[-empyre-] Call and Response

Mon Dec 9 06:20:24 EST 2013

In terms of call and response as a reframing of traditional formats, I'd explore the process whenever I decide to create any work, be it performance, film, and/or training. 

This decision is not only informed by, but rooted in, lived experiences in LA, and day-to-day interactions with specific communities, specifically as an immigrant in Los Angeles. 

That is to say, my work is not "Latino" or "queer" or "PoC" or seeks to represent a specific struggle, but that does not mean its influences can be negated, specially as it applies to shared lived experiences with immigrant communities of color in LA. 

I spent 6 months this year developing, producing, and editing Reinas de Los Angeles, a film that creates a space for "drag queen" performers in pre-dominantly "gay Latino" bars in LA to talk about their work, and document some of the conversations they've shared with each other and with myself about their lives. 

When developing this film, I was aware of the need to stray away from traditional documentary form and structure. The purpose of this film wasn't to present an "underground circuit/subculture" or to encompass the lives of a group of people and wrap it up in 75 minutes. The goal of this film was to serve as a tool to present oral hystories, and the work of performers in "drag" whose main shared experience revolved around the fact that they've all performed at the same bars/venues. 

That is not to say that some of their experiences did not overlap with each other, nor with mine as the director, but in redefining what I wanted to see as the outcome of this film, one which most outsiders would categorize as a documentary, the film a space for every performer to share their stories, and their work. 

By working in a call and response mode, be it myself behind the camera and them in the front, or themselves as performers and the rest of us as audience both within and outside of the film, and even as they tackle their views and opinions around various issues, the conversations gets elevated to a much greater level and depth. Instead of the focus being around myself and what I choose to present to the audience of "my" film, I made the conscious decision of using film as a tool to facilitate the presentation of these stories. 

Byron

> On Dec 4, 2013, at 10:47 PM, Irina Contreras <icontreras at cca.edu> wrote:
> 
> ----------empyre- soft-skinned space----------------------
> Welcome to the December discussion, loosely based on "Call and Response" and other thematics that I hope each week's guests can shed light on in interesting and innovative ways. 
> 
> Moderated by Irina Contreras (US) with invited discussants (rough estimates of dates with possible changes):
> 
> December 5th to 11th: Omar Mismar (LB), Sarah Jones (TAS) and Byron Jose (US)
> 
> December 12 to 16th:
> Decolonize Your Diet (US), Cake and Eat It (US), Voicewaves (US) and Dorothy Santos (US)
> 
> December 17th to 22: Mitch Brown (US), Juba Kalamka (US), Josh T Franco (US) and Essex O. Lordes (US)
> 
> As Renate has said, the month came together very, very quickly! That said, thanks for everyone that has joined in. I expect that much like a party or a salon I can throw, this should be an interesting and juicy (and possibly haphazard) 3 weeks.
> 
> This month I have invited discussants whose work and interests reflect interests in call and response, whether I feel that it is about the reframing of a particular viewpoint or the unwanted (and therefore sometimes messy) contribution to a conversation. For myself, these have frequently been starting points for my personal performance practice. Though, I also know it to be something connected to my political practices and interest as a novice/public archivist. I will slowly bring in my own work and interests as we begin to delve into each discussant's topics of interests. 
> 
> The word "activism" is not present though I expect that it might come up with various peoples work and given the nature of this site. Also, I have added a few guests last minute who partake in DJ/musician/soundscape forms, which I am really excited about as a music nerd. Call and Response, which is an idea that comes from sound, a distinct succession of phrasing in which it is apparent that one in fact, is heard as a direct response or in tandem with another can hopefully be seen as a way in which we as makers, thinkers, do-ers, writers etc engage in participation and refusal in public, private and virtual spaces. I will also want to discuss later on the ways in call and response is a product largely of colonialism, the trans-atlantic slave trade and civic engagement/revolt. 
> 
> These guests are inclusive of people I mostly all know who work across diverse disciplines such as performance, writing, online shenanigans, dj'ing, music, hip hop, political projects and film.
> 
> For this week, we will be chatting with Omar Mismar, Byron Jose and Sarah Jones. I will introduce them now and wait to see if anyone jumps in! Otherwise, be back soon!
> 
> Irina
> 
> --------------------------------
> 
> Omar Mismar is a visual artist born in Beirut, Lebanon. He was awarded the Fulbright scholarship for 2012–2014, and he is currently pursuing an MFA in Fine Arts and an MA in Visual and Critical Studies at the California College of the Arts in San Francisco. His interdisciplinary art practice is fueled by ideas of desire, intimacy, and the everyday: what people do in the city, how we go about our routines, our free and alone time, our private versus public lives. Walking, intervening, subverting, resisting, satirizing, conversing, imagining, narrating, and browsing steer his practice. He is fascinated by the figure of the detective.
> 
> Byron is a filmmaker, performance artist, writer, and educator. As an immigrant in Los Angeles, Byron creates projects to deconstruct, divert, and dictate norms, situations, and discourse. Through these works, Byron presents byproducts struggling to be free. Using film, video projections, the self, and ordinary occurrences, pieces are created to combat monotonous expectations of art, while disregarding processes and form.
> You can check out a link of Byron's film, Reinas de Los Angeles here:
> https://vimeo.com/61485641
> 
> Sarah Jones (Perth, 1982) is a writer, artist and curator based in Berlin. She graduated from the Tasmanian School of Art (UTAS) in 2007 and is currently completing a Masters of Fine Arts at the Dutch Art Institute (DAI), Netherlands. Sarah recently participated in the NOA Language School at SMBA, Amsterdam, 2013; The rise and fall of the continuous cycle, DeServiceGarage, Amsterdam, 2013; andcome to life at the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Tasmania, 2012. Selected curatorial projects include: Both sides of everything about something at Sawtooth ARI, Launceston; The Hobart Urban Illumination Project as part of ITERATION:AGAIN, Tasmania; trophywife at Death Be Kind, Melbourne and Erotographomania at CAST Gallery, Hobart, all 2011.
> 
> Sarah was the project coordinator for ITERATION:AGAIN, under the curatorial direction of David Cross, 2011; project coordinator for the Tasmanian Regional Arts, Tasmanian Youth Portraiture Prize, 2011; and the Tasmanian project co-ordinator for the 2012 JUMP Mentorship program, for Contemporary Art Spaces Tasmania (CAST). In 2010 Sarah received an Arts Tasmania, Assistance to Individuals Grant for curatorial research. In 2009 she was awarded the CAST Emerging Curator Mentorship and a NAVA Janet Holmes a Court Artists Grant. She is a founding member of Hobart based Artist Run Initiative 10%pending.
> you can check out Sarah's work here:
> http://sarahjones.net.au/
> 
> 
> 
> 
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