Dance of Gold Canvas

direct link: Dance of Gold Canvas

A performance piece, hints of the epic, the metamorphosis that life is. Age and grace. Frivolity and art. Pain and laughter. Humor and seriousness.

In the dance I speak a poetry whose volume I dimmed to just below audible. A poetry below the threshold.

And of this nearly silenced subliminal speaking? It's part of the motion poem. A tantra. Dance, the journey of the soul, guttural, the women crying for help during the tsunami, women in war, survival, a Blakean crawl across the canvas at one point and I allowed some words to rise, utterances, Butoh not in style but expression perhaps in parts, and of strength, empowerment, and the fecund, the buds of spring about to burst, Boticelli's Primavera, the rich earthy tapestries of the natural world, and Zen, laughter at the absurdity of life, and love, love everywhere, enjoyment in the body itself, sensuality, a wit, humour. Dancing with shadows of the self was intriguing in the editing, as was slipping between colours of a rich Buddha saffron and the smudging shadows of black and white. Editing itself a psychic process, shaping a moving poem.

How a video comes to be is almost surreal. Magic in the editing. I enter a state where time doesn't matter and think it closest to the dream, the mind's most deeply creative process, where you're exploring something, and you're not quite sure what it means, or where it's going, but are fascinated, compelled.

A dance poem, an enactment, a one-act play. Perhaps in this piece something visionary, in that there is resolution to the conflict, the paradoxes, in the process of art itself, in the dance of the self.

Self-conscious but daring to anyhow, give everything you've got.

The dance of the self within Krishna's cosmic dance, the spinning painting of us on the canvas, the dance we all share.



Performed, videoed and edited by Brenda Clews.

Background music by arnoldsrecords, 'There's a hole, there's a wall.'

-
Without memory, the fragile present disappears.

blog: Rubies in Crystal
art and writings: brendaclews.com
Starfire, an album of poetry performance pieces
(listen, download for free)

                                          

Videopoem Contest at Moving Poems

A site on the forefront of multi-media poetry today, Moving Poems, is having a videopoem contest. Dave writes, "I thought it would be fun to have a contest where everyone would use the same poem in its entirety, either in the soundtrack or as text (or both)." The poem, "Fable," by Howie Good is short but full with metaphoric possibility. The deadline is April 15th; there is no limit to the number of times you can submit entries. Do submit. Details: Moving Poem's First Videopoem Contest.

                                          

The Canvas Backdrop

I sewed some canvas strips together that had been window coverings for some years before I bought curtains. They enable the creation of a performance space in my tiny, cramped, messy apartment. The canvas covers three bookshelves and the doorway to the kitchen. After stapling the canvas to the tops of the bookshelves and wall, I set my video camera on a tripod and jumped right into the nook and danced at midnight! I was up till 5am editing the footage! Besides a few photos of the canvas, and stills from the video, I've uploaded 'Dance in Black and Gold' to Picasa; if you go and watch a slideshow you can see it there.

From The Canvas Backdrop

Sewing strips of canvas (that were window coverings before I got curtains) for a backdrop for video performance pieces. Yes, those are two-toned nails, Thalo blue and Cherry cream. :smiles:

And, ek, what a job, sewing all that canvas on my little machine! Bent two needles, too, and finished the job by praying and bending the last needle back into shape. I've stapled a whole corner of my little apartment. Then my son and his girlfriend came to watch a movie! Time to take a break. Maybe try a little something later, just to see...

From The Canvas Backdrop

The nook in my tiny apartment for performance pieces, created with all the canvas strips I sewed (that were window coverings the first few years here, before I got curtains). The canvas covers a wall of bookshelves and the doorway to the kitchen! The pieces on the floor were too slippery, so I'll have to sew them together and tape them down next time. I need a bit more canvas for the performance piece I am planning, but I did do a little dance/poetry piece in this space that evening: Dance of Gold Canvas - see some stills in the following photos.

From The Canvas Backdrop

from, 'Dance in Black and Gold,' a dance poem, a performance piece...

in my newly sewn canvas nook!

From The Canvas Backdrop

From The Canvas Backdrop

From The Canvas Backdrop

The video is at YouTube: Dance in Black and Gold