Surveillance cameras are an ever increasing part of our society. These cameras observe and record all kinds of everyday actions, but their primary function is to prevent crime. We are interested in expanding the idea of surveillance to include watching other aspects of our culture. As a first step, Baltimore based choreographer Mikey Thomas and visual artist Aaron Henderson are creating performances that explore possibilities of moving in public, which are captured by existing surveillance cameras.

Live Performance
Wang Center Theatre at Stony Brook University, Long Island, NY
Wednesday, March 24, 2010, 7pm

This live/audio/visual performance will be a part of Stony Brook University’s HYBRID GEOGRAPHIES concert on March 24, 2010. This concert examines the transformations of space that have taken place with the advent of digital technologies.

Collaborators

Choreography: Mikey Thomas
Video: Aaron Henderson
Sound: Ted Coffey

More information:

www.hybridgeographies.net

Primary contact email: info@aaronhenderson.com

No related posts.

About the Project

“Midway” is created from footage and images captured at state and county fairs in Indiana and South Carolina. Multi-channel videos examine the impromptu performances, staged competitions and visceral revelations that attendees experience while riding Carnival rides. Sound for these videos is by Ted Coffey. The show also consists of photographs that document the desolate stages and booths at the peripheries of these fairs.

Work

- Pharoah’s Fury – 2 channel 9′ x 9′ projections
Opposing projections exploring performance and competition in Pirate Ship rides.

- Gravitron – 2 channel high-definition video – 4 minutes
Found choreography by non-dancers as they resist and capitulate to Gravity.

- Feuerball – 4 channel video sculpture
Immersive videos that examine that moment when play and terror intermingle.

- Dora, Spongebob, Spiderman (Digital Inkjet, 24″ x 18″)
- Variety (Digital Inkjet, 24″ x 18″)
- The Power of Youth (Digital Inkjet, 24″ x 18″)

Background

Since I was a kid, I’ve always loved local fairs. There was one every year in Dearborn Heights, pretty close to my parents house—I remember it at only at night—harsh sodium lights casting black shadows, the rumble of car tires as the Gravitron took off, cotton candy wisps, too much perfume and sweat streaked backs. I loved the rides, they were an opportunity to exceed the limits of rationality, especially because getting on one always seemed to involve waiting in long lines watching the rusty parts shudder under the impact of the constant surges of momentum.

Currently, I am working on 4 separate video installations (Feuerball, Gravitron, Pharoah’s Fury, Giant Loop), each focusing on the physical experience of a different ride. I’ve been working with one of the largest Midway operators in the country (North American Midway Entertainment) and they’ve been very supportive, even allowing me to attach my gear directly to the different machines. I’m finished shooting most of the rides, and am beginning editing. I’m planning on finishing these up to premiere in a show I have in Charlottesville early next year.

Here’s an update of the shoot in Indiana – www.aaronhenderson.com/carnival_shoot_valparaiso/

Preparatory drawings:

Related posts:

1. Solo Show “Midway” at Ruffin Gallery
2. Carnival Shoot in Valparaiso, IN

Upcoming Shows

Institute of Contemporary Art
Boston, MA (October 22, 2009-October 25, 2009)

Herberger Theater
Phoenix, AZ (November 6, 2009 & November 7, 2009)

About
STREB – BRAVE is my 3rd collaboration with Elizabeth Streb, and our first to utilize responsive and generative visual content. Using video tracking and custom sensors (developed by Arizona State University’s Arts, Media and Engineering Department), we sense the position, velocity and direction of performers and equipment. This information is used to control responsive and visceral 3-d environments. This project uses openFrameworks, an open source C++ library, to create the real-time visuals, and we’ve created a specialized playback software, “playOF” to facilitate the realities of creating a powerful, responsive and tour-able projection design.

Collaborators
Aaron Henderson – Projection Design
Elizabeth Streb – Choreography
Mark Beasley – openFrameworks/Python programming
Byron Lahey – Pendaphone development*
Winslow Burleson – Pendaphone development*

*Arts, Media and Engineering, Arizona State University

Tour History
Prospect Park Bandshell (Brooklyn NY), The State Theater (New Brunswick, NJ), SLAM (Brooklyn, NY), University of Wisconsin (Madison, WI)

Related posts:

1. STREB VS GRAVITY
2. STREB – Wild Blue Yonder
3. Catapult Review – Village Voice

The proposed sculpture is a trace of an unrealized action, Russian gymnast Dimitri Bilozertchev’s Pommel Horse routine at the Los Angeles Olympics. The personal, social and political collided when the Russian team decided to boycott the Olympics, derailing Dimitri’s dreams of Olympic gold. The full scale (approx 8’ x 10’ x 10’) steel sculpture imagines the path of his feet as they rise, circle and twist, inscribing a gesture rehearsed thousands of times. The impossibly complex arcs appear to hover, suspended from above, with two points touching the ground.

This project draws from Ettiene-Jules Marey’s early studies of movement, created at the advent of the photographic image.

“Dimtri” is the first of a series of sculptural projects that attempt to physicalize gestures or movements that have not happened, but have been imagined.

Related posts:

1. SLAM SHOW X Review – New York Times

The Metamorphoses series (Biggie, Britney, George, Oprah and Michael) was shot at Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum earlier this year. It documents transgressive and playful interactions that occur as people stage encounters with wax celebrities. The stillness of the wax museum entices people to perform. These actions are most often frozen again by digital and disposable cameras, and the memories are clearly preserved. The actual performances are much more complicated, as the time leading up to and after the ‘decisive moment’ provide enigmatic and conflicting portraits of representation, culture and power.

46″ LCD panels with embedded Blu-ray players mounted inside custom frames.

Installation view, Gallery 2, Chicago, IL. Metamorphoses (Biggie) & Metamorphoses (Michael) in foreground, paintings by Amanda Calobrisi and Metamorphoses (George) in background.

The following are video stills:

Metamorphoses (Oprah), 2008

Metamorphoses (Britney), 2008

Metamorphoses (Biggie), 2008

Metamorphoses (George), 2008

Metamorphoses (Michael), 2008

Exhibition History
Solo Exhibition: Metamorphoses
August 28th-September 25, 2009
Opening reception August 28th, 2009
The Niche in the Fine Arts Library at the University of Virginia

Two Person Exhibition: Pepe Mar and Aaron Henderson
September 20th – October 26th, 2008
Opening reception from 7-10pm on September 20th
White Flag Projects
St. Louis, MO

Group Exhibition: Cover Blown (Graduate Exhibition)
April 25 – May 16th, 2008
Opening Reception: April 25th from 9-11pm
Gallery 2
Chicago, IL

Related posts:

1. Metamorphoses at White Flag Projects
2. Michael Remembered…
3. Metamorphoses at the Niche

“Motive” examines 8 University of Minnesota Cheerleaders as they perform. Their individual performances are composited into a flickering video of the group as a whole. The resultant concatenation reveals subtle shifts in gesture and affect as each individual cheerleader attempts to synchronize her movement with the others.

Exhibition History:
Group Exhibition: Faculty Exhibition
August 28th – September 25th, 2009
Ruffin Gallery, University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA

Two Person Exhibition: Joe DeNardo and Aaron Henderson
September 12th – October 25th, 2008
Chicago, IL

Related posts:

1. Motive at Ruffin Gallery
2. The Metamorphoses Series
3. Metamorphoses at the Niche

The Art Institute of Chicago’s New Blood Festival
Links Hall, Chicago, IL

Related posts:

1. Back to school
2. Over and Under
3. Metamorphoses in Cover Blown (Graduate Exhibition)

“5 ways to Drag or Be Dragged” renders visible the many possibilities of any single moment. Francis Bacon meets Eadweard Muybridge in this homage to the multiplicity of time/space.

Excerpt of 12 minute loop

Stills:

Exhibition History:

Group Exhibition: This Is Not A Self Portrait
September 21 – October 20th, 2007
Opening Reception: September 21st from 5-8pm
Project Space
Chicago, IL
Exhibition includes work by: Anthea Behm, Carrick Bell, Wafaa Bilal, Lucas Blalock, Dara Brady, Chase Browder, Amanda Joy Calobrisi, Brenden Codey, Helen Maurene Cooper, Barbara DeGenevieve, Megan Euker, Sean Fader, Jill Frank, Jennifer Grimyser, Julia Hechtman, Aaron Henderson, Kate Jenkins, MyeongBeom Kim, Mayumi Lake, Annie Langan, Regina Mamou, Julia Marsh, Aspen Mays, Takeshi Moro, Helene L. Palser, Laura Parker, Claire Pentecost, Jules Rosskam, Melanie Schiff, Austin Shull, S.I.R., Travis LeRoy Southworth, Scott Patrick Wiener
Curated by Sean Fader and Jill Frank

Group Exhibition: VOID
May 18-26, 2006
Opening reception: May 18th from 6-9pm
Gardenfresh
Chicago, IL
Exhibition includes work by: Alejandra Abad, Mark Beasley, Frederick Elms, Joshua Felix, Natasha Fountain, Aaron Henderson, Tiffany Holmes, Aaron Koelsch, Jared Madere, Matthew Nelson Eliza Ryus, Joshua Stanholz, Emily Siefken, Bruno Torquato
Curated by Tiffany Holmes and Matt Nelson

Related posts:

1. 5 Ways… in This Is Not a Self-Portrait
2. 5 Ways… in VOID
3. Motive

“Three-peat” examines the intricate balance between improvised and rehearsed movement.

Excerpt of 10 minute loop

Five trained dancers repeat choreography they created in new and surprising ways. The resulting 3-channel video follows their struggle to remember, react and re-invent each dance. Through their pauses, changes, and exuberant imagination, they reveal small truths about the body, intelligence and forgetting.

Performers:
Kumi Dikengil – Dance for Six from William Tell, Rossini
Kumi Dikengil began dancing at age 6 with the School of New Jersey Ballet. During high school she regularly performed as an apprentice with the professional company. They toured the East coast performing the Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, and La Bayadere among others. In 2002 she recieved a BFA in dance from Tisch School of the Arts at NYU. Upon graduation she danced briefly for a modern company called Refractions in NYC. She has currently been teaching pilates in the Chicago area. This fall she will be returning to NJ to begin a doctorate program in physical therapy at Seton Hall University.

Jennifer Meek – We Got Our Own Way, Prefuse 73
Jennifer Meek graduated magna cum laude from Point Park University where she received a BFA with a concentration in jazz and modern dance. She has had the privilege of performing the works of many world-renowned choreographers including Sean Curran, David Parsons, Robert Battle, Daniel Ezralow, Joseph Mooradian, Margo Sappington, Ann Reinking, Lauri Stallings, and Lar Lubovitch. She performed, taught, and choreographed for Thodos Dance Chicago for four years. Jennifer is currently honored to be working with Lucky Plush Productions, Concert Dance, Inc, and Hedwig Dances. She also enjoys teaching and choreographing various styles of dance throughout the Chicago land area. She received a teaching certificate from the Temple of Kriya Yoga and has been sharing the benefits of yoga ever since…
www.luckyplush.com
www.hedwigdances.com

Yolanda McKenzie – Control, Janet Jackson
Born and raised in Chicago, Yolanda has entertained audiences for over ten years with performances in theatre, dance and modeling. With roots in African and Jazz dance, Yolanda has performed with the Langbodo Dance Theatre of Chicago and many independent dance projects. She has also recently acted in plays such as “The Dawg In Me” and “The Colored Museum”. Yolanda continues to model for various hair companies and Chicago fashion designers. Yolanda currently dances with the Creative Soul ensemble in Chicago which features Modern and Hip-Hop dance. Interested in many dance styles throughout contemporary history, Yolanda enjoys coordinating dance movements relative to eras of time.

Kid Jungle – B-Boy World mix tape
Everything that’ll keep my attention going. I like to do so many things. I’m a hibachi chef, dancer but b-boy to the heart. I love cars and driving. I love spinning music with my technics. I cook, clean, watch my nieces along with my own daughter. I LOVE eating. That’s my thing. Don’t get me started. I love life, meeting talented people that’ll keep me motivated.
www.myspace.com/kidjungle

Ashtar Shamoun - Heads High, Mr. Vegas
Amongst all the other people sharing the gift of life, what does God have in store for me? I find myself pondering the idea daily… looking through my mind’s eye nearly brings me to tears. God blesses me… From the first day I began dancing, it has been entirely about releasing myself- no bounderies. I started these sessions of self expression in my mirror and, for several years, my inner soul of dance stayed unobserved beyond my room walls. I am a Hip-Hop, Reggae, African & Pop choreographer/ dancer. It is my mission to be true to myself, for that is the only way I can repay the gift of individuality that God has given me. I believe the path he has laid for me is one of boundless self expression. I pray my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ guides my journey through life, for his will is best for me… God blesses me with unconditional love and support from Margaret & Evelyn Shamoun- their love and support has gone beyond that of family; they keep me strong, focused—they remind me of the truth in life. Thank you! Shout out to Aaron, Erin, and Alan! Also Dora and Fam!
www.myspace.com/ashtarshamoun

Credits:
Erin O’Brien (coordination)
Alan Strathman (camera)
Edward Salem (PA)

Exhibition History:
G2 Gallery
August 11-September 8, 2007
847 West Jackson, 2nd floor
Chicago, IL 60607

Related posts:

1. MFA!
2. After the Fall

Installed in the stairwell in the historic Fine Arts Building in downtown Chicago, “Over & Under” strains against the laws of gravity.

Site-specific Installation:
Friday May 11, 2007
Looptopia
Fine Arts Building, viewable from 6th floor and above, east stairwell
410 South Michigan
Chicago, IL

Stills from video projection

Related posts:

1. The Astounding Race
2. Metamorphoses in Cover Blown (Graduate Exhibition)
3. 5 Ways… in VOID