Tag Archives : bay area arts

BAY AREA ARTS: PAI and Pocha Nostra

This entry was posted in Blog Uncategorized and tagged artists bay area arts diasporic activists on by .

Last week offered the chance to experience two important time-based art initiatives in one evening. The Performance Art Institute, initially conceived with Marina Abramovic and now led entirely by her co-founder Stephen Tourrell, has an absolutely incredible space (I should say spaces) on Sutter Street.
As a partner in the already successful Toomey Tourrell gallery, Stephen has turned his attention to performance and has secured a multi-storied space for rehearsal, performance, and display. It also has rooms to house visiting groups and a variety of sequestered convivial spaces throughout. How did he do it?

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BAY AREA ARTS: The Brother/Sister Plays

This entry was posted in Blog Uncategorized and tagged theater bay area arts emerging on by .

McCraney’s reputation as one of the “hottest” “emerging” American playwrights only begins to do justice to his skill and depth of vision, and the decision on the part of A.C.T., Marin Theatre, and the Magic to bring the trilogy to the Bay Area allowed audiences here to see why. McCraney grew up in the housing projects of Liberty City in Miami-Dade County and describes his work as an attempt to bring forward the theatricality of that landscape into theaters unused to experiencing it.

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BAY AREA ARTS: Etiquette at YBCA

This entry was posted in Aesthetics Blog Uncategorized and tagged bay area arts etiquette relational aesthetics commitment on by .

I had the chance to experience “Etiquette” under the auspices of Yerba Buena Center for the Arts earlier this semester.
I have been interested in the admittedly over-used concept of “relational aesthetics” over the last couple of years, thinking in particular about 1) how this turn in contemporary visual art is part and parcel of a related turn in experimental theatre and 2) how and with what modifications this turn addresses socio-political issues, i.e. the vexed but intriguing question of “commitment” in art practice.

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