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- Evolutionary biology. Aesthetic determinism. Live action role playing. The Rude Mechs are making a new play again
- Suburban battlefield: Women fight invisible foe in Amie Siegel’s ‘Black Moon’
- In eerie paintings by Ana Fernandez, a house isn’t just a house
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Austin360 blogs > Austin Arts: Seeing Things
Review: ‘Now Now Oh Now’
It’s not surprising that “Now Now Oh Now,” the latest theatrical creation by the Rude Mechs, is so full of surprises.
The hyper-witty collective, after all, has been treating us to genuine, uncommon and fresh surprises for more than a decade and a half.
This time, the Rudes unfurl the wonders via three startlingly detailed sets, inviting the small audience (capacity is limited to 30 per show) to journey to different spaces within the Off Center, each the scene for one of the play’s very remarkably different — and almost disparate —acts.
Plenty gets include in the mix: A scavenger hunt. An anachronistic gamemaster. A junk-filled drawing room. An unconventional biology scholar. A customized cordial. Wildlife dioramas. Philosophical riddles. An elaborate game of role-playing. And lots of mentions of birds.
Indeed the set and prop design itself is a wonder, most particularly the carefully curated found objects and the cleverly crafted dioramas and models. A roster of more than a dozen designers and fabricators fill the program. (The Rudes’ creation of “Now Now” was supported in part by a major grant from the New England Foundation of the Arts’ National Theatre Pilot program.)
Along the way a sundry of ideas are deftly tossed up in clever theatrical situations for us to consider. How much of existence relies on chance? How much of human history and evolution really depends on personal preference, not survival of the fittest?
The journey wraps up as we watch four friends (played by Thomas Graves, Lana Lesley, E. Jason Liebrecht and Shawn Sides) act out a convoluted story set in a mutually-imagined world — a plot that’s seemingly determined by chance but in fact is undone by arbitrary accident.
For the most part, the wildly different scenarios in “Now Now” through which the audience (literally) moves, delight with their dissimilarity. There’s still, however, something of disconnect —a strange shift in mood and energy — from the audience-activated first scene to the traditionally-staged final scene with an audience watching passively.
Nevertheless, exploring the cabinet of wonders — having surprise after surprise delightful unravel before you —makes “Now Now Oh Now” utterly engaging and a wonder unto itself.
“Now Now Oh Now” continues 7 and 9 p.m. Thursdays-Sundays through June 9. Off Center, 2211 Hidalgo St. $25. www.rudemechs.com
Photo by Bret Brookshire.
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The 2011-2012 Austin Critics’ Table Awards nominations
Philanthropists Gail and Jeff Kodosky, music educator Margaret Perry, the late architect Hal Box and community theater founder Linalice Carey have all been inducted into the Austin Arts Hall of Fame, the Austin Critics’ Table has announced, along with its nominations for this season’s awards.
An informal group of arts critics from the American-Statesman and the Austin Chronicle, the Critics’ Table annually recognizes outstanding achievement in the arts. This is the group’s 20th year.
The Hall of Fame inductees will be honored at the Austin Critics’ Table Awards June 4 when the winners of Critics’ Table Awards will be announced
The casual ceremony is at 7 p.m. (doors open 6:30 p.m.) on June 4 at the Cap City Comedy Club, 8120 Research Blvd. Admission is free. Music by the Invincible Czars.
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Arty bollards anyone?
C’mon, you know it’s the creative challenge you’ve always been looking for.
The latest call for submissions from City of Austin’s Art in Public Places program? The artist or artist team interested in creating bollard sleeves.
What’s a traffic bollard? It’s a solid object intended to separate the pedestrian way from the vehicular way. For this project, the bollards will likely be 42” high and 6”-8” in diameter.
The sleeves will decorate traffic bollards along the 2nd Street Extension for the 2nd Street Bridge and Extension Project/Seaholm District Art in Public Places project. The available budget for the public art project is $65,000.
See the complete call of entries here.
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Austin Critics’ Table Awards nominations announced May 24
Nominations for the Austin Critics’ Table 2011-2012 will be announced May 24.
In its 21st year, the Critics’ Table is an informal group of arts critics from the Austin American-Statesman and the Austin Chronicle that annually recognizes outstanding achievement in the arts.
Nominations will be announced in both the American-Statesman and the Chronicle.
A list of the nominations will go live in this blog at 12:01 a.m. May 24.
The Critics’ Table Awards will be presented at a casual ceremony at 7 p.m. June 4 at the Cap City Comedy Club, 8120 Research Blvd. Admission is free.
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Home-grown ‘Intergalactic Nemesis’ show set for more touring in U.S., abroad
Like any good piece of science fiction, “The Intergalactic Nemesis” is preparing for world domination..
The Austin-grown show has announced plans for its 2012-2013 tour, a journey that includes a four-day stint at the Kennedy Center and a two-week run at New York’s New Victory Theatre, a venue dedicated to theater for youth.
The production “The Intergalactic Nemesis. Book One: Target Earth” will tour next season to a total of14 states — including Hawaii — and head to Canada and the U.K.
Part live radio show, part comic book come to life, “The Intergalactic Nemesis” features three actors, one Foley artist and a keyboardist who perform all the voices, sound effects and music while more than 1,000 hand-drawn, full-color comic-book images blast from the screen.
Set in 1930s, the story follows the adventures of Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Molly Sloan and intrepid research assistant Timmy Mendez on their international — and inter-planetary — travels as she battles evil.
On June 8, the sequel of “Book One” premiere. “The Intergalactic Nemesis. Book Two: Robot Planet Rising,” debuts at the Long Center for the Performing Arts.
See www.theintergalacticnemesis.com for more information.
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Blanton Museum unveils expansive online image gallery
Go ahead and write off the rest of your day.
The Blanton Museum of Art has just launched a major new online database of images and you’ll be tempted to get lost perusing through the thousands of images from the Blanton’s permanent collection.
It’s the largest online broadcast to date of Blanton Museum images.
Easily navigable, the database allows users to search by keyword, artist name or nationality, period, exhibition and other advanced options. Most of the images can be closely analyzed using a zoom tool. And many of the entries offer biographical, historical and contextual information, and a few entries have video and audio.
The database was developed by New York-based Gallery Systems and is being launched in advance of the Blanton’s website redesign.
Image: Still from “Whose Utopia,” single channel color video, 2006. Cao Fe. Promised gift of Jeanne and Michael Klein. Blanton Museum of Art.
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Austin artist Jeff Williams nets $30,000 Texas Prize
Austin artist and University of Texas faculty member Jeff Williams has been awarded the Texas Prize, the $30,000 unrestricted award given by AMOA-Arthouse.
The winner was announced at a private event on the evening of May 18.
A jury of art experts selected Williams from among three finalists — Williams, Jamal Cyrus, and Will Henry — vying for the prize which goes to an under-recognized professional artists working in the Lone Star state.
“Although the decision was not unanimous, the majority of the jury felt that Jeff Williams was the most deserving of this year’s prize. Williams’ work deployed a fascinating range of materials and chemicals to activate subtle transformations in the space of the gallery,” the jurors explained in a joint statement. “His installation was remarkable for the way in which it addressed the complex geographical and architectural history of the exhibition site and used an inventive sculptural approach to mark intersecting and distinct measures of time.”
Williams joins the two previous Texas Prize winners: Eileen Maxson (2005) and Katrina Moorhead (2007). The prize is now a triennial competition.
The Texas Prize exhibit is on view at AMOA-Arthouse, Jones Center, through July 22. Read a feature article about the exhibit.
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WEST: Galleries and free-range space
More highlights from this weekend’s West Austin Studio Tour — pop-up (temporary) galleries, new exhibit space and a few current exhibit spaces you should check out if you haven’t already.
—Changarrito, 419 Congress Ave. In addition to offering free admission, Mexic-Arte Museum once again hosts artist Michael Garcia and the Changarrito Project, the street vending endeavor that invites artists to sell small, affordable versions of their work.
—N Space, 905 Congress Ave. The always-busy Sean Gaulager, purveyor of the indie Co-Lab Projects, partners up with the architecture firm os Nelsen Partners, transforming part of the firms offices into an exhibition space. On view is is “Row Home” by multimedia artist Mark Johnson.
—“Austin Seen: Portraits of the City,” 117 Lavaca St. Four artists share this pop-up gallery — and their love of Austin. In paintings and photographs, Peggy Weiss, Shanny Lott, Bob Wynn and John Langmore offer their creative takes on everything from swimmers at Barton Springs to high school football games at House Park Field.
—Austin Art Connections: “Landscapes: The Intersection between Physical and Emotional,” 609 Congress Ave. (Inside Royal Blue Grocery). The salon-style residential gallery launches its latest pop-up effort with a wide-ranging group show in a very unique temporary space. To get to the exhibit, go through the Royal Blue Grocery and take the stairs on the right to the second floor.
-Grayduck Gallery, 608 W. Monroe St. This vibrant South Austin gallery with an indie vibe is currently featuring “Fugue States,” Collaborative works by Hector Hernandez and William Hundley.
—Tiny Park, 607 1/2 Genard St. The indie curators behind this refreshing apartment gallery are about to move their operations to a store front. In the meantime, check out “The 2012 Drawing Annual.”
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WEST: Wild happenings on the West Austin Studio Tour
Sure, the West Austin Studio has dozens and dozens of artists’ studios to visit. Just check out the lengthy roster of participants.
But there’s also a few fun special happenings going, including these:
Botanica Stop N Go
Women & Their Work, 1710 Lavaca St.
No. 96 on WEST map
11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday & Sunday
As part of her solo exhibit of new paintings, “Real Estate & Other Fictions,” artist Ana Fernandez will be hosting her “Botanica Stop N Go.” Normally operated out of Fernandez’s Chili Queens food truck in downtown San Antonio, the botanica has a folk medicine cure for just about anything that troubles you in our modern world. Have you been ‘blocked’ on Facebook? The Botanica Stop N Go has incense for that. Tell Fernandez of your woes and she’ll fix you up with healing magical incense, perfume or scented spray.
Quick Draw Photo Booth
WEST Group Show and Info Hub, 241 W. Third St.
No. 71 on the WEST map
Performer and visual artist Aron Taylor installs his Quick Draw Photo Booth at the tour’s downtown Info Hub headquarters. Pop into Taylor’s booth and have your photo drawn by hand in this quirky spin on the quintessential drugstore photo booth. Also, at the Info Hub, WEST organizers and artist collective Big Medium has put together an exhibit of work by tour participants — a way to take sneak preview of what you might see.
Image: “Facebook Unblock Me” incense, from Ana Fernandez’s Botanica Stop N Go.
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WEST: First West Austin Studio Tour launches May 19-20
Organized by the same folks at Big Medium who’ve made the East Austin Studio Tour one of the most popular arts events in town, the West Austin Studio Tour kicks off Friday with a party at the People’s Gallery at Austin City Hall.
Like EAST, the free, self-guided West Austin tour champions the eclectic abundance of Austin’s artistic talent, offering visitors the chance to take a peek in artists’ working studios to learn about their techniques, tools and inspiration.
If EAST is in a fairly circumscribed area, WEST sprawls out to include a vast swath of Austin west of Interstate 35 and east of MoPac and north and south of the Lady Bird Lake.
There are a whopping 162 designated destinations that are officially part of WEST. And while many destinations on the tour are individual artist’s studios, some are established galleries, some are temporary pop-up galleries and still others are special events.
West Austin Studio Tour
Kickoff party: 6 to 8 p.m. today at the People’s Gallery at Austin City Hall, 201 W. Second St.
Tour: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
Tour headquarters: 241 W. Third St.
Cost: Party and tour are free
Information: Catalogs available at Austin Public Library branch locations and tour headquarters.
Downloadable maps and a guide at www.westaustinstudiotour.com
Image: “#195 from “The Wheel Series,’” oil on panel, 2012. Stella Alesi. No. 50 on the WEST map, artists Stella and Leon Alesi will be showing work at their Blackbox Gallery, a residential gallery in South Austin.
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Workshop: Measuring the impact of live theatre
It’s a constant dilemma for arts groups: How to measure the impact they have on an audience, on a community. After all, impact is something arts funding agencies are forever trying to measure.
This week, courtesy of Austin Creative Alliance, San Francisco-based arts expert Clayton Lord in town to discuss the new book “Counting New Beans: Intrinsic Impact and the Value of Art.”
Theatre Bay Area created the book and Lord is a contributor and project manager that is traveling to cities across the country to report the results of the foundational two-year, nationwide research study called ‘Measuring the Intrinsic Impact of Live Theatre.’ The study took an evaluative look at 18 theatre companies across the country, 58 productions and over 20,000 survey responses all in an effort to increase the field’s understanding of, to quote the study, “what seeing a piece of theatre actually does to someone emotionally, intellectually and empathetically.”
Lord’s presentation is free. Reserving a seat is requested.
“Counting New Beans: Intrinsic Impact and the Value of Art” Free Presentation
When: 10 a.m. to noon, May 18
Where: Austin Film Society Filming Room, 1901 East 51st Street
Info: www.austincreativealliance.org, www.theatrebayarea.org
RSVP: http://acapresentsnewbeanswithclaytonlord.eventbrite.com
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Museums recognize Art Museum Day with free admission
May 18 is Art Museum Day. Did you know that? It’s a happening invented by the American Association of Museum Directors to coincide with International Museum Day.
Both the Blanton Museum of Art and AMOA-Arthouse are offering free admission.
But each institution is doing it a little differently, so take notes.
The Blanton is dovetailing its participation May 17 along with its already-scheduled Third Thursday — the day each month the museum stays open until 9 p.m., offers special programs and offers free admission.
AMOA-Arthouse will offer free admission at both its locations May 18 and offer discounted mini-golf fees for its current “Art on the Green” artist-designed mini-golf course now on view at the museum’s Laguna Gloria location. The discounted price is $4 adults/$2 children for non-members, and $2 adults/ $1 children for members.
Both museums are taking AAMD’s lead to gather information from visitors, part of the initiative of Art Museum Day.
Visitor feedback forms will be available at both institutions and both will also be gathering comments and chatter via social media, encouraging visitors to use the hashtag #ArtMuseumDay.
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Even artists as well known as Antony Gormley have felt compelled to engage the stalwart and sturdy street bollard!
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I sing in the choir, and I heard Maestro Bay walk up to the production crew and ask that Revering’s microphone be augmented roughly 20%-30% from Friday nights performance. The production person pushed back, saying the levels have been set, and from
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