An Interactive Live Performance at
Mission Cultural Center
June 1, 2007
In the beginning
there was an empty space,
a space void of color,
covered from wall to floor
with white paper.
Then came the artists,
sixty of them,
musicians, painters,
performers, shamans,
poets, and explorers.
Clad all in white,
they marched in from the streets
and flooded into the blank canvass
awaiting them within
the Mission Cultural Center in San Francisco.
Among them
Radio Free Clear Light
along with Visual Artist Carlos Cartagena embarked an a quest
to cut to the heart of Illusion
and create a world within
the world of La Fiesta:
a model of motion through time,
a Music Box.
Kyron, aka Juan Carlos Mendizabal,
drenched the small haven
that would serve as a life size music box
in a sonic wave
of tones and drones
that spilled out
into the larger Gallery space.
Performance Artists
Etanna Sack and Lydia Harari
costumed as zealous bacchants
moved throughout the box
and into the Gallery beyond,
dancing and inviting
fellow artists and patrons
into their lair.
The music was ever changing,
responding to the dancers,
to new visitors in the music box.
Sometimes driving beats
sent the performers into a frenzy,
in other moments
the return of ambient soundscapes
and noise
served as a backdrop
for some brave soul
that dared
to approach the microphone
to sing, speak, or otherwise sound out.
These contributions
were mixed into the music,
distorted, altered, and restored again.
A moment's sacrifice
would be
incorporated and immortalized
within the evolving musical composition.
Carlos Cartagena set to work
visually transforming
the once empty port of sound and motion
with an empty frame,
some silver foil paper,
a discarded dresser
and a collection of tiny porcelain seagulls.
Visitors lured in by the fair ladies
were as likely to contribute
on the microphone
as to be put to work by Mr. Cartagena,
sawing, gluing, or hanging the little gulls.
All the while,
this act of creation was observed
by the sensitive eye of Moby,
captured on video
and then projected onto a wall
within the now vibrant music box.
Like the performance artists,
he was granted the ability to move
within and without the perimeters of the box. This enabled him to capture images
of the other Illusion artists and participants
and subsequently
life outside of the music box was
projected into its interior.
While interactivity was strongly encouraged,
for many, merely standing on the threshold afforded a perfect vantage point.
From there, patrons could hear and see everything as
a whole:
the music,
the dancers,
the artist at work,
and the projections upon the wall.
How each individual related to
emptiness
was a matter of will and passion, bravery and humility.
These qualities expressed collectively gave shape to a world:
an Illusion encompassing
every specter, splash of color, and burst of sound.
"ILLUSION" is an event created and curated by
Adrian Arias
since 2003
at the Mission Cultural Center.
