We Found Love in a Hopeless Place

One of my favorite pieces in the Brooklyn Museum is the Likishi Dance Costume. I make time to see her whenever I visit.

The Museum's likishi dance costume in performance, Zambia, 1935 (Photo: Margaret Carson Hubbard)

Museum Text:

Likishi Dance Costume and Accessories (Mwana Pwevo)

Unidentified Luvale artist, late 19th or early 2oth century

Northwest province, Zambia

Fiber, wood, hide, metal, seedpods, bark, rope, hair, organic materials

 

This complete dance costume shows how masks are normally one part of a larger ensemble. The mask is sewn directly onto the costume of looped bark and fiber, which fits tightly over the body of the dancer. Seedpod rattles and metal bells added a musical aspect to the performance.

Although they are danced by Luvale men, mwana pwevo masks depict women. In order to own and perform with a mask, a man had to symbolically marry it by paying the carver a copper ring as a bride price. In doing so, the dancer made a commitment to honor and care for the spirit represented in the mask. In return, the dancer was able to earn his livelihood performing at local festivals.

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Skin-Walker

Some photos from the Eidolon performances

maske

October was a busy month. Lots of costumes flying around. But that’s kind of my thing…

Not only was I building looks for many people and helping friends with their Halloween costumes, I myself was playing dress up too.  A good friend sent me this image and I think it’s an appropriate metaphor for what happened to me late in the month:

Many people  I talk to in the field of costume design say that they never make anything for themselves, that they spend too much time making for others that they have no interest in making for themselves. Somehow I still find a thrill in transforming myself into something else. And I hope I can hold on to this. But it takes work. And sometimes I work too much. (Actually I always work too much.)  And sometimes I’m a broke down mess. (Not always!)

I wore an Electro-Glam look for the Bowie Ball on October 10th

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A lot of time was spent working with other artists at Izquierdo Studio on robotic armor for Heidi Klum. Martin Izquierdo designed the amazing look, complete with built in stilts and chrome breasts. I respect Heidi’s desire to have a unique custom built costume every year for her Halloween party. I’d like to see a movement towards a more couture halloween.

This photo was taken during a fitting at the studio.

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For Halloween weekend I had big plans to be a skeletal bat. But Saturday night hit and I wasn’t done! Luckily there are lots of bits and pieces from past projects circulating in my world. With a borrow here and some scraps from there I became a llama. Which paired well with my friend Matthew’s creepy monkey costume. (Yikes!)

Monkey & Llama, pet us.

And for Sunday night, actual Halloween, I finished up my bat skeleton just in time to head out. ( A friend actually sewed me into the suit on the subway…)

My friend Sam was a dragon and I was a dead bat

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This photo is from a costume fitting for choreographer Cori Olinghouse. Cori asked me to design looks for a super interesting piece called The Animal Suite: Experiments in Vaudeville and Shapeshifting. The piece brings together movement from vogueing, vaudeville and silent clowning, which Cori has woven together exploring the concept of eccentric dance. After seeing the dancer move in his costumes I know we are onto something good!

Buster Keaton inspiration

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Soon I’m starting work on some new costumes for my friend and collaborator (and epic-maker) Christopher Williams. We’re taking the first steps in an an exciting new project, an opera based on medieval Welsh mythology. I’ve read an early draft of the libretto that Christopher has written and it’s incredible. (!)

An excerpt will be shown in February at the Joyce theater…  Photos from our last collaboration can be seen HERE.

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I’ll post more on the last two topics as they develop

talk soon,

_A

vodou, sex, death and revolution

Photo: Leah Gordon

Getting ready for All Hallow’s Eve and finding inspiration in haunting theater, characters in masque, vodou history and performative revolution…

I’ve been looking at book of photographs by Leah Gordon called Kanaval. For years Gordon has documented the pre-Lent Mardi Gras festivities in Jacmel, a costal tone in southern Haiti. (All the images in this book were taken before the earthquake earlier this year.)

Unlike other carnival festivities (Rio, New Orleans) the celebrations in Jacmel are honestly weird and sometimes frightening. Quite different than most “dress up” here in the U.S., these street theater performers are actually telling unique culturally specific stories through the characters they inhabit. Gordon’s photographs showcase an amazingly inventive form of self-expression. Raw. Real. Homemade.

Take note.

Photo: Leah Gordon

Photo: Leah Gordon

Photo: Leah Gordon

Photo: Leah Gordon

Bears in the Studio

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Working away on a set of paper bear heads for choreographer Cori Olinghouse. They will debut in a new dance piece this coming spring. I’m having fun working with Cori, collaborating with her on her experiments in vaudeville and shapeshifting.  I’ve always had a thing for human animal transformations.

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I love this still from a video of Cori creating movement. One of the costume we’ve created (pictured) is a deconstructed backless button down shirt, a boater hat, and some early 1900′s-ish baggy trousers. Various other clothing bits come on an off, in and out  - and there is also an opera glove and cane in the mix as well. More as it develops.

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Whoa…  grizzly bears… dancing…

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voyage

The Voyage of Garbhglas

Images on my flickr from my friend Christopher’s piece at the Irish Hunger Memorial earlier this month. Carol Binion did the fantastic costumes and I coordinated them for this show. It was a wonder to see winged faeries and “protuberance” demons dancing in Lower Manhattan. Most of these photos I took but there are also some from Michael Wang and James Wagner.

muse and beauty

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Happy Family (2006) detail

Joana Vosconcelos

photos found on Lovely Textiles

 

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el corzon (heart)

cut paper

Elsa Mora

 

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Costumes from Das Triadische Ballett (1916-1932)

Oskar Schlemmer

 

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Photography Feature

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Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning

I recently finished teaching a digital photography class at an all girls school in Queens. Once a week I would hang out with the ladies and we’d go on photo adventures. Below are some picks from our work together:

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Christopher Williams
My friend Christopher, some friends and I organized a photo shoot at the Irish Hunger Memorial last month. The images are to be used to advertise a dance piece, The Voyage of Garbhglas, that Christopher is staging at the memorial in August. I’ll also be designing some costumes for the piece. The model is dancer Michael Ingle who will be performing in the piece. Some of the images I shot:

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Grant Worth
Back during Easter-time my friend Grant organized an event – The Easter Glamour Portrait Studio x2 – Spring Forward – The Future of Spring 2010
I assisted in styling the attendees along with the sparkling Destiny Pierce and shimmering Stina Puotinen. Grant then shot portraits of the guests with Polaroid film. Here are some favorites:

The complete experience can be had here:
http://www.missionfantastic.com/polaroid.html

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Showtime

Flyer for the show I’m working on. Come.