Coming into New Orleans can be a hallucinatory experience, depending on the quality of the sleeplessness that precedes it. There have been some journeys where it seemed as though we were walking into a dream, and other times it was apparent that we were simply here, and that it was always like a dream. Whenever it doesn’t seem weird, those are the times to best pay attention, because this city is one of the places where the dream often walks out of the house. Some of these images end up in art projects.
It’s nothing terribly surprising then, to find that for New Orleans, cheap hotels are kind of a necessity, both for the city, and for the creative visitors it often harbors. There are constant revolutions of artists coming through to make projects, and some of the quality is absolutely top, and some is simply well-meant, but rarely do both exist in the same piece. With Kathy Randels , however, they do exist, like two oysters inhabiting the same shell. Her Artspot Productions has been a consistent source of engaging new performance work in town, as well as out of town. For this local, who left for a short time to get experience and inspirations in Chicago, her work is a reflection of the place to a remarkably sharp degree.
Her work and travels have put her in touch with her own city in a way that staying home could not have done. This is work that’s marked with a remarkable blend of the local with the global, and the result is something to see. One of her ongoing projects is with artists from the former Yugoslavia, DAH Teatr , whose aesthetics share a strong kinship with Randels. In DAH, biomechanics and Grotowski merge with work that speaks to a very particular experience that has had global resonances. Likewise, Randels’ work that deals most specifically to New Orleans and its recent tragedies, is the work that generates the most interest worldwide. There is a lesson somewhere in all that.
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