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A
sculptural layering of John Koethe’s poem "North Point
North."
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It’s commonly believed that trends
begin on the coasts and work their way to Milwaukee months, even years
later. A collaboration between several Milwaukee institutions might be
just the project that bucks that trend.
Wild Space Dance Co. will introduce
"Art of the Ordinary" at the Milwaukee Art Museum in
January. The first large-scale visual art and performance production
in the Calatrava-designed Windhover Hall, the exhibit is a
collaboration among Wild Space artistic director Deb Loewen,
UW-Milwaukee professor and poet John Koethe and artist Jill Sebastian,
merging dance, visual art, music, poetry and video. The production is
inspired by Koethe’s poem, "North Point North," a profound
reflection on identity, the power of the ordinary and how art is often
an unrealized element in life.
"Milwaukee is a place where people
can work, with not a lot of distraction," says Loewen. "Jill
and I both like John’s work immensely. We’re working with a known
entity, rather than outside of ourselves. John told us up front, ‘I
don’t want to write for you; I write poetry, not performance.’ His
biggest gift to us was saying we could do with his poetry what we
want."
The duo used the Institute of Visual
Arts as a research site. Sebastian reinvented the space into a
40-by-24-foot installation.
Loewen has developed choreography that
reflects the poem, while influencing and incorporating Sebastian’s
work. During the performance, dancers will move through, in and about
the installation, interacting with the space, objects and video
projections.
"In many ways we have found that
‘Art of the Ordinary’ celebrates our choice to spend our lives
making work in Milwaukee, and to find inspiration from the elements
that make the city unique," says Loewen.
Performances are set for 7 and 9 p.m.
Jan. 22 and 23. Tickets are $20 for adults, $18 for students and
seniors and are available at the Wild Space box office, (414)
271-0712.
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