CULTUREPHILE: PORTLAND ARTS

TBA 2011: First Acts Announced

Slo-mo car crashes, 3-D animation, an interactive jumproom and a Jimmy Swaggart impersonator, are just the first few things on tap for TBA.

Posted by: The Culturegang on May 03, 2011 at 09:00AM2 Comments

Zoe Juniper: Just one of the exciting acts PICA has lined up for this summer’s TBA.

Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (aka PICA) is kicking into gear once again for its 10-day late-summer festival, the Time-Based Art Festival (aka TBA. Know your Portland art abbreviations, folks). The following release from their pressroom includes such concise, informative summaries of the talent we can expect to see this year, that we wish we’d written it ourselves. Instead, we’ve highlighted names and categories, and tagged a few returning acts from TBA:2010 in red, so you can read Portland Monthly’s reviews of the work they brought last year. PICA was quick to express that there are more acts yet “to be announced”—also aka, TBA.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Since 
1995, 
PICA 
has
 built 
a 
citywide 
platform
 for 
the 
creation 
and 
discovery 
of
 contemporary
 art,
 through
 artist 
residencies 
and
 commissions,
 talks 
and
 workshops,
 and
 the
 annual
 Time‐Based
 Art Festival.



This
 September,
 PICA’s
 ninth
 annual
 Time‐Based 
Art 
Festival 
takes 
over 
Portland,
 Oregon,
 for 
an 
all‐hours,
 city‐wide 
happening 
of
 contemporary 
performance
 and
 visual
 art. 
TBA 
spans
 disciplines,
 ideas, 
histories,
 and 
locales 
to 
present 
work 
that
 distinctly
 reflects
 the 
here
 and 
now.
 The 
Festival
 gathers 
artists 
for 
morning
 workshops, 
expands
 the
 conversation 
with 
afternoon
 talks
 and 
salons, 
fills
 pop‐up 
galleries 
with
 visual
 installations,
 and
 takes 
the
 stage 
until
 late 
in
 the 
night 
with 
experimental, 
genre‐defying
 live 
performances.



TBA
 ON
 STAGE 
presents 
performances 
by 
artists 
colliding 
the
 genres 
of 
dance, 
music,
 theatre, 
new
media, 
and
 film
 to
 propel 
new
 ideas 
and
 new
 forms.
ON
STAGE 
is 
curated
 by 
TBA 
Festival
 Artistic
 Director 
Cathy 
Edwards,
 in
 collaboration
 with 
Erin 
Boberg
 Doughton,
 Performing
 Arts
 Program
 Director
 for
 PICA. 
In
 curating 
this 
year’s
 program,
 Edwards 
has
 said
 that
 she
 was 
interested 
in 
exploring
 the,
 “continuums
 of
 community 
to
 cult, 
of
 mentor 
to 
demagogue,
 and
 of 
art 
to
 propaganda.”



Kyle 
Abraham,
 The
 Radio 
Show 
[NEW
 YORK,
 DANCE]
 Hailed 
as 
"the
 best
 and
 brightest 
creative 
talent 
to 
emerge 
in 
New 
York
City 
in
 the
 age
 of
 Obama"
by 
Out
 Magazine, 
Abraham’s
 choreography
 investigates
 the
 effects
 of 
the
 abrupt
 discontinuation 
of
 a 
community 
radio 
station
 and
 the 
impact 
of 
Alzheimer’s 
on
 a
 family.
 Abraham’s
 score 
mixes 
recordings 
of
 classic
 soul
 and 
hip‐hop
 with
 contemporary
 classical 
compositions
 by 
Ryoji 
Ikeda 
and
 Alva 
Noto.
 


Kyle 
Abraham, 
Live!
 The
 Realest 
MC
 (in‐development) 
[NEW
 YORK,
 DANCE]
 Abraham’s
 newest
 solo
 performance
 spins
 off 
from
 the
 duality 
of 
Pinocchio’s 
plight 
to
 be
 a 
"real 
boy," 
investigating
 gender 
roles 
in
 the
 black 
community 
and 
societal
 perspectives
 of
 the
 black 
man
 through
 hip
hop
 and
 celebrity
 culture.




Andrew
 Dinwiddie, 
Get 
Mad
 at 
Sin
! 
[NEW
 YORK,
 THEATRE]
 A 
one‐man
 performance 
reanimating
 an
 out‐of‐print 
vinyl
 record 
of
 a 
sermon
 by 
the
 evangelist
 Jimmy 
Swaggart ,
recorded
 live
 in
 1971.
 Dinwiddie
 achieves
 perfect
 audio
 fidelity 
to
 the
 original 
record 
while 
reincarnating
 Swaggart’s 
carpet‐pacing, 
pulpit‐pounding 
performance.



Mike 
Daisey,
 All 
the
 Hours
 in
 the
 Day
 [NEW
 YORK,
 THEATRE,
 ONE‐DAY
 ONLY]
 For 
three
 years 
Daisey
 has
 been 
working
 on 
an 
insane 
project: 
a
 live 
twenty–four 
hour
 monologue,
 on
 the
 scale 
of 
War
 and
 Peace.
 Dreamed
 of 
as
 an
 epic
 story 
that 
shatters
 the
 framework 
of 
the 
theater, 
All
 the
 Hours 
in
 the 
Day
 will 
weave 
together 
massive
 narrative 
threads 
into 
an
 electric
 story 
about 
our
 humanity 
in 
this 
age…if 
all 
goes
 well.

 


Dean 
&
 Britta,
 13
 Most 
Beautiful…
Songs 
for 
Andy
 Warhol’s 
Screen 
Tests

 [NEW
 YORK, 
MUSIC, 
FILM]

 Between 
1964 
and
 1966,
 Andy
 Warhol 
shot 
nearly 
500 
Screen
 Tests—beautiful
 and
 revealing
16mm 
film
 portraits 
of 
hundreds
 of 
different
 individuals, 
from 
the
 famous
 to
 the
 anonymous. 
Songwriters 
Dean 
Wareham
 and 
Britta 
Phillips, 
formerly
 of 
the
 band
 Luna,
 will 
perform
 a 
live 
score 
of
 original 
compositions 
and 
covers 
for
 13
 of 
the
 films.


Taylor 
Mac, 
Comparison 
is
 Violence:
 The
 Ziggy
 Stardust
 Meets
 Tiny
 Tim
 Songbook
 [NEW
 YORK,
 CABARET 
THEATRE]
 Combining 
dramatic 
flair,
 searing 
satire,
 poignant
 honesty, 
and—of
course—plenty
of
 glitter,
Mac
 arrives 
in 
a 
flourish
 of 
sequins 
with 
his
 newest
 show, 
in 
which 
he
 dissects
 the
 darker 
side 
of 
comparison 
while 
singing
 Tiny
 Tim
 songs 
and 
selections 
from
 David
 Bowie’s 
glam‐rock 
classic, 
The
 Rise
 and
 Fall
 of 
Ziggy
 Stardust.


Offsite 
Dance 
Project 
[JAPAN,
 DANCE,
 NEW
 COMMISSION]
 For 
this 
site‐specific 
project,
 Offsite 
Dance 
returns 
to
 Portland
 and
 embeds
 three
 dynamic 
Japanese choreographers 
in 
the
 Central
 Eastside 
Industrial 
District,
 under
 bridges,
 off
 of
 loading
 docks,
 and
 in
 the
 neighborhood’s 
rapidly 
developing
 buildings. 
 Featuring
 Yoko 
Higashino,
 Yukio
 Suzuki, 
and
 Ho
Ho‐Do.
 


Rachid 
Ouramdane,
 World 
Fair 
[FRANCE,
 EXPERIMENTAL
 DANCE]
 A 
French 
choreographer 
of 
Algerian
 descent, 
Ouramdane’s
 latest
 solo 
asks, 
“What 
can
 authorities 
expect 
from 
a 
work
 of 
art? 
What 
are
 the
 marks 
left
 by
 political 
history
 on 
the
 body? ”
World 
Fair 
blends
 movement 
and 
video 
to 
present 
the body 
as
 a 
bank 
able 
to
 record, 
erase,
 or 
register
 different
 ingredients
 of
 modern 
reality
 and
 national 
identity.


Rude
 Mechs,
 The 
Method
 Gun
 [AUSTIN,
 TX,
 THEATRE]
 The
 Method
 Gun
 explores
 the
 life 
and
 techniques 
of 
Stella 
Burden,
 the
 actor‐training
 guru
 of 
the
 60s
 and
 70s,
 and
 creator
 of
 “The
 Approach”
 (often 
referred
 to
 as 
"the
 most
 dangerous 
acting 
technique 
in 
the
 world"). 
A 
play 
about 
the 
ecstasy 
and 
excesses 
of
 performing,
 the
 dangers
 of
 public 
intimacy, 
and 
the 
incompatibility 
of 
truth 
on
 stage
 and
 sanity 
in 
real
 life.



tEEth,
 Home 
Made 
[PORTLAND,
 EXPERIMENTAL
 DANCE] Home 
Made 
mounts 
a 
daring 
exploration 
of
 the 
awkwardness 
of
 human
 beauty
 and
 the
 struggles 
of 
intimate 
negotiation. 
Choreographed
 by
 Angelle 
Hebert
 and
 scored 
by
 Phillip 
Kraft, 
Home
 Made
 explores 
the 
fine
 balance
 between 
tenderness 
and 
hostility,
 where 
playfulness
 becomes
 manipulation 
and
 exploration
 shades
 into 
aggression.
 


zoe 
|
 juniper,
 A 
Crack 
in 
Everything
 [SEATTLE,
 DANCE,
 COMMISSION]
 Through
 3‐D
 animation 
projections,
 atmospheric 
installations 
and 
lighting, 
and
 Scofield’s
 compelling
 choreography,
 the 
piece 
meditates 
on
 the
 moments 
that 
divide 
people’s
 lives 
into 
linear 
experiences 
of
 time.
 Scofield 
creates 
a 
unique 
and
 intense
 contemporary 
dance 
language
 from
 a
 range 
of 
movement 
styles, 
performed
 by 
an
 ensemble
 of 
top‐notch
 dancers.

 


TBA 
ON
 SIGHT 
is 
a
 collection 
of 
installations,
 exhibitions, 
projections, 
and
 gatherings 
by
 visual 
artists, 
curated 
and 
organized 
by
 Kristan 
Kennedy,
 Visual 
Art 
Curator 
for 
PICA.
 Evidence
 of
 Bricks:
 The
 building 
up,
 but 
mostly 
tearing 
down,
 of 
institutions, 
societies,
 structures
 and
 ideas.
 


Claire
 Fontaine
[FRANCE]
 Claire
 Fontaine 
is 
a 
Paris‐based
 collective, 
founded
 in 
2004.
 After 
lifting
 her
 name
 from
 a
 popular 
brand
 of 
school 
notebooks, 
Claire 
Fontaine
 declared
 herself 
a
 “ready made
 artist”
 and
 began 
to 
elaborate 
a 
version 
of
 neo‐conceptual 
art 
that 
often 
looks 
like 
other
 people’s 
work. Working 
in
 neon,
 video,
 sculpture, 
painting
 and
 text, 
her
 practice 
can
 be
 described
 as 
an
 ongoing 
interrogation 
of
 the
 political
 impotence
 and
 the
 crisis 
of 
 singularity
 that
 seem
 to
 define
 contemporary 
art 
today.



Kate 
Gilmore 
[NEW 
YORK]
 In 
Kate 
Gilmore’s 
art, 
she
 devises 
strenuous, 
physical 
propositions
 without 
clear,
 purposeful 
outcomes. 
Whether 
kicking 
and 
climbing
 out 
of 
a
 drywall 
column,
 stacking
 shelves
 with 
paint‐filled
 pots, 
or 
maintaining 
her
 balance 
atop
 a 
pile 
of 
marble 
being
 sledge‐hammered
 from 
beneath 
her, 
Gilmore’s
 actions
 assert 
a
 dogged 
persistence,
 dark 
humor, 
and 
a
 stark 
sense 
of 
risk.



*Anna 
Gray 
& 
Ryan
 Wilson
 Paulsen, 
Don’t 
Worry 
We’ll 
Fix 
It 
[PORTLAND]*
 The
 Fix
 It 
office
 will 
both
 produce 
the 
publication 
September, 
a
 daily
 art
 historical
 broadside
 specially 
produced
 for
 TBA:11, 
and 
be
 an 
active 
space
 where 
the 
artists 
will
 work 
on site 
to 
correct, 
revise
 and
 compile
 errata 
from
 previous 
editions 
of
 the
 paper.
 


Cristina
 Lucas,
 Europleasure 
International
 LTD.
 TOUCH 
AND
 GO
 [SPAIN]
 Incorporating 
irony
 and
 humor 
into
 her 
work,
 Cristina 
Lucas
 focuses
 on 
the
 irrationality
 of 
human 
actions
 and
 ethics 
within 
contemporary 
aesthetics. 
Lucas’ 
video 
makes sly
 commentary 
on 
the 
diaspora 
of 
Western 
factories 
to 
the 
Third 
World, 
through
 an
 encounter 
with 
one
 such
 British 
company, 
Europleasure 
International 
LTD.



*Ohad 
Meromi,
 Rehearsal
 Sculpture,
 Act 
II:
 Consumption
 [NEW
 YORK]
* Inspired 
by 
the 
pragmatic 
idealism
 of 
the 
Kibbutz 
and 
Russian 
avant‐garde
 theatre,
 Meromi 
creates 
an 
architecture 
for 
action,
 in
 which 
visitors 
are
 invited 
to 
form
 their
 own 
troupe 
to
 interpret 
and 
perform 
scenes 
from 
his 
Stage 
Exercises 
for 
Smokers 
and
 Non‐Smokers.



Patrick
 Rock, 
Oscar’s 
Delirium
 Tremens 
[PORTLAND]
 A 
hot 
pink, 
elephant‐shaped, 
forced‐air‐inflated, 
viewer‐interactive
 jump‐room 
of 
the
 monumental 
scale 
usually 
reserved
 for
 historical 
statues
 and
 public 
art. 
Oscar’s 
Delirium
 Tremens 
disrupts 
our 
balance, 
implicating 
everyone
 in 
its 
experiential 
abandon 
and
 the
 woozy
 sense
 that
 the
 world
 continues
 spinning
 out
 of
 control,
 even
 after 
stepping
 off
 the
 ride.
 


Halsey 
Rodman 
[NEW
 YORK]
 A
 sculptor 
and
 painter,
 Rodman’s 
installations
 use
 different
 forms
 of 
near‐identical
 objects, 
creating 
a 
sense 
that 
despite 
their 
concrete 
physicality, 
something 
about
 them
 remains 
unresolved
 and
 unfixed. 
While 
the 
elements 
exist 
simultaneously 
in
 space, 
their
 differences
 expose 
the 
passage 
of 
time 
in 
their 
creation 
and 
in 
the 
audience’s 
regard.



Jesse 
Sugarmann, 
Lido 
(The
 Pride 
is 
Back)
 [SPRINGFIELD, 
OR]
 Sugarmann’s 
automotive 
performances 
are 
elegant 
pile‐ups. 
His 
vehicular 
actions 
 engage 
the 
car 
accident 
as 
an 
inadvertent 
monument, 
a
 spectacle 
of 
trauma,
 and 
a
 point 
of 
social 
exchange. 
Positioning
 three 
Chrysler 
minivans 
atop 
42
 inflatable 
airbeds,
 Sugarmann
 creates
 a 
slow‐motion 
wreck.



*Mona 
Vatamanu
 & 
Florin 
Tudor, 
Rite 
of 
Spring 
[ROMANIA/SWITZERLAND]*
 Living 
in 
Bucharest, 
Romania, 
Vatamanu
 &
 Tudor 
examine 
the
 sea
 change 
in
 social 
and
 economic 
systems
 following 
the 
decline 
of 
Communism 
in 
Eastern 
Europe. 
In 
Rite 
of

Spring, 
as 
children
 set
 drifts 
of 
poplar 
fluff 
aflame 
in 
the 
street 
gutters,
 the 
artists 
create
 a 
symbol 
of 
“Lost
 Boys”
 innocence 
in 
the 
face 
of
 Capitalism’s
 failed 
promise.



Young‐hae 
Chang 
Heavy 
Industries 
[SOUTH
 KOREA]
 YOUNG‐HAE
 CHANG 
HEAVY
 INDUSTRIES 
was
 founded 
in
 Seoul 
by 
Young‐hae 
Chang,
 C.E.O.,
 and 
Marc 
Voge,
 C.I.O.
 Their
 quick‐cut, 
text‐based
 flash 
animations 
pair
 catchy,
 percussive 
scores
 with 
original
 narratives 
that
 tell
 sharp, 
captivating, 
and
 politically‐charged
 stories
 of 
modern 
urban 
life 
and
 society
 on
 the
 web.



Whoop 
Dee
 Doo
 [KANSAS
 CITY,
 MISSOURI] Whoop
 Dee 
Doo
 is 
a
 kid‐friendly 
faux 
public 
access 
television
 show 
featuring
 performances
 and 
live 
audience 
participation. 
With 
skits, 
contests, 
musicians, 
and
 local
 talent,
 the
 program
 is
 inspired
 by
 television
 shows
 such 
as 
The 
Carol 
Burnett 
Show,
 Pee
 Wee’s 
Playhouse, 
Mr.
 Wizard, 
The
 Gong
 Show,
 American 
Bandstand, 
Soul 
Train, 
Double
 Dare, 
and
 You 
Can’t 
Do 
that 
on
 Television.


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Tags: Theater