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Austin360 blogs > Austin Arts: Seeing Things > Archives > 2010 > July
July 2010
Call for entries for ‘Facing East 48 Hours in the Life of East Austin’
One of Austin’s more interesting annual art exhibits is looking for entries. ‘Facing East: 48 hours in the life of East Austin’ challenges photographers and videographers to photograph Austin’s East End Cultural Heritage District between 6 p.m. on Aug. 5 and 6 p.m. on Aug. 7. At least one image must have a location-identifying scene.
The exhibit is sponsored by Diverse Arts. Selected entries will be included in an exhibit opening Aug. 28 at Diverse Arts’s New East Arts Gallery, 1601 E. 11th Street
See www.DiverseArts.org for more information.
All work submitted must be shot in Austin’s East End Cultural Heritage District which is bordered to the south by E. Seventh St. to the north by E. 32nd St. to the east by Airport and Webberville roads and to the west by IH-35.
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Blue Theater catches fire, but goes on with the party plans
Never mind the flames, the show will go on at Blue Theater.
A fire broke out Tuesday night in an area between the East Austin warehouse theater and its neighbor, Blue Genie Arts Bazaar, on Springdale Road.
Blue Theater executive director Nicole Portman reported that both the interior and exterior of the warehouse theater was damaged by the fire.
But the show will go on. Or at least Sunday’s planned fundraiser, the Blue Light Special Block Party, will still happen. Though the event was originally supposed to raise money for new lighting equipment, now monies raised will go toward fixing the Blue Theater.
The Blue Light Special Block Party starts at 2 p.m. Aug. 1. Blue Theater, 916 Springdale Road. See bluetheatre.org for more information.
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Weekend Arts Pix
Today-Sunday
‘Sweet Charity’
With music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Dorothy Fields and book by Neil Simon, this classic Broadway musical focuses on a struggling taxi dancer at a Times Square dancehall. The SummerStock Austin production is performed entirely by university and high school student actors. 7:30 p.m. today-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday. Rollins Studio Theatre, Long Center for the Performing Arts, 711 W. Riverside Drive. $15-$25 www.thelongcenter.org
Friday
‘Closed Mondays’
Museums are typically closed on Monday. So for some people — like the artists who are often employed at museums — that makes Mondays a busy art-making day. Milli Apelgren, Annie Arnold, Joe Janson, Bill Molthen Casey Polacheck, John M. Sager, Cassandra Smith and James Tisdale. Opening reception: 7 to 10 p.m. Exhibit continues through Aug. 29. Gallery hours: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays-Saturdays, noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. Grayduck Gallery, 608 W. Monroe St. Free. www.grayduckgallery.com
Escher String Quartet
One of the livelier of the young professional quartets on the national landscape, the Escher plays Haydn Quartet No. 2 ‘The Joke,’ Bartok’s Quartet No. 6 and Beethoven’s Quartet No. 1 ‘Razumovsky.’ 7:30 p.m. First Unitarian Church, 4700 Grover Ave. $25. www.austinchambermusic.org
Friday and Saturday
‘When You Say Go Here: Errin Delperdang’
Choreographer and performance artist Delperdang presents a combination sound installation and performance that investigates what happens when a private moment becomes a public one or when a connection between two people shifts from comfortable and intimate to anonymous and disconnected. Delperdang’s performance is surrounded by an evening of interactive sound and visual arts involving vintage tape decks, photographs and more. 7 to 11 p.m. with the performance starting at 8 p.m. Co-Lab Space, 613 Allen St. Free. www.colabspace.org
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Mexic-Arte Museum’s Young Latino Artists exhibit goes beyond cultural identity | A 40-year lesson in Shakespeare at Winedale
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Austin playwright nets first-ever nom for UK’s Dylan Thomas Prize
Austin writer Johnny Meyer is the first playwright ever to be nominated for the UK’s Dylan Thomas Prize, prize officials announced recently.
Meyers, 28, was nominated for his play ‘American Volunteers’ which draws on his experiences as a former Army Airborne Ranger and staff sergeant, a veteran of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
‘American Volunteers’ premiered in January as part of FronteraFest.
Read our feature story on Meyer and his play.
Adjudicated by the University of Wales, the Thomas Prize awards 30,000 to any writer under the age of 30 writing in English. Read the list of nominations here.
Photo by Deborah Cannon/AA-S
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Austin public art projects net national kudo
National advocacy group Americans for the Arts selected two Austin public art projects in its 2010 Public Art in Review.
The ‘Year in Review’ recognizes 40 of the year’s best public art works in the United States and Canada. The works were chosen from nearly 400 entries from across the country.
Getting kudos are ‘Bait Box’ by Buster Graybill and ‘Mushroom Grove’ by Bill Davenport, temporary projects that were installed March through December 2009.
Both projects were a join effort of the 2009 Texas Biennial and the city of Austin’s Art in Public Places program. Austin was the only city to receive recognition for more than one project.
‘Bait Box’ ‘was temporarily installed on the east side of the Lady Bird Lake hike and bike trail and consisted of a 5-foot bronze catfish displayed on a green High Voltage box.
Read about ‘Bait Box’ here.
‘Mushroom Grove’ took up residence on the west side of Auditorium Shores and consisted of a 12-foot giant mushroom grove sculpture.
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Weekend Arts Pix
Friday
Raul Jaurena and the Texas Tango Five<br>
Famed tango composer Astor Piazzolla called Raul Jaurena ‘one of the greatest bandoneon players ever.’ After a sold-out, critically acclaimed concert last summer, Jaurena returns for an all Piazzolla concert, including work from the composer’s ‘Tango Zero Hour.’ 7:30 p.m. First Unitarian Church, 4700 Grover Ave. $25. www.austinchambermusic.org
Saturday
Gallery talk: Faith Gay & Raymond Uhlir
The artists discuss their recent work. 1 p.m. D Berman Gallery, 1701 Guadalupe St. Free. www.dbermangallery.com
‘Today’s Headlines Wrap Tomorrow’s Fish’
A recycled goods installation by William Hundley
Closing reception: 7 to 11 p.m.
Co-Lab Space, 613 Allen St.
www.colabspace.org
Sunday
‘Der Golem’
‘Circx Vortex: Circus 4 the People’
Step right up to an all-ages evening open air circus arts extravaganza featuring Sky Candy Aerial Collective and other local circus performers along with live musical entertainment and local vendors. 8 p.m. to midnight. Vortex, 2307 Manor Road. Free ($10-$30 donation suggested). www.vortexrep.org
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Austin Chamber Music Festival hosts free Pride Concert
Second Annual Pride Concert
7:30 p.m. July 22. St. James Episcopal Church, 1941 Webberville Road
FREE
Donations accepted to pay the musicians at the door and on Kickstarter.
Program
— Trio, Jennifer Higdon. Elise Winter-Huete, violin; Barbara George, cello; Jim James, piano
— Fireside, Eve Beglarian. A piece for spoken word and piano piece featuring performance artist Paul Soileau (aka Rebecca Havemeyer/ Christeene)
— Dream Fantasies III, Russell Reed. A new piece by the Austin composer written for ensemble Waterloo Sound Conspiracy
—Songs by Poulenc and Rorem. Featuring Austin soprano Liz Cass.
— Lachrymae, Britten. Featuring Aurelien Petillot, viola
— Sonata for Cello and Piano, Op. 6, Barber. Featuring Barbara George and Jim James.
Care to donate to support the musicians.
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Long Center director Cliff Redd to retire
Cliff Redd, executive director of the Long Center for the Performing Arts since 2004, announced Tuesday that he will retire.
Redd said his decision was mostly related to personal reasons.
“My intention was to get the center well-launched and keep all the promises that we made when we raised the money (to build the Long Center),” Redd said. “And I couldn’t be more pleased that we did that. Now is a good time for me retire.”
Redd added that his partner, Rick Johnson, was seriously ill. “My family requires a great deal of attention right now,” Redd said.
Redd, 59, suffered a mild heart attack in 2008 but said his health is fine and was not an issue in his decision.
Craig Hester, chair of the Long Center board, said that managing director Paul Beutel has been appointed interim executive director effectively immediately. The board will undergo a national search to fill Redd’s position, Hester said.
“It’s been an honor and privilege to work with Cliff,” Hester said. “Cliff’s energy and enthusiasm knows no bounds. There’s no doubt in my mind that the Long Center wouldn’t have been completed without him. The board owes him a great deal of thanks.”
Hester said that in recognition of Redd’s years of service, the board has named him executive director emeritus, a title he will hold in perpetuity.
Redd took the helm in July 2004 — a low point during a campaign to build a civic performing arts center that started in the early 1990s. In January 2004, Long Center officials announced that they planned to downsize the project from the original $125 million four-venue complex and instead build a $77 million two-theater space. At the time only $59.6 million was in place.
Bringing more than 30 years of experience as an arts leader in Dallas, Redd amped up the Long Center’s fundraising record, surpassing the $77 million goal. When the center opened in March 2008, about $82.5 million had been raised.
The primary performance venue for the Austin Lyric Opera, Austin Symphony Orchestra and Ballet Austin and host to other local and traveling shows, the Long Center
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Robert Wilson to be Blanton gala guest
The Blanton Museum of Art has tapped internationally-acclaimed multi-media artist Robert Wilson to be the special guest at the museum’s 2011 gala, museum officials announced.
The biennial black-tie event will be held at the Blanton on Jan. 29. Tickets are $1,000 per person. There’s an after-party planned that will have a less expensive ticket, but details are forth-coming.
A native of Waco and a former student at the University of Texas, Wilson is a history-making boundary-pushing artist whose practice has included theater, opera, dance, painting, sculpture, furniture-making, photography and video art as well as sound, light and set designer. Arguably, he’s probably most-widely known for his collaborations with Philip Glass, particularly the epic opera ‘Einstein on the Beach.’
Wilson remarked, “I am thrilled and humbled to receive an honor such as this from the University of Texas and the Blanton, an institution so passionate about and dedicated to the visual arts. The museum continues to inspire students and the Austin community alike. This will be a very special homecoming for me.”
The 2011 Blantan Gala is co-chaired by Janet Allen, Kelli Blanton and Jeanne Klein. For more information see www.blantonmuseum.org.
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Review: ‘Melancholy Play’
Bizarre things tend to happen in Sarah Ruhl’s plays.
Long lost twins separated at birth are reunited. People drink vials of tears. A hairdresser turns into an almond. (Yes, you read that right.)
Ruhl, who recently won a prestigious MacArthur Fellowship, is known for creating vibrant, surprising worlds that have their own unique brand of logic.
Palindrome Theatre brings the whimsical world of Ruhl’s “Melancholy Play” to life in a charming production directed by Kate Eminger.
In “Melancholy Play,” Tilly (a sweetly offbeat Helyn Rain Messenger) is a bank teller who is always sad. The sound of the rain makes her sad, as does trimmed hair lying on the floor of a salon. When she goes to talk with her therapist Lorenzo (a very funny Jude Hickey), who speaks in an unidentifiable European accent, he falls in love with her sexy sadness.
And so does everyone else in the play—a tailor named Frank (Nathan Brockett), a hairdresser named Frances (Corley Pillsbury), and Frances’s partner Joan (Bernadette Nason). Everyone falls for Tilly because she reminds them of their own unfelt emotions. Or as Joan puts it, “She gives me a sexy, sad feeling, like I’m in a European city before the war.”
Eventually, surrounded by all of this love and affection, Tilly becomes happy. This dramatic change does not please her suitors, who fell in love with her particular brand of romantic melancholy. From here on, the play takes some seriously surreal turns.
Palindrome Theatre’s production feels intimate and fresh, and the cast brings good comic timing and bright energy to the increasingly absurd comedy. Evocative original music by Matt Hines underscores the action.
As funny as it is, “Melancholy Play” seems to be arguing that Americans have lost touch with a certain kind of contemplative sadness. People practice positive thinking and plaster on smiles as they attempt to cover up underlying melancholy.
Perhaps, Ruhl seems to suggest, there is beauty in spending an afternoon gazing out the window at the pouring rain, feeling sad. On the other hand, the play’s eventual embrace of joy suggests that it’s OK to give in to happiness, too.
‘Melancholy Play’ continues 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, 5 p.m. Sundays through Aug. 8. Austin Playhouse, Penn Field, 3601 S. Congress. $20 general admission, $15 students, seniors.
Claire Canavan is an American-Statesman freelance critic.
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Austin Video Bee is busy
The artist’s of Austin based video art collective, Austin Video Bee have been busy lately.
And on Thursday, they’ll host a screening of their latest themed video compilation, ‘Compound Fantasy.’
AVB member artists Sally Bergom, Leigh Brodie, Michelle Devereux, Elana Farley, Amanda Joy, Ivan Lozano, Matti Sloman, Kate Watson and Lee Webster explore themes of collectivity, utopia, composite, and fantasy through short video works.
Before the screening, there’s a performance by tap trio, ‘What’s Tappening?!’ And there’s other interactive art projects throughout the evening.
‘Compound Fantasy’
8 p.m. Thursday
Salvage Vanguard Theater, 2803 Manor Road
$5, free DVD of ‘Compound Fantasy’ to the first 50 who enter
www.austinvideobee.com
Sally Bergom Re-Performs Laurie Anderson’s ‘O Superman’ from Austin Video Bee on Vimeo.
Sally Bergom re-performs Laurie Anderson’s 1981 ‘O Superman.’ Courtesy Austin Video Bee.
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The L. Nowlin Gallery makes a splash in black and white
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Review: Cavani String Quartet & The Bad Plus
When Dave King, the drummer for the modern jazz trio The Bad Plus, pulled out two E.T. toys, to play beeps and static, it became clear that the Austin Chamber Music Festival is a fearlessly expanding our definition of chamber music.
The Cavani String Quartet and The Bad Plus each played to a Bates Recital Hall near capacity, drawing deserved standing ovations.
The Bad Plus write original works that show a fondness for complex rhythms, discordant harmonies, frenzied energy and surprise. The trio exudes the complete confidence of three musicians at the peak of their powers. It was enthralling to watch.
King, on percussion, flares his arms on, around and (literally) under his drum kit, looking like the Muppet’s’ Swedish chef, playing with an contagious grin that defined the entire set. His repertoire of clanging bells and other musical objects d’art made it difficult to look elsewhere; you can’t be sure what’s coming.
A small complaint was that Reed Anderson’s bass was often drowned out. He’d be striking the strings furiously, but was nearly inaudible.
The encore brought some covers; “Film,” by Aphex twin, and Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” Both were well received, but, were no better than their originals; the lyrical “Knows The Difference,” or percussion-centered “Thriftstore Jewelry.” If you’ve missed the Bad Plus live, don’t let it happen again.
The Cavani Quartet, formerly artists in residence at UT, began Beethoven’s Opus 18, No. 2 with light and precise playing as the audience held deathly still.
Their entries were uniformly perfect, though the piece relies disproportionately on the first violinist, and Annie Fullard warbled through a few challenging trills; the evening’s only technical issues.
Next, a Szymanowski quartet worked as a palate cleanser: a dense, dissonant work, that used pizzicato like percussion, along with a few wild glissandos that drew giggles from the audience.
The music was cinematic, eerie in minor chords, starting with the snapshot of an idea, only to scrap it and move on. A challenging work, wonderfully played.
The Brahms Quintet in F Minor was, for many, the big draw. Michelle Schuman, the festival’s director, featured on piano, and introduced it, saying “If this is what classical music is, I want to bathe in it every day of my life.”
She was right. Cavani played a wonderful, complex Brahms; lush harmonies that storm dramatically and pull out just about as much sound as possible from five musicians.
The Austin Chamber Music Festival continues through July 31. See www.austinchambermusic.org.
Luke Quinton is an American-Statesman freelance arts critic.
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Review: ‘The Virgin with 10,000 Arrows’
Though we may think we’ve heard the story a thousand times before, “The Virgin with 10,000 Arrows,” written by University of Texas graduate Jason Tremblay and now showing at Austin Playhouse produced by Debutantes & Vagabonds, gives a gorgeous and invigorating new take on the tale of an artist who sells his soul for fame and money.
Asking, “Is there a worse crime than faking it?” the young painter, Andres Marca Relli (Travis Emery) opts out of the cycle of consumption by repossessing his paintings and jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. Combining visual art, live music and beautiful physical theater, the play answers Andres’ question — everything here is alive and real, even inspiration (eerily personified by Carole Metellus) — except the main character.
Spanning the four seconds between Andres’ leap from the railing and the moment he hits the water, the two-hour play is a series of flashbacks narrated by an amicable and sympathetic security guard (Don Stewart). “Virgin” illustrates issues of collaboration and copyright, ownership and integrity, as the cast paints a giant canvas that the audience is invited to take at the end of every show.
Predictably, even those close to Andres let him down, but Kim Adams brings a lovely subtlety and range of expression to her role as Jaina, Andres’ assistant and love interest.
Pea (Noel Gaulin) plies the artist with a pharmaceutical cornucopia of temptation, and Gaulin’s beat-boxing entrances punctuate his scenes like the ticking of a time bomb.
Emily Everidge as the avaricious gallery owner, and Eric Porter as the unscrupulous art critic, dutifully fulfill their roles as one-dimensional villains.
Under the direction of Francisco Rodriguez, the creative team produces a stunning tableau and lighting designer Ray Oppenheimer’s chimerical play of shadows effectively situates us in the dream world of Andres’ death.
Though clearly a master of stage business, Rodriguez would have done well to focus more energy on the dialogue. Often, moments of mute intensity are undermined by the exaggerated or forced articulations that follow.
Travis Emery enlivens his role with heartrending physicality, particularly in the seconds before Andres jumps and various striking moments when he wields his paints, but at times, Emery’s speeches fall flat. The intermission came as a surprise to the audience and Emery struggles to project the oral sincerity for which he strives.
Ultimately, however, the play is gorgeous, innovative and engaging. The musical accompaniment, composed and performed by Joey Reyes, sets the tone — simultaneously soothing and supernatural, and absolutely worth witnessing.
“The Virgin with 10,000 Arrows” continues 8 p.m. Thursdays-Sundays, 2 p.m. Sundays through Aug. 1, Larry L. King Theater, Austin Playhouse. www.bohemianblitz.com
Cate Blouke is an American-Statesman freelance critic.
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‘Scrapple’ and ‘Today’s Headlines…’
Two exhibit openings to consider for this steamy summer weekend, both on Saturday.
‘Cordy Ryman: Scrapple’
The New York-based artist gathers colorful, textural scrapes for his assemblages.
Opening reception: 6 to 8 p.m. Sat. At 7 p.m., Arthouse executive director Sue Graze will interview Ryman about his work.
Lora Reynolds Gallery, 360 Neuces St.
www.lorareynolds.com
‘Today’s Headlines Wrap Tomorrow’s Fish’
A recycled goods installation by William Hundley
Opening reception: 7 to 11 p.m. Sat.
Viewable by appointment only through July 24
Closing reception: 7 to 11 p.m. July 24
Co-Lab Space, 613 Allen St.
www.colabspace.org
Image: ‘Frankenberry,’ Cordy Ryman. Courtesy Lora Reynolds Gallery.
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Weekend Arts Pix
Who said we’re in the doldrums of summer? There’s plenty of arts happenings this weekend!
Today
‘Dial H-I-S-T-O-R-Y’
Compiled from found footage, reconstituted scenes filmed by the artist and even home movies, Johan Grimonprez’s 1997 critically acclaimed documentary charts the stories of skyjackers of the 1960s and 1970s, who hijacked passenger planes to win media attention. The film’s soundtrack features a fictive narrative inspired by two Don DeLillo novels: ‘White Noise’ and ‘Mao II.’ The film runs 68 minutes. 7 p.m. today. Blanton Museum of Art auditorium, Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Free. www.blantonmuseum.org
Artisan String Quartet
Austin’s newest chamber ensemble features violinists Richard Kilmer and Paula E. Bird, violist Bruce William and Douglas Harvey, principal cellist of the Austin Symphony Orchestra and the Austin Lyric Opera Orchestra. The foursome will play Mozart’s String Quartet in C major aka the ‘Dissonance’ quartet and Debussy’s String Quartet in G Minor, the French composer’s only string quartet. 8 p.m. St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, 8134 Mesa Drive. $10-$20. www.artisanquartet.com
Today and Friday
Austin-based American Repertory Ensemble offers its latest program of intimate ballet works danced to live chamber music. Selections include dance by world-renowned choreographers Christopher Wheeldon and David Bintley along with a new piece by the ensemble’s artistic director, David Justin, created in celebration of his 20th wedding anniversary. Special guests from Joffrey Ballet Chicago are among the dancers. 8 p.m. today and Friday. Rollins Studio Theater, Long Center for the Performing Arts, 701 W. Riverside Drive. $15-$27. www.thelongcenter.org
Friday
‘Consensus of Taste: 15th Annual Young Latino Artists Exhibition’
Mexic-Arte Museum celebrates 15 years of its selective sampling of Texas Latino artists under 35 with a survey of new work by some of those featured over the years: Jesus Benavente, Candace Briceño, Margarita Cabrera, Bobby Dixon, Santiago Forero, Eduardo Garcia, Ivete Lucas, Randy Muniz, Cruz Ortiz, Matthew Rodriguez, Carlos Rosales-Silva, Abel Saucedo, Rafael Vargas-Universal, David ‘Shek’ Vega and Jason Villegas. Opening reception: 7 to 9 p.m. Exhibit continues through Aug. 29. Mexic-Arte Museum, 419 Congress Ave. $10 (free for museum members). www.mexic-artemuseum.org.
Friday-Sunday
Austin Chamber Music Festival
Friday: Cavani String Quartet with Michelle Schumann plays Brahms Quintet in F minor, Szymanowski Quartet No. 2, Beethoven Opus 18, No. 2.
Saturday: Alt-jazz trio the Bad Plus
Sunday: Brentano String Quartet plays Beethoven Quartet in E flat major, Haydn Quartet in F major and Stephen Hartke’s ‘Night Songs for a Desert Flower.’ All concerts at 7:30 p.m. Bates Recital Hall, University of Texas Music Building, 2350 Robert Dedman Drive. $25 per concert. www.austinchambermusic.org
‘Melancholy Play’
Palindrome Theatre presents Sarah Ruhl’s contemporary farce, a wry meditation on suffering, love and life. Ruhl, twice a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, sets the action in a small town in mid-America whose cheerful residents are baffled by a melancholy stranger. Opens 8 p.m. Friday. Show continues 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, 5 p.m. Sundays through Aug. 8. Austin Playhouse, Penn Field, 3601 S. Congress Ave. www.palindrometheatre.com
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At AMOA, some interesting numbers
Next time you buy a cold drink in this hot weather consider this: According to artist Chris Jordan’s statistics gathering, in 2007 some 2 million plastic bottles were used every five minutes in the U.S.
Jordan’s based his career on documenting such mind-boggling numbers, photographing various arrangements of cell phones, prison uniforms, brown supermarket bags and so on, then printing the images in a monumental scale. His sea of 2 million bottles hints at the serene blurriness of Monet’s waterlillies. But then look closer.
See Jordan’s enormous photos in the exhibit ‘Chris Jordan: Running the Numbers’ at the Austin Museum of Art through Aug. 15. www.amoa.org
‘Plastic Bottles,’ 2007.
Detail of ‘Plastic Bottles,’ 2007.
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‘Dial H-I-S-T-O-R-Y.’
As part of its ‘Third Thursday’ monthly programming, the Blanton presents a free screening of ‘Dial H-I-S-T-O-R-Y.’
Compiled from found footage, reconstituted scenes filmed by the artist and even home movies, Johan Grimonprez’s 1997 critically acclaimed documentary charts the stories of various skyjacker terrorits of the 1960s and 1970s, who hijacked passenger planes to win media attention for their causes.
The film’s soundtrack features a fictive narrative inspired by two Don DeLillo novels: ‘White Noise’ and ‘Mao II.’ And disco music — Grimonprez juxtaposes the often-violent footage he’s assembled with the shallow cheerfulness of disco music. The effect is eery.
As part of its ‘Third Thursday’ monthly programming, the Blanton presents a free screening of ‘Dial H-I-S-T-O-R-Y.’
The film runs 68 minutes.
7 p.m. Thursday Blanton Museum of Art auditorium, Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Free www.blantonmuseum.org
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Review: ‘Who is T. Henry Baudecliffe?’
The idea behind “Who is T. Henry Baudecliffe?,” a new improv show at the Hideout Theater, is original, if not instantly appealing. The story is this: In late 2009, Thomas Henry Baudecliffe, a resident of so-called St. Mark’s Community Home in North Austin, passed away, leaving a trove of uniquely strange, whimsical and paranoid marker drawings.
The discovery of a new outsider artist has sparked the imagination of the improvisers who have come together to act out the scenarios that might have led to Baudecliffe’s bizarre drawings. The sketches address a number of themes, either invented or “biographical”: Nazis and robots (occasionally Nazi robots), the dangers of big cities, illness, the idealizing of rural life and predatory eagles.
Things start promisingly, with a Gothic band of buskers playing a dirge on ukulele and percussion. The child-like lyrics (“Why do cars go ‘beep beep beep’?”) are a highlight. From then, we’re led to a series of short documentary interviews of Austinites who’ve been inspired by Baudecliffe’s art.
The story begins in earnest with Curtis Luciani in the role of History Channel-styled narrator-cum-cultural anthropologist, who has the evening’s most challenging job: to guide the audience through a Baudecliffe story, and, more importantly, to set the scene and shape of the entire show.
Going in, it’s nearly impossible to know what to expect. The drawings and some documentary videos can be previewed online —www.whoisthenrybaudecliffe.com— but they offer no clues about how an improv show might form around them. So, to begin each night the narrator has a member of the audience pick one of the Baudecliffe fragments, (ours was caterpillar and a cave full of angels), and the cast and narrator piece together a an improvised tale.
The story that resulted featured the Jones family and their son, Tommy, as he is cast out of his cold rural home for coming into contact with an eskimo girl. He’s forced to flee to industrial Chicago with nothing but a bag of oil on his back, as he meets the evil John D. Rockefeller and discovers the city’s hidden Eskimo labor force. (It made enough sense at the time.)
Roy Janik, as Tommy, was the show’s principal joy, playing the straight man against the absurd scenarios forming around him. His Tommy Jones was a naive child along the lines of Beaver Cleaver, though his best moments come when he nearly pops out of character to question the logic of the story’s absurdities.
Matching Janik’s wit is co-director Kaci Beeler, who provided early laughs as an Eskimo with a peculiar speaking pattern; like a more mystical Yoda, but with long, hilarious delays.
It’s unfortunate that after a strong and funny opening, the plot’s progress lulled as the characters moved to the more dramatic city scene. This section bounced between unfulfilled half-ideas that never quite found a rhythm. In this, what became the main sequence, the improvisers occasionally strained to find the cohesion and communication needed to steer the plot where they wanted it.
It is tough to complain about a show that dares to start with such weirdness, because this is a show with a high degree of difficulty. But with a format that depends so much on the lone narrator, sometimes spontaneous results get cut off, or less fruitful ideas are allowed to play for too long.
The production values are quite high. The soundtrack was brilliantly in step with the action, helping to set the mood, and even — as in the final triumphant sequence — evoking even more emotion.
Much of the movement is outstanding. Whether they’re making up John D. Rockefeller’s sleigh (pulled by polar bears) or forming young Tommy’s vision of human-sized caterpillars, the cast synchronizes beautifully.
Ultimately, the conceit of Baudecliffe and his many fragmentary stories create confusion, instead of opening opportunities for improv. It was surely a fascinating starting point, but they could have chosen almost any person, fictional or otherwise, and landed on a more favorable path.
“Who is T. Henry Baudecliffe?” plays 8 p.m. Saturdays through Aug. 18 at the Hideout Theater through Aug. 28. www.hideouttheatre.com
Luke Quinton is an American-Statesman freelance arts critic.
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Review: ‘Circle Mirror Transformation’
At the beginning of Hyde Park Theatre’s engaging and hilarious production of “Circle Mirror Transformation,” by up-and-coming playwright Annie Baker, the actors lie on the floor, trying to count to ten as a group without two people speaking at the same time.
Is it a silly game, or is it a metaphor for being in the moment and learning to be aware of the people around you?
Well, it’s both. As your drama teacher probably told you, the way people play games tells you a lot about who they are, and who they want to be.
“Circle Mirror Transformation” takes place in an adult creative drama class led by Marty (Katherine Catmull), an overly positive teacher who speaks in a soothing voice and tries to rally participants to self-understanding.
Her students are a quirky bunch. Schultz (Kenneth Wayne Bradley) is a down-to-earth guy who was recently divorced but still wears his wedding ring. Lauren (Xochitl Romero) is an out-of-place teenager who shuffles through class and wants to know when they are going to do some “real acting.” Rounding out the crew are Theresa (Rebecca Robinson), a super-enthusiastic and flirtatious actress, and James (Ken
Webster), Marty’s deadpan husband, who is clearly in the class as a favor to his wife.
Over several weeks, the characters play out their own serious interpersonal drama through exercises that range from simple (introduce a partner to the class) to more complex (have other classmates pose as a bed, a tree, and a baseball glove as they try to re-create a childhood memory). By the time Marty urges the class to “write down a secret you’ve never told anyone,” you just know things are about to implode.
This southwest premiere of “Circle Mirror Transformation,” directed by Ken Webster, is fast-paced, funny and ultimately quite moving. The ensemble is uniformly excellent, smoothly playing many layers of subtext beneath all the silliness.
Theater insiders (or anyone who’s ever taken an acting class) will absolutely love this play. Others may not get all the jokes, but are bound to still be riveted by the way the characters reveal themselves, slowly, through the process of learning to connect.
‘Circle Mirror Transformation’ continues 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays through August 7 at Hyde Park Theatre, 511 W. 43rd St. Tickets $19 on Friday and Saturday; Thursdays are pay-what-you-can. www.hydeparktheatre.org
Claire Canavan in an American-Statesman arts freelancer.
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Austin’s Artisan String Quartet
Re-named and with a new lineup, the Artisan String Quartet joins the roster of Austin’s chamber ensembles.
The quartet features violinists Richard Kilmer and Paula E. Bird, violist Bruce William and Douglas Harvey, principal cellist of the Austin Symphony Orchestra and the Austin Lyric Opera Orchestra. Harvey recently won Best Instrumentalist from the Austin Critics’ Table. Read an interview with him here.
The group recently recorded part of the soundtrack ‘When I Rise,’ the documentary about Barbara Conrad Smith, the opera singer who as a young student at UT in the 1950s, faced discrimination and ended up becoming a Civil Rights newsmaker. Austin filmmaker Mat Hames premiered ‘When I Rise’ this year at SXSW. Read about the film and Smith here.
Next week, the foursome will play Mozart’s String Quartet in C major aka the “Dissonance” quartet and Debussy’s String Quartet in G Minor, the French composer’s only string quartet
8 p.m. July 15
St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, 8134 Mesa Dr.
Tix: $10-$20
www.artisanquartet.com
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Recent arts coverage:
Summer Sundays at the symphony, in the park, for free | Zilker Summer Musical: ‘Annie’ dog knows all about orphans | Blanton gears up for higher profile: After year on job, director hopes to boost image, add money for acquisitions }
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A gallery grows off S. First Street
Jill Schroeder opened Grayduck Gallery in May in a funky space just off S. First St.
Writes American-Statesman freelancer Luke Quinton: “There is a sense of freshness about the place, converted from the bones of New West Records, into a modern room for staging art. The design sits at the cross-section of industrial studio space and do-it-yourself minimalism — warehouse-chic, if you will.”
Read the full story here.
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Golden Hornet Project’s ‘Steinway to Hell’
They’re at it again. Austin’s busiest indie alt classical musicians Peter Stopschinski and Graham Reynolds are going to battle it over the ivories this Sunday at a piano-playing showdown — at a real piano bar no less.
During ‘Steinway to Hell,’ Reynolds and Stopschinski will swap original compositions, play some classics together and separately and throw in a free wheeling pop cover or two, with a few stories along the way. And throw it down.
The duo’s organization Golden Hornet Project, by the way, just won the Austin Critics’ Table Award for Best Symphonic Concert.
‘Steinway to Hell: The Dueling Pianos of Graham Reynolds and Peter Stopschinski’
7 p.m. Sunday
Pete’s Piano Bar, 421 E. Sixth St.
Tickets are available on a sliding scale of $5 to $40 (pay what you can). See goldenhornetproject.org
Read a recent interview with Reynolds here.
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Gallery going: new shows
Several interesting new exhibits and art happenings this week:
Faith Gay & Raymond Uhlir
Faith Gay gathers and reconfigures tape, stickers, colored paper and ribbon to make vivid, intricate, whimsical collages. Raymond Uhlir’s paintings may depict personal mythological vignettes, but their flattened, cartoon style screams alt comic book. Opening reception 6 to 8 p.m. Exhibit continues through Aug. 21. D. Berman Gallery, 1701 Guadalupe St. Free. www.dbermangallery.com
‘The Portrait’
For her first group exhibition gallerist Lesley Nowlin put out an open call for portrait photography. She selected the black-and-white work of 40 artists from around the world. Opening reception: 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday. Exhibit continues through Aug. 14. L. Nowlin Gallery, 1202-A W. Sixth St. Free. www.lnowlingallery.com
‘Ian Shults: Adult Altercations’
Former head culptor at Austin’s Blue Genie Art and front man of the punk band The Ends, Ian Shults crafts paintings that tell sordid tales of debauchery with a sly sense of humor, all with a 1960s cinematic style. Opening reception: 6 to 8 p.m. Exhibit continues through July 31. Wally Workman Gallery, 1202 W. Sixth St. www.wallyworkman.com
‘Cash Only’
In a participatory installation/performance, artist Caitlin G. McCollom probes the idea of art consumption by exploiting the image, representation and body of the artist as a religious icon. McCollom will accept viewers devotional petitions and invite viewers to purchase her time and image — for cash only, that is. 7 to 11 p.m. Saturday. Co-Lab, 613 Allen St. www.colabspace.org
‘Jules Buck Jone: Everglades’
After a residency in Everglades National Park in the summer of 2009 Austin artist Jules Buck Jones debuts his artist book ‘Everglades,’ a continuous drawing rolling out over some 98 pages that’s part re-imagined botanical guide and part imagined naturescapes. Opening reception: 6 to 10 p.m. July 11. Monofonus Press, 610 Vermont Road. www.monofonuspress.com
Image: Raymond Uhlir. ‘You Play Beautifully. (But You Must Work Harder. No Cowards. Quit that Moody Brooding).’ 2009. Gouache and Ink on Paper. Courtesy D. Berman Gallery.
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Matthew Barney’s ‘Cremaster’ returns
It’s ba-aack!!
Matthew Barney’s epic five-part art films ‘The Cremaster Cycle’ is making an appearance at movie theaters around the countries, seven years after its first wide-spread release.
And if you want to see it here in Austin, you will have to go to a theater: “The Cremaster Cycle” is not now nor will it able on DVD. A 30-minute portion of the third film is on DVD, but that’s it. Miss “Cremaster” during its limited screening and you’ll have to chase it down in the few museums that have acquired “Cremaster” such as MoMA and the Walker Art Museum.
All five “Cremaster” films will screen at Austin’s Dobie Theatre July 9-16 along with the premiere of Barney’s latest film ‘De Lama Lamina.” Check the Dobie site for screening times.
The 55-minute ‘De Lama Lamina’ documents Barney’s performance with musician Arto Lindsay and the Afro-Brazilian Carnival club Cortejo Afro on the night of February 22, 2004 as part of the Carnaval de Salvador da Bahi. The performance featured hundreds of dancers as well as guest percussionists and carnival singers who paraded along the beach.
Read our feature story on “Cremaster” from its 2003 release. Having seen the entire six and a half hours of “Cremaster Cycle” twice, I stand but what i said in 2003 — that it’s “one massive, opulent, episodic, florid, confusing, ambiguous (and circular) creation myth.” And it’s pretty amazing.
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‘Work of Art’ episode 4 re-cap
Bravo’s “Work of Art: The Next Great Artist” tried for shocking this week, but ended up boring, if not just plain old trite.
In this week’s episode, contestants were challenged to create a “shocking” work of art. The guest judge? Photographer Andres Serrano — he of “Piss Christ” infamy, no less
Serrano’s photograph “Piss Christ,” in which he placed a crucifix in urine, caused a scandal when in went on in 1987 in a NEA-funded exhibit. Serrano and his “Piss Christ” became a flash point for one of the early battles of the culture wars. He was decried on the floor of the Senate. He was exalted by the art world.
Is Serrano’s appearance on reality television irony or inevitable? I suppose, sooner or later, even one-time shock art is reality-TV fodder.
And perhaps also inevitable was the way none of the contestants made anything all that shocking — or even original. And the squeaming and the skirming of the judges and contestants when all maneuvered through the sexual and scatological content made the episode feel juvenile, not smart.
Pick it up, Bravo producers.
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Austin collectors make Art News Top 200 list
Austin arts collectors Jeanne and Michael L. Klein have once again made the ARTnews Top 200 Collectors list, the annual roster of the world’s most influential, active and important art collectors.
The Kleins focus their collecting interests on international contemporary art. Eager to share what intrigues them, they’ve donated many art works to the Blanton Museum of Art. In fact, in the current exhibit “New Works from the Collection,” you can see a number of the works the Klein’s have given to UT’s art museum in the last few years among them a video by Kenneth Tin-Kin Hung, “Because Washington is Hollywood for Ugly People” and “Lean-to” a stunning installation by Matthew Day Jackson.
Read a profile of the Kleins here.
In 2008, the Kleins commissioned artist Teresita Fernandez to create “Stacked Waters” an installation that lines the walls of the Blanton’s atrium with gradient-hued blue tiles.
Frances G. and James W. McGlothlin also make ARTNews’ list and the couple list Austin as one of their residences along with Bristol, VA and Naples, FL, however their record of philanthropy is not focused on Austin, rather they bequeathed their collection of 19th-century American art to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.
Photo of Jeanne and Michael Klein with “Stacked Water” in the Blanton by Rodolfo Gonzalez/A-AS.
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Big Range Dance Festival dances on
Big Range, the indie dance festival of new modern choreography continues with three different programs this weekend:
— The ‘Choreographer’s Challenge.’ 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday. This challenge pairs six choreographers (Meredith Cook, Shawn Nasralla, Kendra Slack, Cristina Jesurun, Amanda Jackson and Katherine Hodges) with three composers (Adam Sultan, Graham Reynolds and the team of Amalia Litsa and Aaron Dugan) to see how dancemakers do their thing differently but to the same music.
For ‘Making music that can dance”, a new interview with Reynolds, click here.
— ‘Music and Movement Improvisation.’ 9:15 p.m.Thursday and Friday. See the results of what happens when dancers work together to improvise a score and movement to bring a new dance to fruition.
— ‘Mix Showcase.’ 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday. New contemporary dance, multimedia- and movement-based performance art from established and emerging choreographers from Austin and across the country including Lily Sloan, Bethany Nelson, Elizabeth Rose, Anuradha Naimpally, NobleMotion Dance, FootNotes and Spank Dance. Dances include live music, elaborate costuming, collaborative choreography and timely subject matter.
Salvage Vanguard Theater, 2803 Manor Road
$15 ($12 for students and seniors)
www.bigrangeaustin.org
Image: Noble Motion Dance. Photo by Jon Nalon.
