On April 18, 2009 from 7pm-10pm, OTO is pleased to presents SOAP BOX OPERA WORKSHOP by Artists Meeting www.artistsmeeting.org
SOAP BOX OPERA WORKSHOP is a project developed by the collective
Artists Meeting. Honing in on the dramaturgy of theory, the group
has adapted excerpts from a variety of scholarly and art-theory-
based texts from different eras and genres to a “Soap Opera”
filmic format whereby plots are reduced to one liners, drama is
played out in an exaggerated manner and scenes rely on emotional
turmoil and ambiguity to capture the distracted viewer.
In the SOAP BOX OPERA WORKSHOP, professional actors and Artists
Meeting members have thus adapted the texts as scripts for scenes
of domestic and personal conflict and intrigue. The filming of
these performances follows the parameters of the “affect image,”
as described in Gilles Deleuze’s Cinema 1 and 2: Hence, the
capture is restricted to only close-up shots of the performers,
with no staging or sets, letting the detailed micro movements of
the face, reflecting both external circumstances as well as inner
reactions, carry the meaning of the episodes and scenes.
The project draws from the decadence of Rimbaud, the deconstruction
and criticism of Derrida and Foucault, and the controversy of Ted
Kaczynski and Andy Warhol in order to combine the intellectual
tract writing with soap opera-style acting. Taking inspiration from
“All My Children” to “General Hospital”, “Dark Shadows” and an
array of South American soap opera acting styles, combined with the
presence of literary criticism and theoretical text, Artists’
Meeting creates a new genre: the Interpretive Soap Opera.
During the exhibition at OTO a surprise element will contribute to
the distracting nature of the soap opera and will interfere with
the audience’s reception of these transformed but otherwise
scholarly texts.
Project Curators: James Andrews, Raphaele Shirley, Olga Lysenko
Excerpts of Arthur Rimbaud, Jacques Derrida,Henri Foucault and Andy
Warhol directed by Raphaele Shirley
Excerpts of Guy Debord and Ted Kaczynski directed by Lee Wells
Featuring performances by Caraid O’Brien, Edita Zulic, Aaron
Beall, Randolph Curtis Rand, George Spaeth, G.H. Hovagimyan, Lee Wells
Special Thanks to: Gia Forakis, Lanna Joffrey, G.H. Hovagimyan
Artists Meeting is a New York City based art collective. Brought
together by chance, circumstance, and a common purpose, Artists
Meeting members gather in person and via technology. Free of
commercial influence, participants draw on each other’s expertise
to refine concepts, further experimentation and engage each other
in collaboration. Since it’s official start in 2006, they have had
public art projects in Conflux 2008 and the Dumbo Arts Festival
2007, and at Post Master’s gallery in 2008 and 2009 .
