Echo

It might have been back in January of this year as I was pulling my trash can to the curb when my neighbor shouted to me, “Erik, congratulations on winning those Artist Foundation awards!” I was a bit taken aback because I hadn’t applied that year. But my neighbor was on the board of the Artist Foundation and should know best. I was fairly sure that one of the awards she was speaking of had been given to Amber Ortega-Perez. Amber had mentioned that she was placing my name on her application as a collaborator. But, what else? I eventually learned that Julia Langenberg, the aerialist, had also attached me to her application.

The project with Amber (“Taken in Arms”) began several months back. It’s a series of modularly devised inter-connected dance pieces. My contribution changes, depending on the location. I’m either filming the movements, or I’m providing the projection of live camera work as well as pre-recorded material. Amber has one last iteration of Taken in Arms to be staged in five locations throughout the day this Friday (yikes! that’s tomorrow!) around downtown San Antonio.

I’ve worked with Amber in one way or another for at least five years (I shot her 2009 performance of The Willing), and so we had already formed a working relationship and a sense of one another’s aesthetics. And, really, I don’t do work-for-hire (which is one of the reasons I’m always poor). I prefer working with people whom I’ve built a mutual mesh of trust and respect. However, I’d seen Julia’s work at Luminaria, the W-I-P, and the Guadalupe, so I had some idea of what I was getting into. The real sticking point was the venue in which the work would be staged. Julia’s studio was inside an event facility which used to be Jump-Start Performance Co., before the entire Blue Star “arts” complex went to shit, and Jump-Start was forced out. I mentioned my general sour attitude to Julia, but told her I’d rise above my petty animus and commit to the project.

Echo evolved into a fairly large production of six aerialists, six musicians, a lighting designer / board operator, and a video projection crew of two.

Putting aside the (very considerable) artistry of all involved, one of the best things about the experience was to see the solid work-ethic demonstrated by Julia and her aerialists. Also, Jaime and his musicians. I must confess that I’ve been terribly discouraged of the flaky nature of so many of the people I’ve meet in the film and theater scene in town. But, for the most part, Echo was a smoothly run production with some wonderful people. It was also beautiful.

My part in this managed to escalate each time I opened my mouth. Usually saying something like, “Yeah, we can do that.”

There’s a reason most of these visually sumptuous A/V presentations in town are staged by professional companies with scads of cutting-edge equipment and a brace of well-trained crew members. It can get fairly complicated. True, you can do amazing things with a laptop and a few consumer devices, but just about every new device you need will also need several other devices to make it play nice with all the other tech. (“What’s that you say? You wanna run a GoPro video signal into your MacBook? You’ll need this Blackmagic box. It’s a steal at only $150. Oh, and it doesn’t come with the ThunderBolt cable. You’ll need one of those. Only $50.”)

This is one of the reasons I pulled in Trey Cunningham. He has much more experience in doing this. He also had projectors to rent. But, mostly, I wanted an opportunity to work with him.

We ended up using: four short-throw video projectors, one DVD player, two MacBook Pros, a Matrox TripleHead2Go, an HDMI wireless transmitter/receiver, a GoPro, a Panasonic DVX, a Blackmagic UltraStudio recorder, a Korg Nano Kontrol, and a Belkin thunderbolt dock; the data was sent over various cables such as SVGA, ethernet, coaxial, and of course that HDMI wireless transmitter; the software used was Modul8, Resolume, and SIGMASIX Syphoner. And because of the nature of the venue (the less said about that the better), I was breaking down everything except the projectors and the data cables every night after rehearsals and performances. The upside to this, is you develop a deeper understanding of the tech and (at least for me) an increased level of confidence if anything starts to go awry.

It was the most involved and kludged-together setup I’ve yet had to devise. And because of that, I learned quite a bit.

Here are some stills taken from the video documentation shot by Destiny Mata.

I had fun shooting some of the textures which I ran through Resolume. I used my motorized Kessler slider to shoot closeup tracking footage of brown rice, lentils, split peas, and various dried beans. I also clamped a GoPro to one of the aerial apparatuses (the double halo) to get some dynamic footage of Teddy spinning above ground. I employed After Effects for some of the animation. And I used Motion’s optic flow for the poor man’s morphing effects.

Now, off to the next series of projects….

Kerrville’s Zombie Infestation

I’m presently in a state of low level anxiety because of all the projects I have initiated, and others which I have committed to. This is all compounded by the fact that none are, as yet, terribly pressing, so I just keep letting much of these things slide, trying not to think about the wave which will crash sooner or later.

One of the bigger projects is Echo, a performance work being created by a San Antonio-based aerialist. I was somewhat taken aback when I learned some months ago that I had been attached to her Artist Foundation grant proposal. I am expected to provide video design and such.

With these sorts of presentations, I find myself spending dozens of hours just trying to figure out the best manner to set up the tech. We’re talking about live media manipulation, live camera feeds (probably two), multiple projectors (perhaps as many as four), and a fair amount of projected pre-recorded material. I’ve been trying to find the best way to get a camera signal to my laptop which I’d prefer to have set up at the back of the venue. A wireless HDMI transmitter sounds nice. My hope is to place a GoPro up on a rigging in the high ceiling and down to my computer. I’ll have to compress the signal with a BlackMagic encoder. But now another problem. My Mac Book Pro has only one Thunderbolt port. I need this to bring in the wireless signal. But the port is already being used for my output to the projectors. Now I could buy a new computer (those new MBPs have two ports), but I’m already pissing away tons of money into wireless transmitters, encoder dongles, and cables. So, I’m experimenting with networking two MBPs together and use a Syphon program to import the camera images into my VJ software. What an ordeal. So, once I get the whole workflow figured out, I can start shooting and editing the imagery.

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I had hoped that by now I would have wrapped work on the San Antonio segment of Gustavo Stebner’s newest Wappo project (a short web series to help promote a feature film). The other week we shot a couple days of scenes on downtown streets, a makeup studio, a River Walk restaurant, at a magician’s sideshow act, and at a cabin on some zombie-infested ranch outside of Kerrville. At some point in the weeks ahead we’ll pick up the scene with the San Antonio Film Commissioner. Drew had been unavailable earlier because he was in China, which is, of course, a great excuse.

Below are a few screen captures:

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Back in March just before the opening of my play, Tales of Lost Southtown, one of my co-stars, Pamela, gave me a little present. It was a Mexican version of Snakes and Ladders (or, properly, Serpientes y Escaleras) which she had picked up at Papa Jim’s Pet Shop and Botanica over on S. Flores. I loved the pastel illustrations of the game board, they had a style very reminiscent of those iconic Lotería cards.

I decided to create a play around the game. So, with Pam as a co-lead artist on this, we will produce it with Jump-Start Performance Co. in March of 2015. Laurie Dietrich will produce. She will also be helping in the writing of the script. It will be a devised work, created collaboratively by the cast. We’ve already begun to build the work. Expect to hear more about Jump-Start’s Serpiente’s y Escaleras in the weeks ahead. It will be fun, somewhat dark, and very strange.

 

Grant Writing

I’ve been having these ongoing talks with the San Antonio River Authority for maybe two months. It was a bit confusing at first. There’s the San Antonio River Foundation, which is the non-profit arm of SARA (San Antonio River Authority), and it was through them that I first began interacting. This is because I have a friend who works for the Foundation. This is how these things usually begin. You know someone who knows someone.

My first plan was to find out how I might gain access to a portion of the river down by Mission Espada to mount a performance work with projection and dancers. I was gently steered towards using a plot of land which is slated to become Confluence Park (near the Mitchell Street bridge). I was a bit hesitant, but the more I learned, the more interesting the possibilities became.

The larger event with be called something like The River Fest. I’m not sure the full name has been worked out. It will begin at noon and last until nine at night. There will be art, and arts education projects. There will be food trucks. Bands. And when the sun sets, the project I am working on will be presented. I believe I gave some sort of vague working title such as “River: Giver of Life.” I have a basic idea of how I want the work to unfold. Now I need to reach out to the choreographers I have in mind. Shoot and edit several sequences. And through an equitable and, I hope, fun collaborative process, give shape to the whole piece. It will be a Jump-Start-At-Large performance art piece.

They have a good team at the River Authority/Foundation, who are planning some wonderful events to engage the public, with an emphasis on environmental responsibility.

I had a good meeting yesterday with the River Authority and I feel that things are well on track for a great event. The Confluence Park festival will be September 13.

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The other thing that has been dominating my time lately is grant writing. The San Antonio Department for Culture and Creative Development provides city funding to non-profit arts organizations. The process has changed dramatically this year. All of the organizations who have enjoyed previous funding will take a major hit. The funding amounts will be cut. And the percent of the grants which recipients are awarded will need to be matched by a greater percentage than ever before. So, I have been putting in long hours with other members of Jump-Start to get this massive grant in before the deadline. A wise decision, because it seems that the website where all of the grant language and support files to be uploaded is buggy and quite inelegant. After fighting with the website last night for several hours, I’ve finally concluded that it’s a bit more stable than I initially thought, but it’s still a fucking mess. (There’s an added problem that some of the other arts organizations have been, unintentionally, spreading misinformation. I need to stop listening to this sort of hearsay, because I keep forgetting how appallingly technologically illiterate are so many arts administrators). Anyway, the deadline is, I believe, Friday. Jump-Start’s self-imposed deadline was supposed to have been last night. If we get all this submitted today (which is the current plan), we will be well ahead of the curve.

And then the wait begins.

I’m not the only one in the organization who is nervous. Because we have moved to a much smaller space, and because of a few other challenges, we will be requiring a smaller amount of funding this year from the city than we have requested in perhaps over a decade. But the truth is, we really need every penny we’re asking for. There is no guarantee we will get the full requested amount (or, well, anything—though this, I have been told, is very unlikely). It’s frustrating to me because in spite of recent challenges, we have presented a large amount of programming, including quite a few events which we have added to our season in addition to our original proposed performance plan presented for the previous funding cycle.

Okay. This coffee cup is empty. Time to head over to the studio and see if we can’t get that grant finished.

Freezer-Full of Atrocities

I’m sitting here Sunday morning drinking coffee and making some hardboiled eggs. I’m also waiting on a phone call from someone who wants me to help on some sort of creative project. I understand that there is money involved. These are things I dread. I hate to tell people no. It is a huge problem in my life. I’m slowly learning to be firm. It has been my habit of telling people who I’m not keen to work with “maybe” again and again, so that eventually they will decide to disengage. Yes, I said that there’s money involved. I hate when the first thing mentioned about an art project is money. It never goes well. From a position of motivation, money is a killer. At least for me.

Who knows, maybe this guy will win me over. I’ve never met him, and maybe, just maybe, there’s a sliver of room in my upcoming wall-to-wall series of projects between now and March, 2015. But the thing is, these projects are all (with one or two exceptions) with people whose aesthetic and character I know and like and respect. Most are friends.

So, here are the ground rules (or, they should be the ground rules, if I weren’t such a weenie). I’ve lived in San Antonio now for a decade. If you’re a local artist (in any discipline) and our paths haven’t crossed, I want to know why. You don’t know who I am? I don’t know who you are? Well, I throw my net pretty fucking wide. Maybe you’ve recently awoken from a coma? Perhaps have been released from prison? No? Really? If you’re just getting into a creative career, or you’ve recently moved to town, I completely understand. Otherwise, take a number, because there are so many brilliant, community-spirited artists who I am dying to work with—and many have said yes when I’ve asked, or, better, they have reached out to me because they like my work; and, best of all, so many of these collaborations are already falling into place.

Strangers with promises of money and grand ideas they’ve taken to label “art” is one of the main reasons I unplugged myself from the San Antonio film “community.” Too many gormless individuals with dollar signs in their eyes and not one iota of aesthetic. To be less dramatic, I don’t feel we shared the same values.

And it suddenly occurred to me that today is Father’s Day. I am reminded that my unreasonable and irresponsible approach to life will most likely mean that I will die poor—perhaps evening poorer than I am at the moment, if that’s possible—and that these behaviors of mine which result in financially poor choices were most likely learned from my father. Though I doubt if he were alive, the either of us would think twice about these decisions. His or mine.

So, I sip my coffee and wait on a phone call for a potential paying gig I plan on wriggling free from, under the assumption it won’t be fun. (And, I could be wrong. And maybe this person has no interest in working with ME.) I check on the eggs and return to making notes for the dozen other projects I have in the works between now and March of 2015 which I’m fairly confident will be quite fun, though not so financially rewarding.

[Later edit: Oh, yeah. The guy never called.]

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Jump-Start has begun a series of performances for the months of June. Cafe du Jump: 8 x 8. Eight nights of eight, eight minute performances on an eight by eight foot stage. Admission $8. Performances begin at 8pm. You get the picture.

 

Graphic by Amanda Silva

My offering is a performance piece titled “A Freezer-Full of Atrocities.” It has been changing each week. For week two, I brought a couple of company members on stage to help out. I also added some video projection. I’d like week three and week four to each become more complex and layered. For last night and Friday night I was also doing tech. So I had to set the lights, audio, and begin the video before climbing down from the tech booth and getting on to the stage. But, the truth is, we are all doing multiple tasks.

Also, I was asked by fellow company member Pamela Dean Kenny to write a monologue for her. I asked her if she had any ideas. “I do. How about an eight year old girl giving a Ted Talk on silverfish?” I can so do that! And so I did. She was perfect!

Two more weekends. I wonder if I can convince the rest of the company to extend the 8 x 8 through July.

W-I-P Crème 2014

Wednesday (yesterday) was a fairly typical day for me. After a couple cups of coffee and a banana, I grabbed a camera and two c-stands and headed over to Our Lady of the Lake University on the westside. I met up with Amber and her dancers. She was presenting a piece from her dance company, SpareWorks.dance, later that night at W-I-P Crème (this is the season’s best works from the Works in Progress series). Amber needed the c-stands because the piece, “Taken In Arms,” involves a translucent plastic sheet to be hung in the center of the stage. And she needed me, because I would be providing the video projection.

“Taken In Arms” was previously performed for a SpareWorks.dance fundraiser a few weeks ago. In that iteration, Amber was one of the dancers because of scheduling conflicts. So, one of the things they were working on for the Wednesday rehearsal was to get Jenny Been Franckowiak up to speed on the piece. The other dancers were Laura Beth Rodriguez, Charles Perez, and Eric Flores. This isn’t a particularly good photograph, but it’s indicative of these wedge-shaped tableaus (tableaux?) Amber creates out of bodies. These assemblages look incredibly striking with theatrical lighting.

The next stop was to drive home and load up some equipment to video tape a performance over on the southside. Among URBAN-15’s various outreach programs is the teaching of drumming and dancing to kids, mainly elementary and middle school children. I was asked to video document a final performance at New Frontiers, a charter school on S. Presa. I met up with George, Catherine, and Jonathan at the URBAN-15 studio, and we carpooled about a mile or two south to the school.

There was an assembly room with a stage area at the far end on the second floor. Beautiful. Hardwood floors, large windows along one wall, high ceilings. I set up my camera on a tripod and tried to guess the audio levels. George warned me that the acoustics were horrible. And as the kids began filling up the space, I realized what he meant. The kids were typically unruly, but the stamped-tin ceiling and the wooden floor were making the chatter a mushy wash of high decibels. Here are a couple of kids mugging for my still camera.

It was to be a short performance. I’d been told in advance that we’d start off with the young drummers. Next, the drummers would be joined with the kids from the dance class. And the final piece would be drumming with the dancers (lead by Catherine) moving into the audience and getting the kids and teachers to join them. I was curious how this final bit would go. I wasn’t sure if the teachers knew it was going to happen. They seemed overwhelmed as it was, trying their best to utilize some strange social engineering sign language to get the kids to shut up — a sort of countdown with three fingers, two fingers, one finger, and a fist. There were words shouted as well, but I couldn’t make them out over the general din. For the most part, the kids were quiet by the time the fist appeared. (Maybe it was supposed to be a zero instead of a fist….) Whether or not the teachers received the memo that fifty hyperactive kids would be given permission to join a chaotic conga line, I don’t know, but it was exhilarating to watch when they knew they were expected to join in. The photo below just doesn’t do justice to that sweet moment when the whole sea of kids collectively lost their shit.

Next I drove home and swapped out equipment. I loaded up an old standard definition camcorder, my laptop, a tripod, a computer monitor, and a shitload of various cables. I drove over to Say Sí for W-I-P Crème.

There were seven acts, I believe. And we only had about an hour to rehearse and tech in the space. I needed to set up my computer and monitor in the wings. I put the camera on the tripod, and hooked it into my computer with the longest firewire cable I have. I snaked a 70 foot s-vga cable along a side corridor to hook it up with Say Sí’s projector. I was having an issue with the output image which eventually resolved itself. (I hate when electronics “fix themselves” and you never know what the problem was and when it might happen again.)

Here’s a picture I took just before showtime out the window of Say Sí. The “Art Is” is part of a longer quote stenciled on the glass. Some generic art-positive bromide, which seems not so precious and patronizing when it’s floating in the clouds.

We were up first. The plastic sheet was set up. (This was to define the space for the performers, not to project upon.) A large white plastic cube was placed behind the plastic sheet. It had LED lights inside which slowly morphed different colors. And the projection was hitting a screen on the back wall. My camera was perpendicular to the back wall, allowing a side view of the action behind the screen. I used a VJ program to shift the imagery between video scenes of the dancers shot on previous occasions as well as the live camera feed.

The performance went off fairly well, I assume. I wasn’t in a good spot to see what the dancers were doing or even how the projections looked. All in all, it was a great line-up. I loved Fabiola Torralba’s piece, which I had missed at the last W-I-P. Amazing! And it was great to see Zombie Bazaar perform “Polly” again. He’s an out-of-focus Instagram. That’s talcum power in the air.

Here are some of the Zombie’s near the snack table during the post show reception. That’s Martha, Hunter Moon, and Michi.

I packed up all my crap, stopped by Taqueria Guadalajara for something to eat, and headed home.