I Am Kurious Orange
Marc Arthur, Anne Colvin, Alex Hetherington, Karla Milosevich
with source material by William Blake, Michael Clark Company, The Fall
DCP (David Cunningham Projects) is pleased to announce I Am Kurious Orange – a group show curated by Anne Colvin.
Conceived specifically for the DCP project space I Am Kurious Orange is an exhibition, a rehearsal, a residency and a performance. Inspired by the long-term creative association between dancer Michael Clark (Scotland) and U.K. band The Fall (lead by Mark E. Smith) the exhibition takes it’s initial cues from the Clark/ Fall collaboration on the ballet ‘I am Curious, Orange’ and the accompanying soundtrack, released under the title ‘I am Kurious Oranj’. Performed live in Amsterdam, London and Edinburgh in 1988 to mark the tercentenary of William of Orange, dancers included Leigh Bowery and lyrics reference the work of artist/ poet/ visionary William Blake.
Establishing a framework of different environments Colvin has invited three additional lead artists to explore the connections between the spaces in response to the source material and each other’s work. The elements to be included in the final performance are continually hinted at. The gallery, a study in space and time becomes a container for expectation, anticipation and perception: a nexus of possibilities.
The front (rehearsal) space will be activated by Arthur, Hetherington and Milosevich. Each week a different lead artist and collaborators will respond through voice, music, text, objects and video to various elements within the show. During this time the space will be filled with:- drawings and props by Arthur that map the rehearsal process of his ensemble, Milosevich’s Fall cover band – practicing ‘new’ songs and Hetherington’s voice, text and video work which will engage the space more intimately to manifest “a kind of reticence that sits abrasively against a need to perform”. Collages from Colvin’s new Dancehall series complete the scenario.
The center (homage) space becomes the I am Kurious, Oranj album and the I am Curious, Orange Sadler’s Wells poster – graphic elements from each combine with tracks from the album. A reproduction of William Blake’s Jerusalem (not the Fall version) acts as a centerpiece. Colvin will recite the poem throughout the show. Her video work -The Audition – occupies the rear (viewing) space. Throwing a scene from Godard’s Contempt into a monochromatic (red and black) dreamscape of movement and audio crescendo, The Audition finds the players stuck in their bit part audition tirelessly waiting for rejection or inclusion.
I Am Kurious Orange culminates in a one night production in three acts building on the rehearsals and material developed by each lead artist. The last night of the exhibition will transform into a live collage of costume, idiosyncrasies and extravaganzas.
A complete rehearsal/ performance schedule, including dates for screenings of related material will be posted on the DCP website.
Lead Artists
Marc Arthur has been produced by and in residency at The Emily Harvey Foundation, Venice; The Living Theater, New York and The Colony Room at New Langton Arts in San Francisco. His latest collaboration with Vaginal Davis showed at Arco 09 Madrid-Feria and the 59th Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin/Forum Expanded, 2009. He frequently collaborates with the Kuchar brothers.
Anne Colvin is an artist, curator and co-founder of TART in San Francisco. Anne has shown nationally and internationally including at Gavin Brown’s Enterprise, New York; Spencer Brownstone Gallery, New York; Matt’s Gallery, London; The Photographer’s Gallery, London; Lowsalt Gallery, Glasgow and was included in Mare Street Biennale 2008, Artists Space, London. She has worked on independent curatorial projects for New Langton Arts, SF. Upcoming shows include Moyra Davey’s One Minute Film Festival.
Alex Hetherington is a performance-based visual artist and writer. He is currently producing a performance work developed as a result of an Alt-W Award from New Media Scotland, which includes a workshop project with Franko B at Tramway, Glasgow and a residency at Creative Lab, CCA, to be premiered at the Edinburgh Art Festival 2009. Forthcoming projects include a collaborative documentation project for the Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow and lead artist for video performance workshops for a show which includes Tacita Dean and Nathan Coley.
Karla Milosevich is a video artist and curator. She recently presented a play co-written with Kevin Killian at Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley, CA, Love Can Build a Bridge and was included in Kiki at Ratio 3, San Francisco. She has a collaborative video and music project upcoming in Essen, Germany, 2010 with Christian Jendreiko of hobbypopMUSEUM. Karla is also one of the organizers of Right Window Gallery in San Francisco.
Anne Colvin and DCP would especially like to thank Michael Clark and Company for the loan of materials and their support of this exhibition.
David Cunningham dedicates this exhibition to Gavan Lee – who will know why, and M.E.S. – who knows more than either of us.
For more information/ images please contact
info@davidcunninghamprojects.com | tel:- 415.341.1538 | www.davidcunninghamprojects.com
