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Friday, February 19, 2021
Music Update Feb. 19: 12 Minutes Max
Posted By Erin Moore on February 19, 2021, 3:18 PM
As usual, this month for 12 Minutes Max, the library has got a unique lineup of art, this time heavy on the music and dance side of things. Dance artist and teacher at the School of Dance at the University of Utah, Halie Bahr will kick things off with part of her work Rough Cuts (pictured), a six-dancer-assisted interpretation of the game many of us grew up playing, “the-floor-is-lava.” Also assisting the dancers are pieces of furniture, which is an essential part of any floor-is-lava game, no matter how much the rules of this colorful dance version of it change—which is often, throughout the piece.
Following Bahr is a rather strange musical meditation on, of all things, the resignation speech of Richard Nixon, called Nixkin. Though perhaps to say the composition is about Nixon is wrong. Percussionist, Utah Valley University teacher, local does-it-all performer, former Fulbright Fellow and Utah Performing Arts Fellow Gavin Ryan didn’t write the piece—it was composed by David Cossin—but that doesn’t make it any less interesting a piece of art to listen to, since the first piece of the song calls for artistic interpretation. Ryan has responded to that prompt by drawing on a folkloric style of conga playing called abakua, a music belonging to a secret fraternal society in Cuba. What the connection is between that style of drumming and the Nixon speech will, hopefully, be revealed upon listening to the performance.
To finish off the show, a “collaborative voice and movement work” will be presented by locals Jasmine Stack and Stuart Wheeler— a painter/video artist/modern dance dancer and a poet/musician, respectively. Their production, Mr. BERNARD SHAW is built off of a chapter from a thrift store book found by Stack at Goodwill, Shaw on Vivisection, published in 1951. The piece focuses on stillness, repetition, variance and combinatorial play using limited language and movement.
As usual, don’t miss this chance to see such contemplative art made available for free to all by the Salt Lake Public Library—join 12MM on Sunday, Feb. 21 at 2 p.m. at vimeo.com/507293490 to watch, and visit slcpl.org/events for more info.
Following Bahr is a rather strange musical meditation on, of all things, the resignation speech of Richard Nixon, called Nixkin. Though perhaps to say the composition is about Nixon is wrong. Percussionist, Utah Valley University teacher, local does-it-all performer, former Fulbright Fellow and Utah Performing Arts Fellow Gavin Ryan didn’t write the piece—it was composed by David Cossin—but that doesn’t make it any less interesting a piece of art to listen to, since the first piece of the song calls for artistic interpretation. Ryan has responded to that prompt by drawing on a folkloric style of conga playing called abakua, a music belonging to a secret fraternal society in Cuba. What the connection is between that style of drumming and the Nixon speech will, hopefully, be revealed upon listening to the performance.
To finish off the show, a “collaborative voice and movement work” will be presented by locals Jasmine Stack and Stuart Wheeler— a painter/video artist/modern dance dancer and a poet/musician, respectively. Their production, Mr. BERNARD SHAW is built off of a chapter from a thrift store book found by Stack at Goodwill, Shaw on Vivisection, published in 1951. The piece focuses on stillness, repetition, variance and combinatorial play using limited language and movement.
As usual, don’t miss this chance to see such contemplative art made available for free to all by the Salt Lake Public Library—join 12MM on Sunday, Feb. 21 at 2 p.m. at vimeo.com/507293490 to watch, and visit slcpl.org/events for more info.
About The Author
Erin Moore
Bio:
Erin Moore is City Weekly's music editor. Email tips to: music@cityweekly.net.
Erin Moore is City Weekly's music editor. Email tips to: music@cityweekly.net.
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