Allure from Home
Merely a Mistake:
A Score for your Door
Now streaming via theallureofmatter.org
This experimental community art project based on a score from Irene Hsiao brings physically distanced participants together through overlapping at-home performances.
Inspired by Liu Wei’s Merely a Mistake II No. 7—a sculpture made from layers of recycled and cut up doorframes—the project is one of several developed by Hsiao, a Chicago Dancemakers Forum 2020 Lab Artist, for the Smart Museum of Art and theallureofmatter.org.
Words from Irene:
I keep jabbering about a quality I don't yet know how to describe. It's something like Everyone Can Dance! and People Even Apart Are Together! And Humans Are Beautiful! And Brains/Bodies/Brains! Almost all of the people in the project have never met or danced together before, and everyone interpreted the score on their own. This project was for anyone who wanted to join -- so it includes teens from the south side of Chicago, museum workers, dancers, neighbors, friends, and strangers. And pets :)
“It was such a pleasure being a part of this project. I’ve been having a difficult time finding motivation to move my body lately. Home has turned into a place of isolation and make-shift work space. The simple score that Irene provided was surprisingly healing and helped me re-shape the limitations I held for my space. It demanded little but was accessible to so much. The creation process of impromptu decisions was a delight but what was really fascinating was seeing the clips of overlapping footage with familiar AND unfamiliar faces, bodies, beings. It was a lovely reminder that we are all still connected even though we aren’t holding physical space together. “ - Kara Brody
For more information and to view all 10 videos, visit here.
Merely a Mistake: A Score for your Door Irene Hsiao with Kara Brody and Amanda Maraist Commissioned by the Smart Museum of Art in conjunction with 'The Allure of Matter: Material Art from China.