At the Gloaming With the Hipster Shaman
.
. . I HAVE SOME COOL-LOOKING NECKLACES AND A GRIFFIN PUPPET . . .
Anne
Wilson is not the only SoLow artist inviting audience members into her home for
a party (see Last Meals from Death Row),
but hers is the only show promising to faith heal attendees. Wilson has
experience putting on solo work, and At
the Gloaming with the Hipster Shaman, an all-night party capped by an
exorcism at dawn, promises a unique experience. She kindly agreed to answer
some burning questions about what audiences can expect from her solstice
celebration.
SoLow Fest: In what
ways are you a "hipster shaman"? Is this a serious or ironic
self-title, or something else?
Anne
Wilson: The title, and concept of the show has four main thoughts behind it:
1.
I am not a trained shaman. I've done some guided meditations. I am not a
priest. I am not certified by the Catholic Church to perform exorcisms. I have
some cool looking necklaces and a griffin puppet that are my ritual garb. I am
throwing together aesthetics from different religious and spiritual lineages
with zero regard for the rich traditions that they come from. I am reading
about rituals in books and online and throwing them together with my own
creativity to come up with a homemade ritual exorcism to be performed on
audience members who are also unfamiliar with these spiritual practices.
2.
I am trained performer. I have
studied for most of my life how to shift consciousness in myself the performer,
and in the audience as a witness to my consciousness shift. And those shifts
are very real. I am one of many artists who believe performance continues a
spiritual tradition from when we all lived on the savanna and performed for
each other at night around a fire.
3.
Many people who are trained shamans
and priests are utterly full of shit. Organized religion and spiritual
movements are built on a solid foundation of bullshit. And that bullshit is
being used to oppress people all around the world. In the US I primarily see
generic new age spirituality and evangelicalism used as a tool to part people
from their money without providing any service beyond what the placebo effect
can give. To me, this is more offensive than strapping a griffin puppet to your
head and calling yourself a shaman. I say this having studied Reiki and
Bodytalk, which are two systems that I have a complicated relationship with.
4.
Performance is also built on a foundation of bullshit. But performance, unlike
Bob Larson,
is cognizant of its own bullshit. And performance, unlike Bob Larson, isn't
claiming to heal anyone or solve anyone's problems. This makes performance more
valuable than perhaps any other spiritual practice.
I
didn't quite realize how interested I was in this intersection until the
no-pressure SoLow Festival came along and I noticed all these curiosities pop
up when I allowed myself to be silly or wild and less intellectual in imagining
a piece.
SF: What should people
know about At the Gloaming before
they go?
AW:
If they act like assholes they will be cast out of the ritual and the home as
quickly as a demon will be cast from the breast of a believer.
For tickets to At the Gloaming with the Hipster
Shaman, email anne.macg.wilson@gmail.com.
Julius Ferraro is a Philly freelancer. He writes regularly for Art Attack and his blog, Notes on Words.
The wonderful Julius Ferraro has been conducting interviews with some of our SoLow artists. We'll be featuring them here on the blog leading up to and through the Festival. Thank you Julius! And don't forget, you can view the entire lineup of artists in the full SoLow listings!
our nebulous motor
I CRAVE WORK THAT HAS
A WANDERING-OFFNESS TO IT
Photo credit: Jared Gruenwald
“Simmer
in the experiential mashed potatoes,” suggests Christina Gesualdi,
co-creator/performer of our nebulous
motor, “won’t you???”
our nebulous motor, performed in a stairwell at Mascher Space Co-op in Northern Liberties as part of
the SoLow Fest next week, is a dance-installation that audiences are invited to
walk in and out of. Christina talks to SoLow about meditating on roofs, making
non-narrative dance, and killing variables.
SoLow Fest: Was there
a specific event or series of events which inspired you to create this show?
Christina
Gesualdi: I rehearse at Mascher twice a week, and for the past year, more than
half of the rehearsals have been solo rehearsals. In the nice weather, I like
to warm up with some Qi Gong on
Mascher's roof. The fire escape hallway that leads to the roof is somewhat
dingy yet charming in its own way. I am attracted to disheveled yet functional
spaces. The hallway creates a striking sense of depth. It is amazing because it
limits what I can make. These limits are useful and the piece has been finding
a sense of freedom within them.
SF: Tell us a little
about your previous work.
CG:
I have self-produced a bunch of sit-down-and-watch-type experimental dance
works. My work is non-narrative. My last solo was very experiential, so it
hinged on the sensorial world that I, the performer, was experiencing in each
moment. This is the kind of work I am interested in, though I also wonder how
much it translates to audience sensation and experience. This new piece gets at
changing the sensory "givens" of the dance-watcher's environment.
SF: What have you
learned from the process so far?
CG:
I have learned to pare down the number of variables within one piece...that I
have more questions and ambitions than I often think I do...and that it is
important to "kill" a bunch of them, so that the remaining ones can
really be present in a big way. I also have learned that the sounds of the
building in the hallway are amazing in the afternoon (our neighbors and the
outdoors are the perfect amount of quiet and noisy between 11am and 1pm).
SF: Tell us a little
about experiential mashed potatoes.
CG:
Ah yes. So I had a ballet teacher in high school that criticized dancers'
execution of the steps and combinations as "ehhh...it's so mushy...it's
like mashed potatoes."
I understand precision, rigor, organization, and dynamic range as values that
make great dance, but more so, I crave work that has a softness and a wandering
off-ness to it. I think it is good to be immersed in work that feels mushy for
a while or maybe for the duration. It parallels and speaks to the complexity
and lack of clarity that makes life worth living.
our nebulous motor takes place at Mascher Space
Co-Op at 155 Cecil B. Moore Avenue on Fri. June 21 @10pm-midnight, Sat. June
22@ 10pm-midnight, Thurs. June 27 @ 8pm-10pm,
Fri. June 28th @ 11am-1pm (2 hour installation. Come and go as you
please.). gesualdic@gmail.com or (215) 901-5226 for reservations. VERY limited
space. PWYC $5.
Julius Ferraro is a Philly freelancer. He writes regularly for Art Attack and his blog, Notes on Words
Last Meals From Death Row
It
would be unusual research the cuisine of a place you never mean to
visit, but Kevin Meehan and Dean Ferraro—roommates, artists and amateur
chefs—have actually done quite a lot of research into the meals served
on death row, and want to serve an authentic last meal to you. Last Meals from Death Row,
part of this year’s SoLow Fest, is a dinner party with an intellectual
bent. To learn a bit more about the show, we caught up with Kevin and
Dean and asked them a few questions.
SoLow Fest: What will you be doing to guide the experience, aside from making the food?
Dean
Ferraro: I think the key to doing this is fluidity. We’ll be learning
just as much from the experience as the guests. Our last night may be
something completely different from what we started with.
Kevin
Meehan: There's like a rule that it's not polite to talk politics at
the dinner table or in the presence of company and I'm curious if
that'll be broken.
SF: What weird stuff have you learned about death row and its inmates while doing the research for this project?
DF:
I think it’s just fascinating and a bit ironic that of all the ways to
die, execution is by far the best documented. World leaders, celebrities
and other public figures die everyday in the privacy of hospital beds
and in the presence of family. It’s a strange phenomenon how the penal
system compensates for that with one meal.
SF: What provisions do you make for people with special dietary needs, or even tastes? Do audiences have any choice in food?
DF:
They’re at the mercy of our menu, which we posted as a disclaimer. If
they want a tailor-made last meal, they’ll have to do something terrible
just like everyone else.
SF:
Do you intend this to be more of an intellectual or a gastronomical
experience? For a $5 donation, can people expect to be wowed by their
meal?
KM:
I'm curious to see if there is an intellectual experience as a result
of the gastronomical. I feel that the two will be tied together. For $5?
Are you kidding me? If I made this a potluck and everyone brought their
own dish, you'd probably end up spending more. I think the meal may be
"wow-worthy" for reasons other than solely taste.
DF:
Hopefully, it’ll be a mix of both. Our goal is to have the meal be the
catalyst for discussion. Everyone has a comfort food, something most
death-row inmates choose by default. The whole thing stems from the idea
that one meal can tell a lot about you. Neither Kevin nor I have any
real culinary training, but it’ll definitely be worth the trip.
Last Meals from Death Row takes place at Kevin and Dean’s apartment at 6th and South on June 20, June 21 and June 29th at 7pm. Contact Kevin at kvn.meehan@gmail.com to reserve spot and obtain venue address. PWYC $5-10, BYOB.
Julius Ferraro is a Philly freelancer. He writes regularly for Art Attack and his blog, Notes on Words.