Sasha Soren

ARTE SIX
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2004
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Arte Six: August/September 2004
All the arts. All the time.
[Art – Music – Dance – Film – Books – Travel – Life]
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Arte Six is the official newsletter of SashaSoren.com.

Read online: http://www.sashasoren.com/newsletter.htm
Blog + archive: http://artesix.blogspot.com

NB: Use info listed at your own risk. Arte Six gives no warranty to completeness, accuracy, or fitness for any purpose, ie. use your head, like yo' mama said.
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IMPORTANT INFO
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Nota bene: We're running short on storage space. "Arte Six" is starting to run upwards of 60+ pages per issue, whereas storage space allotted is normally only 10 pages+. That's why "Arte Six" was split into two volumes, as the content/coverage spun out of control;)

In future, please be aware that we'll only be sending out the top 20+ pages of each issue. Or, just about as many pages as can be crammed into a single newsletter. Because splitting every issue into
3 or 4 separate emails is just...silly.

To read the rest of the issue, you only have to drop by the following link:

http://www.sashasoren.com/newsletter.htm

Articles can be archived via Blogger, and that's where you'll be able to find them. Here's that link:

http://artesix.blogspot.com

Hopefully, this will provide you with the convenience of having "Arte Six" delivered directly to your inbox, while allowing us to work within the limits
of the delivery system we have available.

On to this month's edition. Several interesting profiles, notably with stuntwoman Cheryl Lawson, "femme fatale for the thinking man", Jill Tracy, an interview with Paris-based writer Sparkle Hayter and an excerpt from "Bandit Queen Boogie", plus coverage of offbeat exhibits and film festivals in Copenhagen, London, Chicago, NYC, Amsterdam, and elsewhere.

Have your coffee? Right. Welcome. Feel free to settle in and catch up on what's out there...

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IN THIS ISSUE:
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LIVES
Cheryl Lawson, stuntwoman

ART
Venice/”Paradiso e Inferno”
London/”Lilith”
Munich/”Show Me the Future”
NYC/”The Infinite Fill Show”
Amsterdam/”Channel Zero”
Florence/”4 x 4”
Virtual Exhibit/”On Language”
Berkeley+Virtual/”Transportation Futuristics”
San Francisco/”Free Basin”

MUSIC
Disc series/Jill Tracy, on “The Fine Art of Poisoning”
Reviews/Clairvoyants, November Factory, Bela, “Naked”,
“Action Hero Superstar”, “The Expectation of Home”,
“Sing Desire”, Trespassers William, “Too Loud for the Snowman”

DANCE + THEATRE
INSIGHT/Wire Monkey Dance
San Francisco/InkBoat, “Ame to Ame”
San Francisco/BATS Improv Summer Festival
Miami/Surreal Saturday

FILM/SCREENWRITING
Chicago/Festival/CUFF
Copenhagen/Festival/Copenhagen Int’l Film Festival
Minnesota/Bearded Child Film Festival
Berlin/Fantasy Filmfest
San Francisco/Screening/”Yoyes”
LA/Fest/American Cinematheque F/H/SFF

BOOKS/WRITERS
Lives Mini-view/Sparkle Hayter, novelist
Excerpts/“Bandit Queen Boogie”
Readings/NYC: KGB Bar
Writers Bloc series - novelist Andrea Semple, “Style”
The Agent series – “Contract Math”

TRAVEL
New Orleans/”A Fifth of Bourbon”, Poppy Z. Brite

LIFE
London/Parkour Jam
Random Bash

SCI/TECH
Fun with high voltage
Human microwaves
Electric Graffiti
Small world: diatoms/nanotech
Variation in DNA-minor
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LIVES (interviews and profiles)
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LIVES: Cheryl Lawson, stuntwoman

FALLING IN

I started as a rodeo trick rider. My first job was a trick riding sequence on a mini-series called “Dream West” in 1985. I was hired because I was a trick rider, and I was recommended for the job by my boss at the time, Tad Griffith; he was in charge of a [key action] sequence.

I didn’t set out to become a stuntwoman. I’ve have to say I fell into it, and kept on falling into it. I went to college to become a special education teacher. I just kept taking opportunities that came my way. The next thing I knew I was living in Hollywood.

SETTING UP

The biggest obstacle: First of all, getting a stunt coordinator to hire me. They won't hire someone they don't know unless you’ve been highly recommended.

I also needed more experience – trick riding was definitely my calling car, but there’s a lot more to being a stuntwoman than just trick riding; I had to learn how to use an air ram, wire work, martial arts, some gymnastics, learned how to take hits, give hits.

I went to a stunt driving school, practiced sword work, jumped off friends’ roofs onto mats. I studied acting, too -- sometimes productions need stunt people who can also act.

I needed to learn about fire. Fire work should be taken very seriously. You need to know how to handle a gun -- a rifle, machine gun, hand guns. You need to learn gun safety; blanks can kill you. You need equipment and pads to help protect your body.

I think a lot of stunt people specialize in one particular thing; if you're a champion at something, it gets you noticed. Sometimes that’s your calling card, but to stay in the business, you need to be a well-rounded stunt performer. There’s a lot of competition out there and good work generates more work.

Even so, I take gigs I’m comfortable with, or I won’t take the job. I’m least comfortable with high falls.

There isn’t a lot of horse work out there. I can't say that I practice riding for the job; I ride because I love my horses. If I had a job coming up that required something unique like trick riding, I’d tune up.

Ironically, these are actually the least controllable stunts, working with animals -- they have their own minds, and we don’t always have complete control over what they decide to do.

I personally need to practice stunt driving. I’ve been to stunt
driving school, but it’s not something I get to practice often.

If I have a job coming up that requires stunt driving, I practice; either take the class again or find an old car we can practice with in a safe area.

Some things you just learn on the job, even if you get some rehearsal time first. For example, I did some wire work when I was hired to double Sela Ward on a commercial -- I trained on the job for that.

GEARING UP

The more tricks you have up your sleeve, the more jobs you’re capable of completing. The more you practice, the better you are.

A good stuntwoman is a talented athlete who is capable of learning all aspects of stunts, someone focused and mentally alert, with the courage to go when they say “action”.

Mental training is important. You have to pay attention, memorize sequences, hit your marks, stay focused, and do your stunt – all of this is mental, as much as physical.

Martial arts helps me mentally train. I have to memorize a lot of different forms in class and my instructor is a stunt man, so we practice routines that can applied to our work.

But fight scenes are different for the camera than what you use in practice sessions.

You want the hits to look real, but you don't want to really hurt anyone -- and sometimes you’ll be using a weapon -- a gun, sword or knife. They’ll usually give you a dummy weapon, in case somebody accidentally hits the other one, but it happens.

You try to exaggerate the hits a bit, and we do train in how to take hits and give hits so that it works onscreen. Fight scenes, in my experience, are usually choreographed so the actor can do the fight also. I take a regular martial arts class -- it keeps me in shape and helps me be mentally prepared for the job.

THE RUNDOWN

Here’s a list of the top stunts we’re usually asked to perform:

Fights: Fights are usually choreographed. For example, there might be a scene where two women are bad-mouthing each other, which leads to a fight.

One pushes the other into some breakaway table, the other one grabs her and pulls her hair, then they wrestle over the sofa; they break a vase made of candy glass, they hit the floor, one pushes the other off her, one grabs the lamp to hit her over the head -- when suddenly the daughter comes in and jerks the rug from under her mother to stop the fight. It’s all sequenced.

Car work: The car chase. [The inclusion of a car chase scene] may involve a lot of other factors -- how big the budget is for the show, for example.

Horses: You need to be able to fall off your horse on cue -- the horse rears up, you fall off. Other elements: bucking horses, jumping horses, horses falling in tandem, and much more.

Falls: The top three are stair falls, high falls and low falls. Big high falls are not my favorite, because I don't have a lot of experience with highfall work. There are girls out there who are great in the air -- they should get these jobs.

Fire: For a scene where a building is on fire, you must run through the flames, maybe you catch on fire -- there are full burns, partial burns, where, let’s say, your arm catches on fire. Lots more.

Wire work: There’s so much to say here, that it would be better to talk to a rigger, to get all the details. You wear a special harness, usually under your wardrobe. You’re then hooked up to wire cables, then, depending on the stunt, you’ll be pulled up or down, out and around… They may use an accelerator, decelerator, descender, hand
pull and other methods. This one is really a team effort, since different timing is involved, depending on the stunt. There’s also a lot more to say about just setting up the stunt.

Water work: Anything that takes place in water. Falling off a boat, diving off things into the water. For example: In the scene, you’re being rescued by a helicopter. You’re drowning in the ocean, they throw you a rescue rope or ladder, and you have to climb up to save yourself. “The Perfect Storm” and “Water World” have some great illustrative examples of water work.

Explosions: We run from them, we drive through them, we jump away from
them, etc. This can also be considered fire work.

The most dangerous on the list: They’re all dangerous if something goes wrong. That’s why professional stunt people are hired to do these stunts. Stunt people have been killed doing a stunt.

A stunt that seems simple should be taken seriously, and stunt people who are not qualified should not do the stunt -- they can hurt themselves or put others at risk.

ON THE SET

Every stunt person arrives on set with a stunt bag with the tricks of their trade inside. I let my coordinators deal with the director. If I have a problem I talk to the coordinator. Generally, things are worked out before we shoot. Our motto is “safety first”. I think the directors have a vision they want to see on screen our job is to pull off that stunt sequence to his satisfaction -- safely.

If there’s a big battle fight and you’re basically in the background
doing your fight, you might improvise things. Otherwise, I’d have to say it’s pretty clear what you are doing beforehand, so people don’t get hurt.

The most important thing to remember when you’re about to complete a
stunt is safety and the correct sequence of events.

I feel that it’s a creative endeavor. You’re trying to bring
to life the vision the director and writer have. The sequences that
involve stunts must have a flow that coordinates with the story.

So it’s a team effort, even though you may be the only person doing the stunt, let’s say, a horse fall or a stair fall, you still have a lot of other people involved that makes that stunt work for the shot.

THE FIGHT STUFF

You can get hurt doing anything. Fights can be great fun, but I've been
kicked in the face -- that hurt. I once did a stunt that looks simple onscreen -- an actor grabs my throat during a fight scene.

He hit me so hard in the throat that I was hoarse for a week. It hurt, but you don't say anything. Why? It wasn’t intentional -- but that’s why I did it, not the actress, because accidents can happen, even though the fight scene looks easy to the audience.

Throwing a good punch looks easy, but it’s actually one of the things that a lot of people do badly, unless they’ve been taught how to throw good punches for the camera. I personally wouldn't call any of
it easy.

I recently worked on the television show “24”. I was doubling an actress who has to take down a bad guy.

The frustrating part was no rehearsal time was allotted for the fight scene; it was added at the last minute.

Well, we switched a couple of hits for the second time for the director, which is fine – that’s our job -- but in the rush of things, I managed to hit my stunt partner with my weapon. He ended up with a bloody lip. I felt horrible.

Rehearsal times hinge on the complexity of the stunt or scene – but sometimes you get lots of takes, at other times it’s a one shot deal that you can’t mess up, because there’s just no time left on the clock.

For fight scenes using glass, there are different materials used, depending on what is breaking.

There’s something called candy glass that bottles are made out of,
for when you get hit on the head. If you go through a window, it may be
tempered glass -- this is used with a light explosive device that helps
break the glass as you go through it.

It makes for a nice shattering effect, but it can cut you. I've gone through tempered glass in little shorts and a skimpy top. I wound up with tiny little cuts all over my body.

ONSCREEN

In “The Scorpion King”, I was one of the warrior women -- we worked on different scenes for a couple of months: sword fighting, explosions, some horse work.

In “Oceans 11”, I play a cocktail waitress who gets run over by a frightened customer. I got hit and knocked to the ground about five times. There was more to the scene than just me getting run over,
of course, but the whole scene took probably four hours to shoot.

I recently doubled Carla Gugino on a short-lived show called “Karen
Sisco.” Most of my work was tackling the bad guys. Her character was a
Marshal on the show. It was a great show, don't know why it got
cancelled.

I loved being Carla’s double -- hope she does more soon. I’ve also doubled Rachel Weisz, Sela Ward, Charisma Carpenter, Marlee
Matlin, Rena Sofer and Catherine Zeta Jones.

“Spiderman 2” is just coming out. I have a scene in it, but I haven't seen the movie, yet, so I don't know if the scene made the final cut.

IN-FLIGHT MOVIE

On “Scorpion King”, we were doing the big battle scene towards the end, when a huge statue behind us explodes.

We were working with real explosives, so people could have gotten get hurt – it was vital that we jump out of the way ON COUNT.

They later added bodies flying through the air to make it look more effective -- air rams were use for this effect. An air ram is a mechanical piece of equipment used to throw people into the air.

We had to worry about getting out of the way on cue, so we didn’t get burned -- or mess up the shot. This is not something you get very many takes to do…

FLIPSIDE

The worst part of my job: Recovery after an accident. I’ve worked as a stuntwoman for 12 years. I wish someone had told me before I started that my body was going to be in pain for the rest of my life. Also, when it rains it pours -- you don't work for a while, then you get three jobs in the same week and have to turn something down.

I’ll keep doing stunts as long as my body allows me to, but if a friend or family member wanted to become a stuntwoman, I’d discourage them from doing it. If they were persistent, I’d try to help them. But it's a tough business to get into. There can be a lot of disappointment and rejection along the way.

The best part of my job: Paycheck. I don't mean to sound like I do stunts just for the money, but I wouldn't do stunts for anything less. If you do stunts long enough, things start hurting permanently. But when everything works out and you do a great job, it's a good feeling.

TRAVEL

Most of my work lately has been in town. I recently worked on a soap opera called “Passions”. I seem to be getting mostly television shows these days, which is great, but I’d like to work on another big feature.

I don't have any great stories about unusual set locations. Sets in general can be so amazing. I love the set design work they do these days. Creating or recreating the look for the show can be something to see, especially if it’s something out of the ordinary.

DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME

The scariest stunt I successfully completed was a spin-the-horn vault in a nun’s habit. It was a trick riding stunt, but my horse was running out of control...

To set it up: I had to spin around backwards, vault off and vault back on. The stunt itself was tough enough, but it was the wardrobe that complicated everything; I had a pillow stuffed into my dress to make me look heavy. My horse was running away at top speed and a big oak tree was coming up.

I had to let go. I did a face plant. That hurt.

We did two more takes, and I finally got it. Everybody was happy and I couldn't believe I’d pulled it off.

This was the first and only time I personally had a producer tell the coordinator to give me a bigger adjustment than what was budgeted. Adjustments in this business mean money.

GETTING UP

I’ve gone through recovery for several accidents. I think every stunt person that has done stunts long enough is crippled up. Some more than others.

I've broken my tail bone, I broke my ankle twice, underwent reconstructive knee surgery. Along with the usual bumps, bruises, sprains and cuts. Believe me, there are some horror stories out there that mine don't compare to at all.

I have respect for stuntmen and stuntwomen, equally. It’s true that most of the time we do stunts in high heels and a skirt -- but then,
we don’t have to worry about getting kicked between the legs, like the guys.

STUNT PUNCHLINES

Working on the World Stunt Awards show was great. I was a spokesperson
for the show; it was broadcast on national television.

Right before the end of my speech, I was dropped through the floor as a joke. This easily counts as my favorite stunt, because so many fellow stunt friends were there and it got a big laugh.

Bio: Cheryl Lawson has worked as a stuntwoman for 12 years. Audiences worldwide have seen her work in "The Scorpion King", "CSI", "Karen Cisco" and "24", "The Practice", "Ocean's Eleven" and "Enemy of the State". She has doubled actors Carla Gugino, Rachel Weisz, Charisma Carpenter, Marlee Matlin, Catherine Zeta Jones, Rena Sofer and Sela Ward. She is a member of the Stuntwomen’s Association of Motion Pictures. [http://www.stuntwomen.com]

Subscriber bonus: Cheryl Lawson bio blips:

Serendipity: If you mean something [good] happening that you didn't expect, I would have to say meeting my fabulous husband.

Favorite quote: Answer the door when opportunity knocks.

Recommendation for something offbeat to try this month:
Go see an action movie and try to figure out the stunt.

Interesting fact that nobody knows about me: I was a spokesmodel on a television show called “Star Search” in the early 80s.

Life is…I love the line from the movie “Forrest Gump”: Life is like a box of chocolates, you don’t always know what you’re going to get.

If I wasn’t a stuntwoman, I’d be: a regular housewife, taking care of my kids. My husband is a stuntman, too, so we take turns with the kids.

Outside my profession, something that really fascinates me is:
Writers. How do you do it, put in all that time and thought? I really admire people who write.

The saddest movie I’ve ever seen: “The Ox-Bow Incident”
The funniest movie I’ve ever seen: “Bowfinger” and “Some Like It Hot”

My favorite hobby that’s not work-related:
Riding horses. I just love them. They’re my favorite animals. I don't
even have to ride them -- just having them around makes me happy.

Replay: If I had to do it all over again, would I still have become a stuntwoman?: I'm not sure. But I’ve definitely had an interesting life.

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ART (events and news – painting, photography, sculpture…)
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ART/Venice
“Paradiso e Inferno/Heaven and Hell”
Through August 23rd

The experiences of common humanity: Love, ecstasy, beauty, joy, freedom and peace. But also despair, pain, deceit, hate, suffering and terror. Heavenly sentiments and hellish states of mind, reality itself is a state of ever-changing contrasts.

“Paradiso e Inferno/Heaven and Hell” is a journey through these contrasts, via the work of a dozen artists. The exhibition, curated by Giacinto Di Pietrantonio, director of the Bergamo Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art, will be housed at two separate Bevilacqua la Masa Foundation venues: the St. Mark's Square Gallery stages Heaven, while the Palazzetto Tito will house Hell.

Each presenting artist tackles an issue connected to fear, love, peace, hate –- the entire range of human desires and terrors -- in works suited to their own specific poetry and style.

Each artist takes over a single room in which to display one or more works relative to the proposed themes. The project is informed by Dante's literary masterpieces – the ambitious scope of the exhibit adds yet another theme to “Paradiso e Inferno”: the understanding that one must have courage, as well as humility, in examining the grand themes of life.

The following is an outline of the proposed journey:

PARADISO/HEAVEN

LOVE: Mike Kelley, (USA): “Extracurricular Activity Reconstruction #1 (Domestic Scene)”
Paintings made by covering the canvas with hundreds of glued-on, multi-colored buttons. These surfaces become a series of festive planes and visual whorls of movement, tactile representations of the joy of life in simple everyday items that we carry around with us on our clothes, that first layer of artificial skin.

BEAUTY: Ettore Spalletti, (Italy): ''White and Gold''
Harmonious beauty is the focus Ettore Spalletti's work, wherein surfaces bathed in pinks, blues, greens, yellows and whites are captured within the golden borders of the painting frame; the abstract, balanced planes recall the world of painting from antiquity. They establish a relationship to the immaculate world of Beato Angelico, with Piero della Francesca's exacting perspective geometry, even the delicate finesse of Raffaello's draftsmanship.

ECSTASY: Decosterd and Rahm, (France): ''The Scent of Christ, Artificial Air'' is a scent-spreading installation. A sculpture descends from the ceiling like an upside-down fungus, almost touching the ground, then unexpectedly infuses the room with a gentle perfume: an ecstatic perfume which the creators, two architects, call ''The Scent of Christ, Artificial Air'', which is the arrival point for the installation. The artists comment on both credulity and skepticism; the possibility to experience the miraculous is inherent in all, regardless of whether or not they believe in miracles.

JOY: Patrick Tuttofuoco, (Italy): Eight luminous sculptures that resemble ''mini-skyscrapers'' occupy the room like pieces from a chessboard; light and sound pierce the room, modifying the viewer’s perception of the space. In this work, we see the art object, the space surrounding it, and ourselves become part of the joyous experience of being immersed completely, and becoming part of a work of art, rather than just an observer.

FREEDOM: Armin Linke, (Italy): ''G8'', (2001)
On display. photos from G8 counter-demonstrations in Genova. The work examines artistic freedom and the public spaces in which we are able to demonstrate our thoughts through action. Disagreement is central in this series of photographs; we see both liberation and repression through this series of images from a very public demonstration.

PEACE: Massimo Grimaldi, (Italy): “Fish in Afghanistan”
Photos from an emergency mobilization to build a hospital in Kabul. The photos scroll through the dual screens of a Mac computer; through the merging and dissolving of photographs onscreen, the artist demonstrates two means of progress: on the one hand, the beauty and power of technology to assist us in our daily lives; on the other, the constructive (literally) effect of peace and benevolent intent during times of crisis.

INFERNO/HELL

DESPAIR: Marcel Dzama and Neil Farber (Canada): Both artist draw on the theme of the apocalypse: some one hundred surreal drawings are on display, which recount the story of the day of judgement.
A type of moving human/animal bestiary, the images pulse with a macabre vitality, a dance of death made up of mythological beings – the narrative begins with the start of time and finishes with the final days, and the end of hope; utter despair is what the Canadian artists offer here.

PAIN: Ryan Mendoza, (USA): Mendoza creates striking paintings in which the protagonist is an icon, a mixture of realism and expressionism. The work is based on the suffering body. The artist uses a palette of thick and compact colors that give life to images, abrading the viewer’s senses with images of men and women who carry the burden of pain and suffering as if it were inseparable from their existence.

Mendoza's works are enigmatic and visceral, portraits of anonymous figures which capture an eerie awareness of physical and psychological pain in the subject of our scrutiny.

DECEIT: Pietro Roccasalva, (Italy): Paintings and drawings. Pietro Roccasalva evokes the meaning of deceit painting, itself. Painting, indeed, is never truly real, even when the image constructed on the surface seems to represent the original object. The process of creation, and the resulting imagery is a kind of deceit, and, in this sense, that untruth is its own condemnation: the viewer is never placed in front of the world, but in front of an image of the world.

HATE: Roberto Cuoghi, (Italy): The artist displays paintings which portray psychedelic/expressionist skulls: “memento mori” for a world churning with conflict. The representation of death is shown in skulls which smile statically, and relentlessly, though our cultural, political, and socio-economic clashes, reminding viewers that they’ll all wear the same grim ‘smile’ -- eventually.

SUFFERING: Dragana Spanjos, (Croatia): Installation. Spanjos creates mechanized environments through technology or manually operated apparatus, which animate the space, always at the ready to catch the bored gallery trawler by surprise. In this case, the artist has routed a series of sensors which zap the unwary with a small electric shocks at calf-level, gifting the casual observer with the experience of genuine physical suffering, albeit in micro.

TERROR: Gino de Dominicis, (Italy): ''D'io'', (1971): A sound installation of diabolical laughter. The artist's satanic laughter spreads throughout the area at random intervals, causing disorientation for the visitor, since there is no effective way to predict when the sound will resurface. The sound follows the visitor throughout the exhibition, and there is no way to escape. Oh, the horror.

[Shown: “Intelligent Artificer”, (1999-2003), Pietro Roccasalva]

Find it: Galleria Bevilacqua La Masa, Piazza San Marco 71/c
and Palazzetto Tito, Dorsoduro 2826
Venice, Italy
Get info: Tel. +39 041 5237819 (San Marco),
+39 041 5207797, +39 041 5208879 (Tito)
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ART/London
“Lilith”
Through August 13th

As an entity, a theme, and a mythical figure, Lilith appears in a number of different forms across various religions, albeit under different names. Lilith is both inspiration and giver of knowledge, the strong autonomous woman; at the same time, she’s often portrayed as a night demon that strangles babies, possesses young women through mirrors and seduces men away from their wives.

Jewish myth casts Lilith as made of the same dust, at the same time as Adam;
she refuses to be his inferior and uses her superior knowledge and ability to escape the paradise of Eden. God is unable to persuade her to return, and molds Eve from the rib of Adam. Lilith is the embodiment of artistic and spiritual rebellion – a creation which refuses its intended purpose, rebelling against its creator’s authorship.

What interested MOT about this myth are the stark, oppositional interpretations and subsequent appropriations (and misappropriations) inherent in a single word: Lilith.

MOT looked for work that questions its own nature and its own material make-up;
the works on display offer the viewer ambiguous readings, satisfying and frustrating external expectation and interpretation.

The artists:

Sonia Boyce's own image disappears from her reflection; she is the creator of her work, but wholly absent in its display; instead, it is her collaborators – their voices and music -- that are presented to the hearer.

Boyce presents “we meet through you”: two separate CDs of two singers, Martin and Jinya, singing three different songs each, which are accessed through one set of headphones. The singers’ voices are streamed through the headset – one on the left, one on the right. The two singers have never met, yet their voices come together in the head of the listener, who can alternatively separate or blend together two different streams of information. Martin and Jinya's photographic portraits are the only other piece of biographical information given to the viewer.

Louise Harris employs traditional crafts; such as watercolor painting or felt making, commonly associated with arts and crafts/the domestic realm, to render portraits of intriguing women and religious scenes. Harris steps over the border between craft and art, transcending the limits of materials through the scale and subject of each piece.

Runa Islam explores the nature of film, examining its narrative structure and relationship to reality. Although she works with a variety of mediums, film has a significant place in her work; adept at filmic language and limitations, she constructs analytical and evocative installations tied to the mental processes of sensual experience.

A number of her pieces study the nature of the look or gaze; her work produces a shifting of perception as our gaze is returned by the image, blurring the line between the viewer’s life, and the life being viewed.

When invited to exhibit, Islam expressed an interest in the role of the mirror within the Lilith myth, seeing a link to her own work. She will be showing “Unreconciled,” a video of a young woman with her back turned to the camera. Shot in one-minute episodes, the women never turns, her look – and some measure of knowledge about her -- denied to the viewer.

[Shown: l: Runa Islam, r: detail, “(Stare Out) Blink” (1998),16mm film installation, Runa Islam]

Find it: MOT
Unit 54/5th floor Regents Studios
8 Andrews Road London E8 4QN
Hours: Fri-Sun, 12 noon – 5pm, or by appt.
Get there: Bethnal Green Underground Bus 394,106,253,26,48,55,D6, D3, 8
Get info: Tel: +44 (0)207 923 9561 Mob: +44 (0)7931 305 104
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ART/Munich
"Show Me the Future"
Through August 29

"Why is tile roofing still used today? Because hundreds of years ago there was, technically, no alternative -- and because, in the interim, no one was prepared to fundamentally consider doing it differently." (W. Sobek)

Werner Sobek is one of a small group of engineers and architects who systematically work to integrate developments in material research, nano-technology and sensor-engineering – used in automobile, aviation and aerospace technology – into the construction field.

In a relatively short period of time, Werner Sobek's "House R 128" in Stuttgart has become known, even outside of professional circles, as the embodiment of future construction and habitation form.

The “Show Me the Future” exhibition begins with a look at this recyclable house that needs no energy and is emission-free; the house contains no knobs or switches, no brick walls. Through the use of state-of-the-art technology, which also partly stems from the aviation and aerospace industry, commonly held ideas about building and dwelling are being revolutionized.
To that end, basic building principles are fundamentally analyzed and questioned.
At Sobek's "Institute for Lightweight Structures and Conceptual Design (ILEK)" at the University of Stuttgart, as well as in his own architecture and engineering office, the accent is on the development of new techniques, structures and materials that have already been put to use in his architectural works in, for example, Chicago, Shanghai and Bangkok.
Sobek's research work into load-bearing systems, his innovative use of glass, textiles and titanium, as well as the development of adaptive or self-regulating elements, are demonstrated and explained through the use of models, work pieces and films.

For example, glass surfaces with changeable light-permeability or a load-bearing glass dome out of glued segments will be used to illustrate potential future uses for these materials.

For Werner Sobek, civil engineering and architecture combine into a more unified form of engineering – a form process that brings together elements of the highest technical and aesthetic levels. Finally, the exhibition presents Werner Sobek's “House 129”, which is still in the development stage – a project that is more radical than “R 128” and that breaks with all usual preconceptions about building, pointing the way to new directions in future architecture and ways of life.

The exhibition affords a chance to take a stimulating and comprehensible look into these "ways into the future" as they relate to architecture and civil engineering.

[Shown:

Top: “R129 Haus”, (2002- 2008). Werner Sobek.
Photo: Werner Sobek

Bottom: “R128 Haus” , (1999-2000). Werner Sobek.
Photo: Roland Halbe]

Find it: Pinakothek der Moderne
Kunstareal - Barer Str. 40, Munich
Get info:+49-89-23805-360
=====
ART/NYC
“The Infinite Fill Show”
Through August 19th

Don’t readjust the dial – it’s “The Infinite Fill Show,” a group exhibition of dazzling black and white patterns, co-curated by brother and sister team Cory and Jamie Arcangel.

The Arcangels sent out an open call to artists for found or made objects which had to adhere to two basic rules: they must be black and white, and they must contain repeating patterns.

The curatorial concept was inspired by MAC Paint, the 1984 software application with varied 16-bit monochrome patterning that could be picked and dropped into areas of the screen to denote color and depth. For Cory and Jamie Arcangel, this rudimentary precursor to Photoshop's draw and paint functions provides a creative tool to explore multiple perspectives within a unifying aesthetic.

Find it: Foxy Production
129 Bedford Avenue, #1
Brooklyn, NY
Get info: (718) 239-2758
=====
ART/Amsterdam
"Channel Zero"
August 27th - October 23rd

We live within a culture marked by violence, both real and simulated.
In a society where the image exercises an all-pervasive power and everything tends to be reduced to mere representation, images of violence have become commonplace; just another product for consumption.

In the wake of the recent war in Iraq, the international ‘war against terrorism’ and the continuing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, this culture of violence seems to be heightened. As a result, we increasingly exist in a state of almost constant alert; post-1989 euphoria and optimism have given way to cynicism, pessimism and the return of fear as a very real issue. Invisible walls of terror, ignorance and hate have replaced the walls of the cold war.

Within this expanding culture of violence, the relationship between fact and fiction has been blurred -- it's often difficult to distinguish between the two. Real life events involving explicit violence become the basis of a perverse sort of entertainment.

On the other hand, journalism has become increasingly formulaic, sensational and even subjective. The barrage of media-related violent imagery in many cases causes detachment and indifference. Tragedy remains largely ungraspable on a personal level as we, the audience, experience the world through the filter of the media.

The artists participating in "Channel Zero" make art that responds to the culture of violence that surrounds us and explore representations of violence in the media, entertainment industry or society in general; they analyze, undermine, deconstruct or simply critique the phenomenon. They examine the social, political, and cultural as well as the personal aspects of violence through film, video, photography, digital media and the Internet.

"Channel Zero" reflects a very human desire for a culture of peace, and an end to ceaseless war-mongering. Through their works, artists comment on, transform, and counter the conventions of a mass media which objectifies violence as just another news story.

Participating artists: Sergei Bugaev Afrika (RU), Heather Burnett (UK), Ritsaert Ten Cate (NL), Nikos Charalambidis (CY), Kendell Geers (SA), Kostas Ioannides (GR), Katarzyna Kozyra (PL), Boris Mikhailov (RU), Elahe Massumi (IR), Personal Cinema (International), Francesco Simeti (I), Eliezer Sonnenschein (IL), Lina Theodorou (GR), Palle Torsson (S), Simone Zaugg (CH).

[Shown: detail, “Cul-de-Sac”, (2004), Lina Theodorou]

Find it: Netherlands Media Art Institute
Keizersgracht 264
Amsterdam
Get info: +31 20 6237-101
=====
ART/Florence
"4 X 4"
Through August 29th
Four art projects from artists creating work for the fourth borough of Florence: voila, it's "4 X 4". The open-air exhibit is being held in three venues: the park-gardens of Villa Vogel, Villa Strozzi and Villa Pandolfini.

The common denominator for all the projects is the 'incidental' principle; the spectator is confronted with contemporary art where he least expects it. Just when you thought you were safe from a little culture intruding on your stroll through the park...

That's the goal of the exhibit, and we're thinking 'confronted' is probably the word, considering that artist Filippo Frosini's contribution is a huge bug sculpture. Taking a nip of hazelnut gelato, readjusting your sun shades, and – “Holy macaroni, it’s a giant bug. How’d that get there?”

The concept: a low-key exploration of paradox, in that the tiniest of the species becomes nearly as large as the dinosaur. Hmm. Yes. Sound design from Stefano Passerotti replaces the natural sounds of the garden with soundscapes drawn from nature -- birds chirping, etc., only it's all electronically rendered.

The artists: Chema Alvargonzalez, (b.1960); he lives and works in Barcelona and Berlin Timet; Stefano Passerotti, composer and sound designer; Lorenzo Brusci (b.1966) is the founder of concept group "Timet." He lives and works in Tuscany. Lastly, Filippo Frosini, born in Siena in 1977, and local artist Vittorio Corsini.

[Shown: “Cricket”, (2004)
Wood, stainless steel, fiberglass, industrial paint
Filippo Frosini]

Find it: Consiglio di Quartiere 4
Commissione Cultura
Villa Vogel
V. delle Torri, 23
Florence
Get info: +39 055 2767113-135
=====
ART/Virtual Galleries
“On Language”
Through August 31st

Minus Space has mounted its first online group exhibition, “On Language,” featuring the work of artists Soledad Arias, Richard Kostelanetz, Juan Matos Capote, and Manfred Mohr.

“On Language” explores these New York City-based artists' broad interpretation of language in their work, including their use of letters, numbers, symbols, words, texts, languages, writing, sound, speech, binary code, and sensory experiences.

Argentinean artist Soledad Arias uses language to shift reality through psychological/sensory experiences. She explains "Sight: When I visualize a word I hear sound. Its sonorities trigger spatial resonances in myself. Sound: Understanding of an idea permeates me with a sense of awe, a dissolution of limits in the face of new form. Touch: I provoke a shift in time, delay enhances the perception of emotional meaning. Physical interaction: The siting of text in the environment adds to words (language) a physical dimension stretching the boundaries of our sensory/psychological experience."

Artist Richard Kostelanetz was born and raised in New York City. He uses letters, numbers, symbols, sounds, words, and texts to create work in multiple media. He explains "having begun as a writer, initially of essays and then of books, which I continue to do, I’ve made art reflecting my professional origins, first with visual poems and minimal fictions for printed pages. Later I put language on larger sheets of paper… I thought about alternative materials for literary forms, making poems entirely of numerals, and fictions wholly of line-drawings whose sequences would suggest a narrative. Then I made audiotapes and videotapes entirely of words, followed by wholly literary holograms and films…I produced audiotapes entirely about the sound of a certain thing: the language of prayer, New York City, baseball, the sound of Hebrew.”

Hailing from the Canary Islands, Spain, artist Juan Matos Capote uses onomatopeic structures to link sounds, language and images. About his work he states "I began to use language some years ago when I began to place onomatopoeic texts, that is, written sounds, onto the surfaces of monochromatic canvases…metaphorically, I was listening for a response, wishing for a conversation, as if I was with someone….These onomatopoeias were taken from comics that depicted people sounding pleasure [in print] while having sex. This let me begin to concentrate on the [mixture of the] visual and aural, in consciously mixing the spectator's senses when [they experience the work]”.

"I also use sentences in my work with the purpose of leading the spectator, or suggesting a [mental/physical] sensation…like when I paint "it smells of roses" on a rose pink canvases, or when I paint "Listen:" or the text "Once upon a time," stressing the narrative.”

Lastly, German-born artist Manfred Mohr uses binary language to create ever-evolving works in digital media. He states "the semiotic aspect of my work is an important part of my art, visually and content-wise. The complex structure of an n-dimensional hypercube (on which my work has been based for 30 years) is a rich source of material to create and develop signs. Since they are created within the rational structure of computer programming, my work is fundamentally an algorithmic art. All signs refer only to themselves and their content is the history of their creation. My work incorporates a sequential flow in time and relationships among elements, which gives it the characteristics of a musical language. I therefore describe my art in many instances as 'visual music'."
[Shown: “you are here”, (2002). Intervention/installation, neon sign, words, timer: 5 seconds on, 5 seconds fades down, 5 seconds fades up; Installation on 42nd Street, Times Square, NYC. Soledad Arias.]

About this gallery: Minus Space is an online curatorial and critical project. MINUS SPACE's physical gallery will open in Brooklyn, NY, in 2004.

Minus Space presents the best reductive, concept-based art, including work in painting, drawing, sculpture, installation, photography, video, new media, performance art, architecture, and design.

Reductive, concept-based work is characterized by its use of plainspoken materials, monochromatic or limited color, geometry and pattern, repetition and seriality, precise craftsmanship, and intellectual rigor.

Contact: Matthew Deleget and Rossana Martínez, curators
MINUS SPACE: the domain for reductive +
concept-based art
[w] www.minusspace.com
=====
ART/Berkeley+Virtual Exhibit
“Transportation Futuristics”
Through September 30th

The virtual exhibit “Transportation Futuristics: Visionary Designs in Transportation Engineering” accompanies the physical installation in the Doe Library, UC Berkeley campus – and includes a lot more material from the archives that can only be viewed online.

Both exhibits examine innovative (or just plain odd) solutions drummed up to address transportation design in a pre-Windows, pre-iPod, pre-Concorde environment – none of which made it into the mainstream. Were the designers too forward-thinking? Was there just no way to make the design viable, on an economic level? Or did the prototype just become obsolete, in the wake of a more efficient transport solution? In some cases, the designs remained on paper, never to make it to the production stage.

In others, the designers committed their what-ifs to celluloid – this was the case with Ford designer Syd Mead, who went on to imagine futuristic transport solutions for movies like “Tron”, “Aliens” and “Blade Runner”.

The exhibit is interesting from a visual standpoint, also to take note of what eventually worked out: air-conditioning in cars, ATVs, escalators, elevated subway lines, a version of GPS. But it’s also interesting to think about what we might have been riding around in, today, given a different design/production outcome: Helicopter for one? Aircar cruiser? Freedomship[http://www.freedomship.com]? Floating airbus? PRT (Personal Rapid Transit) pod to go? Amphibious RV? Robotic automotive tech, via the Hallucigenia project? What about a NYC-LA “transplanetary subway”? [www.lib.berkeley.edu/news_events/
exhibits/futuristics/oddities/4.html]

Odd and interesting, even the what-in-hell designs have an element of originality, albeit an occasional glaring lack of common sense. Take a look around, and go back to the future…

[Shown: “Horseless Sulky” prototype. Achieved speeds of up to 116mph.
From: “Popular Science”, c. 1935

AIDA Development thought this “standing seats” design was a nifty idea to increase human cargo capacity on short-haul flights. Don’t think so.
From: “Aircraft Interiors International”, March 2004

Flying helicopter bus, shown in advertisement for Bohn Aluminum.]

Find it: Bernice Layne Brown Gallery
Doe Library, UC Berkeley
Berkeley, CA
Get info: (510) 642-6000 (main)
View virtual exhibit: www.lib.berkeley.edu/news_events/exhibits
=====
ART/San Francisco
“Free Basin”
Through October 10th

“Free Basin” is a monumental sculpture that doubles as an indoor skate bowl. As a viewer enters the YBCA Galleries, they walk underneath the skating surfaces and experience the rhythm and sounds of the skateboarding from below.

Once the viewer emerges, they can also watch how the skateboarders respond to the specific character of this sculptural form.

“Free Basin” is part of the “Beautiful Losers: Contemporary Art and Street Culture” exhibit, featuring skateboard memorabilia and contemporary art by more than fifty artists inspired by skateboarding culture.

The exhibition explores the social and cultural world of skateboarding, from the 1950s surf scene through to its ties to punk and urban cultures, into mainstream status today. The works featured include paintings by Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring, and local artists Tommy Guerrero and Craig R. Stecyk.

Find it: Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
701 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
Get info: (415) 982-8522

[Shown: “Giant Poster”, (1989). Shepard Fairey. Courtesy of the artist.]

[NB: We’d like to cover more art events. If you’re in touch with artists or gallery directors who’d be interested in being mentioned in upcoming issues, please tell them to get in touch:
“Arte Six” c/o artesix@sashasoren.com]

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INDIE MUSIC (reviews, features, events, info)
**************************************
Disc series/Jill Tracy, singer/songwriter/composer/storyteller
“The Fine Art of Poisoning”

Inspiration never comes from any one thing specifically. It’s more of a sensory response to the immediate; a word or phrase, an image, a story, a mood, a fragrance, textures and colors, the allure of the unknown, the forbidden, anything that enables me to ‘slip into the cracks,’ venture beyond what confines people to the Everyday.

It’s a process of living to honor the magic, being alive in that place, allowing the flame. My purpose is finding those trapdoors, prying up the floorboards…

There’s no rhyme or reason; that’s the beauty of it, the sheer randomness. Sometimes a song will manifest itself in minutes, other times songs will remain in fragments in notebooks for years.

I’ve learned that you can’t wait for inspiration; you have to earn it. You’ve got to work, be disciplined. Be true to your craft. Read great books. Immerse yourself in the discovery of new things. Live your art. The imagination has to be exercised, just like the body.

PASSION

People are born with a passion or an interest in varying degrees. For some, the vision is so singular and strong, there’s no question that they are born to create music. They breathe it.

For others, perhaps family involvement, hobbies, or schooling has brought them to a conclusion that they want to pursue music as a job. There’s a huge difference, obviously, between the two.

All songs begin with a seed of true life, be it from my own experiences, someone else’s, or a longing thereof. That sordid past life we wish we were still living.

The difference? In real life, we won’t be there to know how our story ends!
That’s the rub.

RANDOM FORTUNE

I’m a big believer in the fortune cookie philosophies. I tape those little white pieces of paper up everywhere. But I was taken aback when I stumbled across the quote: “Just when everything seems to be falling apart, in the grand scheme it is merely falling into place.”

Why do I remember that? Because it’s absolutely true! It makes you realize that you don’t know the magnitude of your own destiny. That phrase has helped keep me going through many a troubled time.

WORDS AND MUSIC

“Quintessentially Unreal” was a phrase that kept living in my head; the song came about from my attachment to the phrase and what it denotes.

The fact is that no matter how we perceive or pursue perfection, the quintessence of everything we aspire to, the reality will never be as good as the fantasy. Nothing ever will be. The ideal will always remain unreal.

I love that song; it’s become an anthem for me, a song dedicated to dreamers. A song about not being afraid to admit that you long for something more. Resigning yourself to that fact. That what you really want can never exist.

“Into the Land of Phantoms” is the title of the album featuring my film score to F.W, Murnau’s 1922 vampire classic “Nosferatu.”

There is that deliciously tense point in the film where the lead character is told to disembark the carriage. He is left alone to journey across a decrepit footbridge, a sinister landscape towering above him.

The carriage driver whispers “We will go no further sir…into the land of phantoms.”

In the context of a song, I’d say words and music have equal weight. The music will always evoke the initial response, luring the listener to travel further-- into the lyrics.

My music is a portal, a vehicle to transport the listener into another realm. When I write, I’m conjuring a mood, a magic place, getting out of this world for a little while.

I love sharing that with my audience. It’s the grand escape.

INTO THE DARK

Happy isn’t really much of a stretch, is it? It’s easy and nice; it certainly isn’t perpetual or puzzling.

But the allure of mystery, the dangerous seduction -- that’s where the truth lives…under those protective layers of comfort and convention we hide behind. The courage to peel away those layers and indulge in what lay underneath, to challenge ourselves -- that is far more compelling.

NECESSARY SILENCE

Quite frankly, music is not necessary in daily life. Sadly, these days, people use music as a distraction, background noise, as an excuse not to engage, to cop an attitude, to ignore the present.

We need to embrace the silent moments, tune into our surroundings and hear ourselves, our own thoughts.

I often focus on the constant plight of the free thinker, the struggle of being yourself in a world that is trying its hardest to turn you into everybody else. Staying true to yourself; that’s the hardest and most glorious battle of all.

And aside from the allure of mystery and the forbidden, I also strive to give voice to the fact that it’s essential to be confident in your desires.

There is no need for a person to be afraid to be sensual, or to feel deep emotion, from rapture to agony. Those are all facets of the same diamond. You need all those facets to realize the full beauty of the gem.

CREATION

Writer’s block does rear its ugly head from time to time. After all, this is an intangible medium; you can’t schedule it and roll it out on an assembly line. The muse visits when she’s good and ready. Keeping things interesting, as a rule, tricks her into hanging around more.

The biggest myth about creative people? That a person who is “talented” has some magical power…that fabulous ideas pour out of them at all times…that they can turn it on or off like a switch, no effort whatsoever.

The truth is, just like any other skill set, a creative has to work hard and hone their craft. It’s a tedious job just like any other. The inner workings of it aren’t all that glamorous.

The most important thing a ‘creative’ needs, apart from paper and ink, is the thickest skin in the world and yet the most sensitive.

BAD INFLUENCE

Things that drive me crazy: Stupidity. People who are inconsiderate and clueless to everything around them. The fact that people continue to be brainwashed by the media, the mass marketing machine, politicians, and the manufactured cookie-cutter hype. Especially now that the tactics these corporations use are so out in the open. I have a hard time believing that the world is still so gullible.

On the plus side, there are also people who are an inspiration, people who have left their mark in my life in some way. The list is always growing and changing. Here are a few:
Rod Serling, Ray Bradbury, The Cure, Steven Millhauser, Bernard Herrmann, Chrissie Hynde, Nina Simone, Beth Gibbons, Alfred Hitchcock, David Bowie, Roald Dahl, Pink Floyd, Fritz Lang, Alexander Scriabin.

IN PASSING…

While I lived in Manhattan, I developed this theory that angels would disguise themselves on earth in the form of cabdrivers. (Not all cabdrivers, mind you!)

They fulfilled their earthbound duties while carting fares. I had so many poignant, eye-opening, life-affirming revelations talking to New York City taxi drivers, it was unbelievable. Odd. And the beautiful thing was, I never saw them again.

Perhaps they returned to the heavens…or were stuck in the Bronx.

INSIDE TRACKS

From: “Pulling Your Insides Out”

Baby, mind the vultures
They’re circling round the bone
Feeding from the idols
They think they can draw blood from a stone
But the more the diamond glitters
The more it can deceive
The Truth lay in the treasure
Of what we disbelieve

“Pulling Your Insides Out” is a remark on the world and its feeding frenzy for mediocrity, that what glitters is false, fleeting and shallow…how everything that truly matters lay well beyond that phony world. But only for those who have the wherewithal to see it.

From: “Anything at All”

I’ll grant you the Nine of Cups on eleven rainy days
I’ll pull apart the lion’s mouth and I’ll make him sing your praise
I’ll challenge the great Houdini to a remarkable escape
I’ll amputate the fingers upon the Hand of Fate
I’ll do anything at all
Just to get closer to you

“Anything at All” attains that lovely storybook quality. It’s a collection of the most exquisite preposterous things you could think of to show how much you want someone. How literally MAD you are for them.

I love creating a classic timelessness in my songs. Perhaps you’ve stepped back in time, but simultaneously it couldn’t feel more relevant to that very moment.

From: “The Fine Art of Poisoning”

it’s quite an elaborate scheme
the fine art of poisoning
the dose to comatose
slyly administered

not for the frail of heart
the vengeful must play their part
a friend to the bitter end
or so they say

nice and slow
misfortune will flow

peril in the nursery
it seems a tainted pastry
one bite what a dreadful fright
she was such a delicate little dish

a pleasant parlor gathering
quicksilver concealed in a ruby ring
two lumps or three
i have always adored bergamot tea

nice and slow
misfortune will flow
but who will know?

This song inspired the animated short film I later created with Bill Domonkos. I’m intrigued by the dark corners of history, a big source of inspiration for me.

I’d been studying various methods of poisoning through the ages, and wanted to bring that to life, but still keeping the covert, ambiguous and simple nature of poisoning itself. It sneaks up on you, never revealing itself -- until it’s too late.

Downtime:
I love reading, old movies, searching the second-hand bookshops for rare finds, as well as antique fairs for strange curiosities. I like traveling, charting the course of the stars, talking to strangers, keeping ridiculously late hours, and swapping stories over cocktails.

What I’m reading right now:
Oracle Night (Paul Auster)
The FeeJee Mermaid (Jan Bondeson)
Perfume, the story of a murderer (Patrick Suskind)
Carter Beats the Devil (Glen David Gold)
The Secret Lives of Eccentric Scientists and Madmen (Clifford Pickover)

Favorite quote: From Albert Einstein: “The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. Whoever does not know it and can no longer wonder, no longer marvel, is as good as dead, and his eyes are dimmed.”

Artist bio: Singer/composer/storyteller Jill Tracy has been called a “femme fatale for the thinking man.” She’s garnered multiple awards, and a devoted following, for her evocative music, glamorous style, and curious passion for collecting strange tales.

Jill Tracy coos in a voice of cut-velvet smoke, creating a world of opulence and danger, magic and madness. As one critic put it: “You know it’s not safe here; but with Jill Tracy as your guide, you’ll be in no hurry to leave.”

Aside from her stand-along CD trilogy (“Quintessentially Unreal,” “Diabolical Streak,” and “Into the Land of Phantoms”) Jill Tracy appeared on the “Artists For Literacy” compilation CD alongside Tom Waits and Aimee Mann. Her animated short film, “The Fine Art of Poisoning,” directed by Bill Domonkos, won over 20 national awards this year, meriting attention from artists like Clive Barker.

Tracy has performed everywhere from alternative rock venues and swanky cabarets. She’s been the opening act for American Cinematheque’s Film Noir Festival for the last two years.

Tracy is currently at work on two more film projects, and penning songs for a new album. “The Fine Art of Poisoning” was just selected for the Colorado Film Foundation’s Best Short Films of the Year DVD series.

Official site: http://www.jilltracy.com
=====
Music Reviews
[Reviews courtesy of: CDBaby.com, http://www.cdbaby.com]

Breakup music for broken hearts

Recent break-up? Go ahead and wallow. Suitably tinged with is-it-just-me-or-has-the-world-ended gloom, and ready for incessant replay, these albums deliver poetic and cathartic lyrics that let you get the max benefit out of cheap vino and late night stuff-tossing sessions. Slam the door, kill the phone, get your groove on and play that sucker out.

Sure, right now you’re seeing the whole world through black-tinted glasses, but look on the bright side -- can't make your pookie love you, but at least you can listen to songs about how no one else can either:

MONICA SCHROEDER: The Expectation of Home
Suavely melancholic songs like “You Don’t Move Me” that make you feel good about feeling bad. Or feel bad about feeling good, depending on where you’re at.
Album delves into love and loss, and the life lesson of remembering without looking back. Schroeder has played at SXSW, and shared the stage with Jane Siberry and the Cowboy Junkies.

“Monica has a beautiful voice - emotive, fluid and clear. This Manitoba-based pop musician could make the white pages sound like Yeats." – “Now” magazine.
We concur. Related: New album is “Orbit”.
[http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/monicas]

CLAIRVOYANTS: Your New Boundaries
With undeniably compelling emotive power, understating the dark, complex shades of narrative that follow, the overall sound is somber and lulling, pensively emotional and haunting.

NOVEMBER FACTORY: Perfect Time of Year
An introspective, inspirational, alternative pop sound (Counting Crows/Dave Matthews) that delves deep.

BELA: 'Til Summer Ends
Surf-goth: "Shades of notable Belas (both Lugosi and Bartok) color this band's eerie lushly orchestral melancholy pop" - CMJ

SKIP PERI: Naked
Fuses drum loops and tight acoustic guitars with pulsing bass lines to deliver songs that make you both forget and remember at the same time.

LESLIE NUSS: Action Hero Superstar
Cerebral, darkly beautiful record with full, lush production and songs about love, loss, joy and pain.

JENNIE STEARNS: Sing Desire
Soft dreamy folk pop with evocative soundscapes and haunting stories offered in an unforgettable and uniquely authentic tone.

SANFORD ARMS: Too Loud for the Snowman
Dreamy pop with a slight twang. For fans of Sparklehorse, Wilco, and Califone.
[http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/sanfordarms]

TRESPASSERS WILLIAM: Different Stars
Dreamy, female fronted, ethereal indie rock with hints of folk and shoegaze; the passionate side of Mazzy Star meets the mellow side Coldplay.

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DANCE (events, news, opps)
**************************************
DANCE/Insight
Saliq Francis Savage, for Wire Monkey Dance
[http://www.wiremonkeydance.com]

The name “Wire Monkey Dance” came during the rehearsal process for our first full season performance.

I’d been recalling the research of Harry Harlow and his daughter on the effects of early tactile deprivation on rhesus monkeys.

They were working at a time when people were taught to not breast feed and when bottle feeding was regimented by the clock. They devised a test to determine whether a baby monkey’s attachment to its mother is primarily due to the fact that she is feeding the infant, or if it has to do with the love, comfort, body contact and that sort of yummy stuff.

The experiment had two attached cages with a surrogate mother fashioned out of wire in each one. The difference between the two wire surrogates was that one had a bottle, while the other one was just covered in fur.

The baby was free to travel freely between the two cages with the proposition where would the baby monkey spend most of its time. Of course it spent most of its time on the wire monkey that was covered in fur, and only enough time to feed on the other one.

So, the company name is a tribute to those baby monkeys that gave their lives to prove that love and nurturing are valuable. I guess you could say that I’m something of a clinger. Give me a warm bosom any day and I’ll be happy.

That’s why I find things like contact improvisation next to essential...There is something like pure animal joy that I experience when I’m dancing with another person; it completely fulfills me. It is in the breathing, yearning, shape shifting, meeting and seducing that my organs can really come alive and begin to express the joy and pleasure in living.

I look for the edge between my body and my partner’s body. And then I soften that edge to ground and integrate my body through my partner’s body. Then the distinction between grounding and flight becomes a continuum.

I’m looking for a vehicle of creativity and expressivity for my life. Dance provides me with a reason to move.

[End of sample]

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