never spent money on travel, which now that I am traveling I feel that it's even more learning... just food for thought. Glad I'm finally here.. somewhere.

Photos from the RaumD

2009-02-25T09:53:00.001-08:00

Hi Folks,

I'm still sick, so slacking on the blog thing. I have tons of video footage of the other night plus photos, but it's not happening at the moment.

Henry and Caitlyn, however shared a few of their own so here ya go!

So they're in the wrong order, but:

Caitlyn and I post-show - we made our makeup match our snowsuits in case anyone notices...

C & I during Pet My Monkey

C - Pet My Monkey. Also, Sean and Dorsey are hiding over there behind the table...Oh, and yes, C. wore pointe shoes and they were lovely! After rehearsal I joked that I was like the modern dance monkey for the ballerina :) For those of you who have seen Men in Black (will smith).. during the performance I was visualizing that crazy awful alien that has cockroaches come out of him... haha... we'll see if that makes sense after I've edited and uploaded more excerpts :D

Pre-show. Henry and Sean... I think Sean was practicing one of his pieces with Henry

Sean getting ready to start Video Action. Dorsey behind table.

Vid. Action

Setting up.

C - Pet My Monkey

Vid. Action

Post final Wien show

2009-02-23T07:50:00.000-08:00

We had tons of fun and I think it was quite successful. Caitlyn and I had an Italian fashion designer tell us afterward that he was so inspired by our dancing that he wanted to design costumes for us... that's super cool.

Sean's Devil and Angel was a trip to put it mildly. The devil promised things like universal health care, social security, etc... and beer, only remembering at the last moment that Sean's an American and may want water instead (if you'll remember I posted earlier that we're mocked because we drink water)... .and then finally the devil and angel both die from eating too much sausage, cheese and buttery potatoes. There were a LOT of Americans in the crowd, so I think he was playing to them rather than to the Austrians, as the whole Devil and Angel is an improvised computer puppet show (you'll see once I post it). Video Action went over well and someone even wanted to eat the Frankfurter after Sean finished "feeding" it to his animation! That was a first! I was cleaning it off the stage area and someone yelled "Wait! I'll eat it!" Dorsey created two interesting sound pieces for both of the dances which was really a treat... anyway, there will be plenty of videos and photos to come but i'm sick and cannot stand being on the computer today.

Oh, and finally, Sean's new piece was unveiled and received well - we all look forward to it one day soon being completed :)

Tonight!

2009-02-21T07:23:00.000-08:00

Six Donuts

2009-02-19T13:23:00.000-08:00

What: Six Donuts
When: February 21st [Sat]
Where: Raum D, Museumsquartier Wien
Time: 8PM
Cost: FREE

DOUBLE VISION will present an evening of video, dance, and music in a rare Viennese appearance. Members of the San Francisco based intermedia group have been living in Austria for the past two months and will be showing both new and old performances in celebration of their stay. Included will be the live animation performance Big Timber, Chop! Chop!, Resonances for dance and sound, and Etwas Früher und Jetzt die einfachen Leute for video. Enjoy the warm atmosphere of Raum D with Sean Clute, Pauline Jennings, Dorsey Dunn, and Caitlyn Carradine before they head back to the United States.

The Six Donuts program will include:

1) Devil and Angel (live video puppetry)
On one shoulder sits a Devil and on the other an Angel. The power of persuasion and the struggle for dominance in the solitude of a Carinthian forest.

2) Resonances (dance and sound)

3) Music Set 1 (live sound)

4) Big Timber, Chop! Chop! (live action animation)
A live video, animation, sound and performance in which Conuton Valve and Coon Dog meet at The Monopole in Plattsburgh, New York to find themselves traveling in a Mercury Sable to California in the quest for gold and the Plasma Cloud.

5) Pet My Monkey (dance and sound)

6) Etwas Früher und Jetzt die einfachen Leute (work in progress):
Influenced by Sean's research in Vienna, this is a work in progress that finds both old and new characters (Altenberg, Berg, Trotsky, Freud, and Sean's grandparents) enjoying apfel strudel at Café Central, racing down the Hahnekamm, and escaping ancient blood from beneath the Stephensdom.

Photo from performance in Prague

2009-02-19T10:53:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Geoffrey :)

RaumD Rehearsal

2009-02-19T10:01:00.001-08:00

Below is a 15 minute improv by Caitlyn, Dorsey and I, in preparation for our show Saturday night. The piece is called Pet My Monkey and we're wearing snow suits.... anyway... hope you enjoy! It was our second time working together and, just a bit of trivia.. we both ripped holes (accidentally) in our suits - you may be able to see mine in the video :P

Obviously, we'll post video from the real performance next week. On Saturday we'll be doing:

Devil and Angel; video puppetry by Sean
Resonances; dance duet + sound (P, C and D)
Sound Set; Sean and Dorsey
Big Timber, Chop! Chop! ; live action video and animation by Sean
Pet My Monkey
The unveiling of Sean's new animation: etwas Fuher und Jetz

Oh, and the video's rather long (15 min), so let it load for a bit before starting it.. unless you have nice highspeed, which we don't...

Photos from the past few days

2009-02-19T08:47:00.001-08:00

View outside Sean's Cube.. prior to the Opera.

Giselle at the Wiener Staatsoper.

Caitlyn and her brother Henry

Poster for our lecture in Zurich.

Views from the train ride back to Wien

More from the road

2009-02-18T11:15:00.000-08:00

It is currently 20:15 here... somewhere between Salzburg and Wien. Dorsey, Sean and I just had a lovely dinner (sorta) onboard the train from Zurich. It's dark now, but the ride through the alps today was tremendous. There's a few photos, which I'll post soon, along with the others from the past few days.

Last night we had a very traditional and fun dinner with Germán. We ate the traditional dish of Zurich, Rösti, which basically was fried potatoes with smelly (but very good) cheese. The boys had meat on theirs and I had egg. Very good for a day of hard work or skiing.... neither of which we could claim. We then walked the cobbelstone streets, past the infamous Cabaret Voltaire, home of the dada movement, and finally winded up somewhere for a late night tea.

Hugo Ball at Cabaret Voltaire

This morning, Marcus Maeder, a curator at ICST and sound artist, picked us up at the hotel to escort us to a fantastic sound art exhibit: Milieux Sonores. www.walcheturm.ch.

The exhibit featured diverse sound art works and was completely built from scratch... meaning, that they built their own rooms and hallways within a gallery space. This created a very effective and immersive environment.

Here's info about one of the pieces that I particularly liked:

Rob van Rijswijk, Jeroen Strijbos- Soundspots

Images from: http://www.catalystarts.org.uk/index.php?mact=Calendar,cntnt01,default,0&cntnt01event_id=50&cntnt01display=event&cntnt01lang=en_GB&cntnt01detailpage=73&cntnt01return_id=51&cntnt01returnid=73

The listener must position himself underneath one of the Soundspots. On this spot he hears music coming from the traditional speakers. These sounds mingle with the music coming from the Soundspots, consequently resulting in a polyphonic texture of timbres. The listener can influence this polyphonic result by moving through the spatial environment or by positioning himself underneath one of the other Soundspots.

Here's photos of this piece.. not how we experienced it though. For the space in Zurich, the artist created an almost completely pitch-black room. There were tiny dimly-lit bulbs hanging above each of the 6 semi-domes to illuminate them and partially illuminate the red carpet spots beneath them. The effect was wonderful - both visually and sonically. Moving around in ths dark space between the various spots was also tons of fun.. essentially mixing your own track of music, as Marcus put it.

More photos from our camera coming soon...

Day 1 in Zurich

2009-02-17T09:59:00.001-08:00

Okay, for the purpose of explaining our life more fully, here's Day 1 in Zurich at ICST (http://www.icst.net/), in detail:

4:30am: Wake-up

5:10am: Catch train #1, the U3

5:30am: Walk for what seemed forever, in the snow/rain, following a green line to the CAT

5:50am: Catch the CAT to the airport

6:10am: Arrive at the Wien airport, hear that our flight is already boarding; try to print our boarding passes, but they won't print. Wait in line for a real person. We finally get to the front and they say "I'm closed." good. Get in another line... finally get the tix.

6:something am: Take another train to our terminal

6: something something: Take a bus to the plane for outdoor boarding.

7 something: Finally take off

8:30: Land in zurich

8:45: Take train to Main Station

9:30 or so: Give up on finding the bus and take a cab to hotel

11:30am: Take a bus to someplace in zurich where we've been told to exit the bus and follow the red arrow.

12:00pm: We're still looking for the red arrow. We finally find something that could pass as a red arrow and follow it. It has nothing to do with what we're looking for, but it works.

12:30pm: Tour of part of the computer music facilities and the dance academy.

1:00pm: Lunch!

1:45pm: Coffee #1 = MAJOR shakes and jitters... this stuff was strong.

2:00pm: Lecture. This went really really well (despite the fact that my voice was shaking and screeching from the caffeine) and we got interesting questions from the researchers and faculty.

4:00pm: More of a tour through crazy hallways and awesome film, dance and music studios

5:00pm: Coffee #2.. this time served with cocoa in it and chocolates. More jitters but great conversation.

6:30pm: Bus back to hotel

7:30pm: Bus to train station where we'll likely bus more to the restaurant where we're Germán Toro-Pérez, the Director of ICST (http://www.icst.net/index.php?show=37), for dinner. He's been so wonderful and is a really talented artist.

Okay, now that we've gone through all of that, let me just say that the day's still young and it's been fantastic meeting all the folks at ICST. They're so kind, open, curious, welcoming and ready to share their stories and hear ours. They also have a fantastic archive of books, cds and dvds they're building and digitizing for online streaming. Really really rare items. Here's the link: http://www.icst.net/index.php?show=152

Tomorrow morning we're being escorted to a sound art exhibit, before boarding the train at 1.30pm for the 9 hr ride back to Wien through the mountains :)

Anyway, more to write later.. plus a few photos.

Giselle at the Staat Oper

2009-02-17T09:54:00.000-08:00

This will be a brief post, and I'll have to add the photos later... our camera ran out of battery at Giselle last night and we're trying to take a few photos here in zurich (next post)... anyway,

Giselle was just beautiful.

Dorsey, Sean, Caitlyn, Henry and I all went and got the cheapo tix which basically meant that you couldn't see much, but still... It was my first ballet and I have to admit that i loved it. It was so silly and just lovely, how could I not? Pure spectacle. The soloist, Giselle, was also so enchanting --- we couldn't see much but we were in teh 2nd box from the front so what we could see was up close and personal.

At any rate, it was good to go and a true Wien experience.

Day 4: Back to Vienna

2009-02-15T04:49:00.000-08:00

Our final day in Prague was spent hanging out with Dorsey's old pals in their Prague apartment, which was just lovely. They're pictured below and are the most welcoming, friendly people. They also treated us to a fabulous, four-hour breakfast full of homemade curry hummus, eggs, toast, coffee, tea, soup.... etc. Geoffrey's from Georgia, US but has lived in Prague now for 16 years as a writer; Katarina, his wife, is from Slovenia and is a wonderful painter and visual artist; Giordano is from NYC, but has been living in Italy as a sculptor. So, with that, here's a few last photos from Prague and week one of our mini-tour...

We're off to Zurich on Tuesday! and then have one more show in Vienna on Saturday :)

S & Geoffrey looking through the old volumes of Traffica, the publication that he and Dorsey used to work on in Prague.

S & C enjoying the sun (it's rare)

Me and C.. i'm "enjoying" a small glass of homemade Kefir. It's milk that is made thick by a living mushroom soaked in it...very interesting and healthy.

Here's the mushroom. Each day you have to feed it more milk....eventually it gets too big for the pots and must be replaced.

Group photo

Views from the roof

Now, off to Vienna again...

Vineyards of Austria

And finally, for those of you wondering if we were tired at all after our trip... here's Caitlyn and I laughing stupidly at a vacuum attacking a car at the gas pump. We watched this hysterically for a good long time until a person finally emerged :)