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So. Truman Capote, Mick Jagger, Bob Dylan, Salvador Dali, Allen Ginsberg, Edie Sedgwick and Andy Warhol meet in a silver room.
There’s no punchline, it’s not a joke.
Meetings like that just happened when Warhol was throwing infamous parties at his workshop, the Factory. That time and place conjures images of glamour, creativity and excitement and yes, drug use and decadence too. It was the birth of social and artistic revolution or the fall of civilization, depending on who you ask, and it’s this excitement, this glamour and this celebration of the arts in all its forms that a few Calgarians are trying to replicate.
Factory Party #5 at The Uptown will bring together visual artists, filmmakers, performance artists, photographers, musicians, DJs and an eclectic collection of art lovers, music lovers, booze lovers and general partygoers. It’s about tricking people into going to an art event, when they think they’re going to a party, as much as it’s tricking the art crowd into going to a party instead of an art event. “Basically we want to kind of emulate this really glamorous, but maybe not actually so glamorous era, of the factory and of Andy Warhol and this emergence of modern art, and the whole attitude that was taken towards that scene,” says Andrea Lothrop, one of the organizers of the event.
The catalyst for the parties is a loose collection of artists and art lovers who contribute to The Modern Leisure, a website run by local photographer Randy Gibson, which celebrates all things stylish. It’s that same loose philosophy that is on display at a Calgary Factory Party. “It’s just a general collection of all things cool and exciting that are going on in town and bringing them all together into one venue,” says Lothrop.
This time around, the entire Uptown will be taken over, with two screens showing short films and DJs spinning in the theatres, the Marquee Room open for bands and the stairwell, mezzanine and lower level catering to visual art, perfromative art and DJs. There will even be a stairwell jam, where anyone can strum, tap, clap or screech and cause a ruckus.
Shaun Dorion will screen his interpretation of Dr. No, the James Bond classic, filmed using fellow Alberta College of Art and Design students and other amateur actors. Noah York City will be one of at least six DJs spinning, and musical acts include The Fellas, Endangered Ape and Sit Still! At Factory Party #4, one performance featured Anthony Spensly, going through his morning rituals in a bedroom amidst the chaos of the celebration. He woke up, ate breakfast at the bar, put on his clothes and went out for his first cigarette. It’s an environment in which anything can happen, sometimes without any prior arrangement. Although there’s usually a submission process for art and performances, “nobody’s going to stop you if you want to show up wearing a giant cigarette or something,” according to Lothrop.
The organizers want to break free of the stifling white gallery walls, and the formalities that so often accompany openings. “The art community in Calgary is very insular. We want to make it more open to people and for people to not be intimidated by these white walls and sort of solemn faces and this regimented way of doing things and talking to people,” says Lothrop.
The trick with leaving that space is the chaos that can ensue, particularly when you’re throwing a wild function and expecting 1,500 people to show up. “If someone’s used to going to see movies, which is kind of a quiet thing to do, you might be really shocked and amazed, but also impressed, by an environment where there are so many people and so much going on. It can be a little overwhelming, but we think that’s a great thing.”
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