"It seduces the viewer: It's drop-dead gorgeous."
Chicago Tribune
Enter the border zones of Marchland, a full-length dance where bodies and images vie for contested territory. In this dense terrain - formed by a kinetic film and live, percussive soundscore - highly charged action bursts forward.
Featuring performance by ensemble members Sarah Gonsiorowski, Damon Green, Matthew McMunn, Cara Sabin, Hannah Santistevan and guest artist Paige Caldarella, and Chicago musicians Tim Daisy, Phillip Sudderberg, and Alex Inglizian.
ABOUT THE WORK:
Marchland premiered at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago in 2010. Marchland was inspired by Taylor's digital video CREVICE that consists of minute drawings made directly onto the surface of clear 16mm film, later captured on digital video by Nicholas O’Brien. The miniature inscriptions take on a capricious visceral shift when projected, producing an agitated bombardment of images. CREVICE was the artists’ visual and conceptual point of departure, leading them to think about spatial politics – the designation, negotiation and claiming of space. Excerpts from CREVICE along with new video material created to closely connect to the themes of Marchland are screened in large format behind the dancers. Abstract representations and circular marks flash throughout the work, with the dance choreography echoing the idiosyncratic fast-moving drawings. "Marchland" refers to a border region – the threshold between two places. Many different types of physical or psychological boundaries are invoked in the piece – barriers between bodies, actions between groups, and constructions built to delineate these boundaries. The incessant shifting of images in the original CREVICE is felt in Marchland as a ceaseless reconfiguring of alliances and territories.
Marchland was created with MCA developmental support and two production residencies at the MCA Stage in August and December of 2009.
ABOUT THE COLLABORATORS:
FRASER TAYLOR
Born in the UK in 1960, Fraser Taylor is an interdisciplinary visual artist who works with a range of media including, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking and animation. After receiving his Bachelor of Arts in printed textiles from Glasgow School of Art, Taylor continued his studies at the Royal College of Art in London where he earned a Master of Arts. Taylor co-founded The Cloth, a creative studio focused on exploring fine art and design practices, which lasted from 1983 to 1988. His work has been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world, including major cities such as Glasgow, London, Paris, Madrid, Sydney, Tokyo, Chicago, New York, Boston, Detroit, and San Francisco. He has collaborated with dance group The Seldoms for Marchland (2010), which premiered at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, and choreographer Rashaun Mitchell for Interface, presented at the Baryshnikov Art Center, New York and Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston (2012-13). www.frasertaylor.com
TIM DAISY
Tim Daisy is a Chicago-based drummer and composer working in the fields of improvised and composed music. He has performed and recorded original music for modern dance, sound installations, film, and improvised music ensembles of various configurations since 1997 and has toured extensively throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. Tim also owns and operates Relay Recordings, documenting much of the creative work he has been involved with in Chicago and abroad since 2011. Along with his performance and composing work, Tim helps curate the weekly OPTION series at Experimental Sound Studio in Chicago. The programming explores contemporary perspectives on improvisation and composition in a ‘salon’ format, enabling local, national, and international artists to publicly discuss their practice and ideas as well as perform.
PHILLIP SUDDERBERG
Phillip Sudderberg is a Chicago-based drummer and educator active across a variety of the city’s creative-leaning communities. Phillip explores the possibilities of recall, timbre, and fluidity on the drum set in ways that draw upon his study of both idiomatic and non-idiomatic musical traditions. These curiosities are examined via the exploited generic nuances to be found in rhythm and via intensive, empathetic listening. Over the past several years, these concerns have found a home in contemporary music ensembles, spontaneous improvised configurations, jazz ensembles, and in the rock bands such as Wei Zhongle and Spirits Having Fun. In 2012, Phillip cofounded Gilded Records and curates the ongoing Foundation Series in Chicago. In addition to ongoing work with artists the likes of Andrew Clinkman, Keefe Jackson, Steve Marquette, John McCowen, Macie Stewart, Ken Vandermark, and many more, Phillip actively seeks out new likely and unlikely collaborators for further growth as a listener and sound producer.
ALEX INGLIZIAN
Alex Inglizian is a seasoned audio engineer with over twelve years of experience in both live and recorded sound. He received a BA in Sound from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago before joining Experimental Sound Studio, where he is Technical Director and Chief Engineer. In addition to his skills in sound design, electronics, and programming, he also does location and post-production mixing for many independent films, and is an active musician and improviser around Chicago.
