Art Burn: Capsule Review of Weekend Events, Oct. 16-18

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BURNAWAY does its best to get to as many openings, closings, performances, readings (and the like) as we can. Most are free and offer great opportunities to interact and support the local arts community. We’ll attempt to share our whirlwind experiences with you, but we take no responsibility for causing FOMO (fear of missing out).
This past weekend was a busy one, with several major events occurring simultaneously, including “gloATL: Search Engine” at the Atlanta Contemporary, MINT Gallery’s Leap Year Public Art Symposium, and “Elevate: F(orever) I L(ove) A(tlanta),” curated by Fahamu Pecou.

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Nick Madden, Make Making Work, Work , 2015, MINT Satellite.
Nick Madden, Make Making Work, Work , 2015, MINT Satellite.

Madden establishes himself as an auteur with this bold, bright leap premiere of “Heartwood.” One viewing will have your mind in cartwheels over this saturated vision of a short film. It brings to mind the surreal flamboyance of Leigh Bowery and Wes Anderson’s attention to detail. Still, this video seemed at out of place in this symposium. Its optimistic ending contrasts with the futility in other works in the symposium, which focused on labor, and exhausting side effects of art making. — Angela Bortone and Haylee Anne

Jordan Stubbs performing at @mint_atl Leap Year Public Art Symposium: Make Making Work Work

A video posted by BURNAWAY (@burnaway) on

Jordan Stubbs from BURNAWAY on Vimeo. This anxiety-riddled piece is a metaphor for the art process but can expanded to represent the walk through life. As he mutters “I don’t know what I know,” I think of the ‘impostor syndrome’ that everyone feels at some point. When he does make a move, it swallows him whole and he gets spackled, effectively stuck to his choices. — Angela Bortone


 

Hez Stalcup mediating the panel Socially Medicinal Public Performance with Danielle Deadwyler, Angela Davis Johnson, and Jessica Caldas, 2015.
Hez Stalcup mediating the panel Socially Medicinal Public Performance with Danielle Deadwyler, Angela Davis Johnson, and Jessica Caldas, 2015.

When asked about audience interaction: “When I am performing [Muhfuckas Neva Luvd Us], my anonymity is there so that people can project onto me what they want to while I’m performing. I want people to come into contact for whatever duration they choose. But, I think some things should be thrust into your face, so that you give it a second thought, and rethink what you were thinking.” — Danielle Deadwyler


 On Being Black 2015, Spelman Museum, in partnership with Atlanta Celebrates Photography and the Arnika Dawkins Gallery.
On Being Black , 2015, Spelman Museum, in partnership with Atlanta Celebrates Photography and the Arnika Dawkins Gallery.

Over its 100 years, photography has helped institutionalize racism, by inventing “whiteness.” — Kirsten Pai Buick


Vek Neal, Elevate:F.I.L.A., Woodruff Park.
Vek Neal, Elevate:F.I.L.A., Woodruff Park.

Usually with my work I incorporate different materials, especially involving lights, mirrors etc., and I wanted to do something that was intimate and different. So I took a shipping container and turned it into a gallery space to showcase my work. — Vek Neal This mini space has that glam art fair feel but instead is about things that matter, like Atlanta. Vek Neal encouraged viewers to write one thing you love and one thing you hate about this city on a Post-It note and leave it with the piece. The space, created by transforming something commonplace into something special, speaks to the DIY ethos of Atlanta and its artists. — Angela Bortone
Pastiche Lumumba, Elevate:F.I.L.A. , 2015, Woodruff Park.
Pastiche Lumumba, Elevate:F.I.L.A., Woodruff Park.

When someone can tap into the expansive Internet culture in an engaging way that doesn’t rely on flamboyance or cliché, I am all for it. Lumumba appropriates a Tumblr teen aesthetic and phrases, elevates them, and demands our attention through neon. — Haylee Anne Chris Chambers at Elevate: F.I.L.A., 2015 from BURNAWAY on Vimeo. We are walking down the street and suddenly are confronted by rapid-fire noise and images from turn-of-the-millennium pop culture. I’m tripping on nostalgia because instantly I’m brought back to my old living room, watching the 1998 World Series with my family. The mixture of changing sound and image pairs well with how my actual memory works  in clips and motions. I think it’s also important for this to be in a public setting — being surprised by this engagement, this moment in public is more of a release than an attack.  — Haylee Anne


 

GLO Atl, Search Engine , 2015, ACAC.
gloATL, Search Engine, at the Atlanta Contemporary

 

  Ongoing: GloATL: Search Engine at @atlantacontemporary   A video posted by BURNAWAY (@burnaway) on


While the title can make you think of Google, the movement pointed me in the direction of a compass. The dancers wobbled back and forth in small movements, pulled by something unseen, their bodies a mysterious needle. The sound set a meditative sacred space, which, coupled with the setting and the weather, made this feel like magic. I wish I could have seen this very fluid endurance piece for the whole week!  — Angela Bortone

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