Animated buildings
Downtown comes alive with outdoor performance art
EXHIBIT PREVIEW
TWO STORIES TALL
Bart Habermiller, Patricia Robertson, Shelly Tognazzini and Noel Bégin
International Festival of Animated Objects
January 18 to 20
8 Avenue and 1 Street S.E.
In a city that changes as fast as Calgary does, history is traced in terms of architecture, the buildings that come and go, and if you travel around the city with anyone who has lived here for a while, some spot will always provoke the comment "I remember what used to be here...."
One district that has seen enormous changes is the downtown core. But throughout its history, it has always played a role as a public gathering place, an important area for the cultural life of the city. Olympic Plaza was once a public market, and Stephen Avenue was the home of Calgary’s first school house – a building that was topped with a Player’s cigarette billboard!
These are just a few of the gems from Bart Habermiller and Patricia Robertson’s animated history lesson Two Stories Tall. The two have collaborated on a project that they hope will enliven downtown during the High Performance Rodeo. Using the outside walls of the Centre for the Performing Arts, The Glenbow Museum and Teatro restaurant, the performance will incorporate large-scale slide and video projections, as well as dance, music and storytelling.
The project is truly site-specific, as the artists did extensive research, drawing their inspiration from the history of the area. "The buildings in a city really define its inhabitants," says Robertson. She is interested in the stories that grew, and still grow, out of our architectural surroundings. A journalist by day, Robertson wrote a script that will be read as part of the performance. Her words reflect the downtown atmosphere through a collection of odd observations, snippets of overheard conversations, phrases from newspaper personal ads, and lost and found listings.
Habermiller searched the archives of the Glenbow Museum for about 300 images that will be projected onto the structures. He hopes viewers will be able to relate to the people and places recorded in the photographs, forging a connection to their history. The artist also contributed a musical compostion he calls "a wash of sound" that should help to tie all the elements of the project together.
Dancer Shelly Tognazzini will act like a giant puppet, interacting with sound and visual stimuli, her body projected and enlarged as a silhouette against the structures.
Habermiller says Two Stories Tall will "act as a hinge, connecting the cultural community and the general public." The artist’s past work has included experiments with new forums for contemporary art. One of the founders of the Art City festival, he has also produced a vending machine that sold thousands of art pieces for two dollars each. Habermiller feels that while festivals like the High Performance Rodeo have a strong following, they have been marginalized, often limited to small venues within the arts community. He is enthralled by the idea of challenging performance art that is free and open to anyone.
Two Stories Tall will attempt to bring life to the buildings we pass every day, giving the structures a voice to tell forgotten stories of our city. Catch the performances at 7:40 p.m. at the corner of 8th Avenue and 1st Street S.E. |
