Karen Zalamea Makes Work

2011-11-28T15:32:00.000-05:00

Some shots of my exhibition, Working Order, at Latitude 53 Contemporary Visual Culture.

2011-11-05T15:10:00.001-04:00

Exercises in Napery [video still], 2007

Working Order, an exhibition of my videos, will be on view in the ProjEX Room at Latitude 53 Contemporary Visual Culture in Edmonton, Alberta. I will be at the gallery on November 26th to present a live performance.

Working Order
November 4 to December 17, 2011
Opening reception: November 11, 19h00
Latitude 53 Contemporary Visual Culture
10248 - 106 Street, Edmonton, AB

2011-11-05T14:54:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the lack of updates. Much has happened as of late, including a cross-country move.

2011-10-04T23:33:00.000-04:00

Stereo Efficiency Cheer on 1 Richmond Street West, Toronto

I had an incredible weekend in Toronto as my video Stereo Efficiency Cheer took part in Scotiabank Nuit Blanche on October 1st. Much gratitude to everyone who came out despite the bitter cold to check out the contemporary art throughout the city. And many thanks especially to the organizers, technical staff, curators and artists for making this such an exciting event.

2011-09-28T20:36:00.001-04:00

Stereo Efficiency Cheer [video still], 2008

The video Stereo Efficiency Cheer will be shown at two outdoor locations in this year's Scotiabank Nuit Blanche in Toronto - a free, all-night contemporary art event.
The videos can be viewed on Yonge Street at 1 Richmond Street West and 1 Adelaide Street East, both in Zone C curated by Nicholas Brown.

2011-09-24T22:19:00.001-04:00

Exhibition shots of my video Self Geste at the Société des arts technologiques in Montréal.

2011-09-23T00:20:00.006-04:00

Self Geste, single-channel video, 2009

My video Self Geste will be shown as a wall-sized projection in this upcoming exhibition:

And No One Was Around [Montréal]

A group exhibition of new media works and experiences, co-presented by Art POP and the Société des arts technologiques.

September 23 - 25, 2011

Vernissage: Friday, September 23, 19h00 - 21h00

Société des arts technologiques [SAT]

1201, Boulevard Saint-Laurent

Come check it out if you're in the city !

2011-09-12T11:00:00.000-04:00

Wim Wenders, Pina, 2011

2011-09-10T13:18:00.000-04:00

The challenge of video editing Revisions has got me reconsidering its entire presentation. I've made several preliminary edits, but the process of considering three channels, sequencing and dealing with hours of workable footage has been daunting to say the least. The choreography and performances are fantastic, and there is always the temptation to stay true to the linear and chronological unfolding of the dance. But I want to steer away from mere video documentation with multiple perspectives as a mediated and singular experience of the dance. I've been mulling over different post-production strategies, trying to concoct something that looks and feels right, and stays true to the project's thematic core of revising, rephrasing, reworking, reassessing...

2011-08-27T12:45:00.002-04:00

My windblown hair atop Signal Hill, the Atlantic lurking in the background.

2011-08-23T22:02:00.000-04:00

Signal Hill, St. John's, Newfoundland

Last week I was fortunate enough to travel to St. John's, Newfoundland, which was my first trip to Eastern Canada. Three of my videos from the WORK WORK WORK series - Exercises in Napery, Self Geste and Stereo Efficiency Cheer - were exhibited as a looped video sequence during The Art Marathon Festival hosted by Eastern Edge Gallery.

Special thanks to the gallery for their generous support and for including me in this exciting festival of visual art, music and performance.

2011-08-10T19:04:00.002-04:00

Tools of the trade: ballet toes in hockey tape.

2011-08-09T20:56:00.000-04:00

The choreography begins with a series of rigorous and strictly measured walks or marches that pan from right to left. As the dance develops, the marching structure slowly disintegrates and transforms from a rigidly upright sequence of steps to a more fluid cycle of movements on the floor.

2011-08-08T23:09:00.000-04:00

I purchased 12 extra feet of PVC pipe to create a longer dolly track, although it looks dwarfed in this image by the scale of the studio. I experimented with a number of track shots, which for the most part produce very subtle but effective camera movements in tandem with the choreographed dance.

2011-08-02T23:23:00.000-04:00

The dancer, Kelly Keenan, and I have reworked the choreography for this new phase of the project. It's a non-traditional incorporation of pointe with mechanized and precisely measured movements.

2011-08-01T23:31:00.002-04:00

I've been working this summer and have spent time away, first in New York City, then most recently in Vancouver. Production on Revisions is still progressing, and this week we are most fortunate to be completing a second phase [or revision] of the project while on an artist residency hosted by Compagnie Marie Chouinard. We're rehearsing and filming in their beautiful and pristinely white Studio Baryshnikov. More frequent updates will be posted this week. But here's a little peek:

2011-06-25T22:42:00.001-04:00

Descending Potemkin Steps [excerpts], single-channel video, 2010-2011

I finally uploaded some excerpts from one of my videos in progress. In the video, I walk in a straight line at a steady pace down the centre of the Potemkin Steps in Odessa, Ukraine, made famous in Sergei Eisenstein's 1925 silent film Battleship Potemkin. The video presents a simple performative gesture as an approach to inhabiting a historically-charged site.

2011-06-21T18:35:00.000-04:00

Horizon, c-print, 2006/2009

My image Horizon has received an honourable mention in BlackFlash Magazine's 2011 Optic Nerve Image Contest. The judges included Richard Hines (Manitoba), Jesse McKee (BC) and Kelly Wood (Ontario). The image will be published in the upcoming summer issue.

2011-05-27T18:56:00.002-04:00

Dmitri Shostakovich, Dance of the Carter from The Bolt, 1931

One of the major departure points for Revisions.

2011-05-23T18:22:00.000-04:00

For the video shoot of Revisions, my esteemed technical assistant, Michael Love, built a track dolly. There are several online resources for DIY low budget dollies made with skateboard wheels, angle aluminum and PVC pipes.

2011-05-22T12:45:00.002-04:00

The making of...

2011-05-21T10:23:00.000-04:00

Revisions, stills from new video installation in progress

featuring Kelly Keenan, 2011

More images from my work in progress.

2011-05-19T21:44:00.001-04:00

Revisions, stills from new video installation in progress

featuring Kelly Keenan, 2011

We are nearing the end of an intensive week of choreographing, rehearsing and shooting my new project, Revisions. The work will eventually be a multi-channel video installation featuring the dancer, Kelly Keenan, as well as a commissioned score written by Mirko Sablich and performed by Kathy Kennedy.

Revisions is a thematic progression of my previous research regarding the motif of the working body, gestured labour as choreography, and the body as tool. With Dmitri Shostakovich’s ballet The Bolt [1931] as a point of departure, the work aims to musically, choreographically and visually conceive of the body navigating between states of control and abandon.

2011-05-11T15:21:00.000-04:00

Martha Graham, Lamentation, 1930

Happy 117th birthday, Martha Graham!

2011-05-09T21:14:00.001-04:00

Pina Bausch's Wuppertal Tanztheater, Le Sacre du Printemps, 2008

Xavier Le Roy, Le Sacre du Printemps, 2010

Two takes on the Rite of Spring.

2011-05-07T00:03:00.002-04:00

Xavier Le Roy, Self Unfinished, 1998

2011-05-05T10:22:00.000-04:00

Sylvie Guillem in Smoke by Mats Ek, 1995

2011-05-03T23:31:00.000-04:00

Lumière Brothers, Danse Serpentine, c.1899

2011-04-25T18:51:00.000-04:00

A package with an attitude of propriety and decency.

2011-04-20T10:35:00.000-04:00

Pierre/Paysage: Aerial View, 2009-2010

A proof of my image from the Pierre/Paysage series is available for purchase at the Montréal Loves You Japan fundraiser, a one-night art auction and sale held at Ctrllab. Initiated and curated by Cheryl Sim, Matt Evans and Shinobu Akimoto, the event will feature original works by prominent contemporary artists. All proceeds from the event will be donated to the Japanese Red Cross through the Japanese Consulate in Montréal.

2011-04-16T10:49:00.001-04:00

Jonathan Burrows and Matteo Fargion, Speaking Dance (Part 1 of 4), 2006

I'm gearing up for production on my multiple-channel video installation, which will explore the intersections of voice, dance, control and abandon. In the meantime, I wanted to share this gem of a collaboration.

2011-04-07T20:09:00.001-04:00

Marie Chouinard, Étude No. 1,

performed by Lucie Mongrain, 2001

Time for some more Marie Chouinard choreography.

2011-03-30T23:50:00.006-04:00

Stereo Efficiency Cheer [excerpts], 2008

I'm in the process of updating the layout of my website and I decided to use Vimeo to embed my video excerpts. In the meantime, check out the videos if you haven't already.
Go to Vimeo >>>

2011-03-25T14:31:00.003-04:00

Exercises in Napery [video still], 2007

On view from February 28 until March 27, Exercises in Napery is presented in Fables (é)mouvantes at Cinémathèque Québécoise, programmed alongside video works by Bas Jan Ader, Romeo Gongora, Manon Labrecque, Nicolas Renaud, and David Tomas. The exhibition is one of the many stops of the Exposition Portative (Portable Exhibition) organized by Dazibao, centre de photographies actuelles in Montréal.

2011-03-24T22:32:00.007-04:00

Patrick Chan vs. Adam Rippon

This week would have seen the World Figure Skating Championships held in Tokyo. For obvious reasons the event has been postponed, but I thought I'd take a look back at a little incident during the men's short program warm-up at the Skate Canada International Figure Skating Championships in Kingston, October 2010. [Footage courtesy of my sister]

2011-03-22T13:42:00.001-04:00

From when there was snow, before it melted and came back again in time for spring.

2011-03-16T16:25:00.001-04:00

After shooting Kagel's L'Art Bruit

2011-03-14T17:30:00.003-04:00

In between takes of Aperghis' Les Guetteurs de Sons

I had an intense weekend of work assisting with the video recording of two pieces of new music for percussion: Aperghis' Les Guetteurs de Sons and Kagel's L'Art Bruit. The video culminates research directed and performed by Aiyun Huang, Chair of Percussion at McGill University. The DVD will be released next year by Mode Records.

2011-03-09T18:27:00.001-05:00

Koki Tanaka, Everything is Everything

[alternate version for single-channel], 2006

A little inspiration. Simple gestures + everyday objects.

2011-03-04T10:44:00.001-05:00

Marina Marina

2011-03-02T23:15:00.001-05:00

Photo: Galerie Simon Blais

Galerie Simon Blais launched an exquisite catalogue celebrating the last twenty years of art exhibition, promotion and collection. A few images from my exhibition WORK WORK WORK, plus an excerpt from Ève Dorais' essay are included in the publication.

2011-02-24T18:20:00.002-05:00

Self Geste [video still], 2009

My video Self Geste will be presented during Nuit Blanche à Montréal, as part of Art Souterrain, this Saturday, February 26 from 18h00-03h00. The video will be located at Place Bonaventure. From the main entrance on 800 de la Gauchetière, turn right at the information desk and you'll find my gesturing silhouette.

2011-02-24T08:43:00.001-05:00

Georges Aperghis, Récitations pour voix seule, [1978] performed by Leitundlause Musiktheater

2011-02-21T20:56:00.002-05:00

Thierry De Mey, Musique de Tables, performed by Ictus Ensemble

2011-02-18T23:09:00.002-05:00

In the event you find yourself in Berlin, I would highly recommend going to the listening station at Teufelsberg. It is one of those unspoken [technically illegal] destinations where you'll find fellow tourists and local party-goers enjoying a great view of the city.
Simply take the S-bahn to Grunewald station [S7 line, Potsdam Hbf direction], turn left out of the station and walk up through the park. Keep walking until you hit the road, turn right and follow the sidewalk until you see some possible paths up the hill across the street. These paths are unmarked and most look like they have warning signs telling pedestrians to go away. Go in and follow the paths up the hill.
Eventually you'll come across a steep set of stairs which lead to a fence--you'll see an interesting patchwork of chain-link covering holes cut by previous explorers. Find an opening in the fence [don't worry, there will be plenty].
Then you'll see the listening station. Enter on the ground floor and find the stairwell to go up. Go all the way to the top. The top chamber resonates sound remarkably. Sing your favorite German pop song.
Mind the empty elevator shaft in the middle of the stairwell ! It's a good idea to bring a small flashlight, as the stairwell is very dark. And a pair of wire cutters could be handy if you can't find an opening in the fence.
Enjoy the view and the sound.

2011-02-16T11:33:00.003-05:00

Anri Sala, Answer Me [film stills], 2008

Anri Sala's solo exhibition is currently on view at the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal until 25 April 2011.
Of the various works carefully placed throughout the exhibition, I was most excited to finally experience Answer Me, filmed in the listening station at Teufelsberg in Berlin. Teufelsberg, meaning "Devil's Mountain", is an artificial hill made from post-war rubble, under which a military-technical college designed by Albert Speer was buried. The NSA then built a listening station atop the hill to monitor Soviet and East German communication.
In the film, a woman attempts to end a relationship, but the man refuses to listen and aggressively plays a drum set to silence her. The drama is deafened by the echos reverberated by the structure of the geodesic dome.

2011-02-13T17:49:00.002-05:00

Descending Potemkin Steps [video still], 2010-2011

I've uploaded a few stills from my video in progress, Descending Potemkin Steps, to my website.

2011-02-12T18:55:00.002-05:00

Marie Chouinard, bODY_rEMIX/gOLDBERG_vARIATIONS, 2005

2011-02-11T14:08:00.005-05:00

Marie Chouinard, bODY_rEMIX/gOLDBERG_vARIATIONS, 2005

Yesterday the Movement Museum interviewed Marie Chouinard, legendary Montréal-based choreographer and visionary.

Listen

My source has always been the body itself, and especially the silence and the breath which make up the “invisible” stuff of life. At the root of each new work there is always what I call the “mystery”, an unknown wavelength that calls out to me in an almost obsessive manner. My work consists of capturing this primordial wavelength, of “tuning” it in a sense, and of arranging it in space and time with a structure and form proper to it. Since 1978, this is what I have been doing: listening attentively to the vital pulsation of the body to the point of crystallising it in a new order. Each time, I start afresh from zero. Each time, I focus and re-direct my “antennae”, I seek out a new “state”, I track this wavelength until everything is in line, like in a reinvented classical structure in which, I hope, the viewer’s own “mystery” will be revealed to her.
Marie Chouinard
2000

2011-02-10T12:30:00.003-05:00

Marcel Duchamp, Nude Descending Staircase No. 2, 1912

Eliot Elisofon, Marcel Duchamp Descending a Staircase, 1952

Eadweard Muybridge, Nude Descending a Staircase from Animal Locomotion, 1887

Alexander Rodchenko, The Stairs, 1929

2011-02-09T20:10:00.001-05:00

The famous Odessa Steps sequence from Battleship Potemkin.

2011-02-08T18:19:00.005-05:00

I'm working on a video I recorded on the Potemkin Steps in Odessa, Ukraine, made famous in Sergei Eisenstein's 1925 silent film Battleship Potemkin. I shot it in HDV with a small camera borrowed from my work, and now the resulting motion artifacts [which are apparently a given with HDV] are all too noticeable for me. I'll continue to wrestle with the footage, and everything I shot in Ukraine will be the absolute last HDV and tape-based videos I work with.

2011-02-07T17:13:00.001-05:00

Tampico Twist in fireplace.
A variation of twist and flame.

2011-02-06T16:42:00.001-05:00

While making tests for a twist-inspired performance video, I ended up with swollen, fire-by-friction feet.
It felt like this.

2011-02-05T16:05:00.001-05:00

To be viewed as a perpetual loop.

2011-02-04T22:57:00.003-05:00

Let's twist again.
Dance in the imperative.