Waffles, Performance, The Body, and Space

Day two of Waffle Chats brought together four artists, Luis Garay (choreographer), Daniela Libertad (visual art), Rachel Mars (performance maker) and Anna Rispoli (filmmaker and one third of art collective Zimmerfrei). Moderator Leslie Moody Castro quickly picked out themes that all four approach in their respective practices, she also prodded Luis into sharing personal stories from his childhood. All four artists are investigating limits in related but different ways. Libertad is conceptualizing the limits of form via the triangle, simplifying the study so much that it becomes infinitely complex. Her residency at MoHA has just begun, but already there are collections of clean lines and geometric questions lining and intersecting on the white walls tucked behind the stage.

Mars’ work seems to be pushing, pulling and testing a multitude of limits; the line between comedy and theater, emotional potential and the ability to discipline oneself properly, humor and despair. Last night at Our Carnal Hearts I found myself chuckling at the same moments that I wanted to go draw a bath and turn out the lights because I was ashamed of how much I related to her enraged envy.

Luis Garay admitted a similar feeling to me in the car after the waffle chat. He is one of those totally brilliant people that can come to a talk hung over and nervous but still spit out some mind melting metaphysical ideas about ritual, religiosity and running away.  His work Maneries  shows Sunday. Stay tuned for an interview with The Walker that I overheard him give, or just catch him in person to find out how this work is inspired by French philosopher Giorgio Agamben.

As for Anna Rispoli, I need to write a whole separate post about the limits of utopian living and the connection between her film Hometown Mutonia and the magical east Austin venue that it screened at tonight.

Day 1 of Fusebox: Interpretation

Every song I've ever written: band night #fusebox2016

A photo posted by Jeremy M. Barker (@moptop745) on Apr 7, 2016 at 2:10pm PDT

I’m sure I’ll have more on this later, but I was pleasantly engaged in the notion of “interpretation” by the shows I saw last night, the Royal Court’s Manwatching and Jacob Wren’s Every Song I’ve Ever Written: Band Night.

Whatever else they’re doing, both shows are explicitly playing with the materiality of interpretation of some sort of source. In Manwatching, it’s a long monologue on a woman’s sexuality that’s performed by a male comedian who’s never read it before. In Wren’s piece (the first part of a quartet) it’s the result of handing off five of his songs (songs he wrote when he was young, which–he seems to acknowledge–may only have value to him) to be performed by five different bands who then talk with him about why they chose what they did.

Leaving aside any personal feelings about how successful either enterprise was, I thought the pairing was a great way to kick off the festival as they both dealt with these issues of where “art” actually exists. While both pieces rely on a previously authored text, they both exist as a result of a distinct performance, muddying the idea of “authorship” in a provocative way.

The Remains of "Our Carnal Hearts"

Last night at MoHA, Rachel Mars, Julie Fiore, Ann Sunder and Lori Paradoski tore down the facade: fairies, envy, a little bit of group therapy and the sweet smell of fresh group coffee. If you missed Our Carnal Hearts, you can go tonight at 7. @kmcatmull captured it perfectly. #Fusebox2016

All that's left of OUR CARNAL HEARTS tonight–coffee grounds and dead, bloody rubber chickens. #fuseboxfestival2016 pic.twitter.com/tl33X517mL

— Katherine Catmull (@kmcatmull) April 7, 2016

The Arts Center: A Monster That Requires a Lot of Food

The kickoff Waffle Chat at #Fusebox2016 got to the heart of things real quick. Panelists Kee Hong Low ( West Kowloon Cultural District, Hong Kong), Matthieu Goeury (Vooruit, Belgium), and Cory Baker (The Long Center, Austin) joined Ron Berry for some real talk about the state of international arts funding, the role of arts centers in local communities and future aspirations for their institutions.  Kee Hong Low, the Head of Artistic Development in Theater for the massive new Hong Kong Arts district, West Kowlhoon, jokingly referred to arts centers as monsters that require a lot of food. He was alluding to the huge amounts of investment money taken to build a center, but his analogy surpasses the financial. Arts centers constantly need to reinvest in their communities, as new Vice President of the Long Center, Cory Baker discussed with a local Austinite. The long Center offers a residency program that gives local artists access to rehearsal space, marketing and other perks, but in 2015 no one applied. This speaks volumes to the disconnect between artists and the resources at The Long Center. With the loss of several key performance venues in Austin this year, such residencies will be crucial for presenters. The question that faces Baker is how to make The Long Center feel more accessible to the local arts community. As she said, it’s not about bringing new work to Austin, but about how to engage with what’s already here.Matthieu Goeury, on the other hand, is looking ahead to a future community in Belgium that will be quite different than the current patrons of Vooruit. He is faced with an influx of young non-white immigrants that will largely reshape the demographic in Belgium. He wonders how to plan ahead for a different audience. I wonder what strategies Vooruit is using, and how those might be in conversation with the ones we are having in Austin and in other regions? How can local artists and art centers, like the the Long Center, engage with one another more effectively? How can a large scale district for the arts  be developed in a way that feels like home for locals?

This talk got me thinking and wondering. Have a listen, comment here or come find me IRL (I’m the gal with purple hair) I’d love to keep ‘chewing the fat’ together.

Fusebox Eve: Annie-B Parson and Paul Lazar

Last night at Fusebox Eve, Paul Lazar described Fusebox as “equisite for an American city” while discussing the importance of Fusebox and other festivals for the American arts community. There is something about dining together, with colleagues, artists, new faces, locals and out-of-towners, that made that importance tangible. Or as Aaron Sanders put it “holy hell you should have been there.”

Here’s to the beginning of #Fusebox2016!