HUMAN NATURE DANCE THEATER is a performance collaborative, using dance, music and word to express the deepest elements of the human experience. This is the fifteenth year that the avant-garde theater experience graced the Colly Soleri Amphitheater with their dynamic presence.
The group comes from Flagstaff, for an annual one-week workshop that culmunates into a public performance on Saturday evening.
[Photo: Darina Trendafilova & text: sa]
[from Human Nature web-site] Human Nature has a unique collaborative process. Each member of the group has equal say, forcing us to quickly enter deep water and become completely vulnerable with one another. Each year at Arcosanti we work with a theme that our improvisations revolve around. This year our performance comes during the Dark Moon; therefore it deals with Night and what keeps us from sleep. We travel through the spectrum of human experience from the archaic to the contemporary world.
[Photo: sa & text: from Human Nature web-site]
This years collaboration "STILL LATE AND AWAKE" was a thoughtful collection of skits with, as always, seamless and passionate performances. The performers this year were Paul Moore, Delisa Myles, Jayne Lee, Francis Martineau, Nathan Montgomery, Will Duncan and Megan Buchanan.
Stage Set by Marshall Elliott
Lights by Eric Souders
Sound by Earl Duque
[Photo & text: sa]
Posted by sue on September 29, 2008 1:47:08 PM MST
The August 24. 2008 workshop participants graduate. Congratulations to:
[upper from left] Erin O'Rourke, Ashlie Langan, Kyle Engoian, Paola Manzo and Nicola Toscano.
[bottom row from left]
Valentina Lucherini and Liza Chiu.
Ashlie and Kyle will continue with an internship in planning and construction.
[Photo & text: sa]
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Posted by sue on September 26, 2008 2:32:50 PM MST
In June of this year we were visited by three curators from Nam June Paik Art Center, Suwon-Seoul, South Korea. The Art Center, named after the famous artist, will open it's doors in October of this year. We were invited to participate in the inaugural exhibition, which runs from October 8. 2008 to February 5. 2009.
One of the items that will be on display is the URBIS ET ORBIS Space Arcology model. The model was built at Cosanti in 1976 and has been displayed in many exhibitions since, last in Rome, Italy, at the MAXXI Museo Nazionale Delle Arti Del XXI Secolo, in 2005.
[Photo & text: sa]
The second model invited to this exhibition is NUDGING SPACE, the model built in 2000 by planning intern Estefania Villamizir. A third crate was built by ART SOLUTIONS, Fine Art Services, from Scottsdale, AZ. This crate transports a scroll drawing "VENICE ON THE ROCKS", and five bridge drawings of Paolo Soleri.
Cosanti Foundation Director Tomiaki Tamura will travel to Korea to oversee the installation of the Urbis et Orbis model and attend the opening of the event.
We are transmitting a number of images electronically. They will be mounted for exhibition in Korea.
We will continue to report on this exhibition.
[Photo: Darina Trendafilova & text: sa]
Posted by sue on September 24, 2008 2:20:49 PM MST
On Saturday evening Arcosanti hosted the sixth annual Different Skies Festival, a dinner-and-concert event featuring music by an international convention of experimental electronic musicians in the Colly Soleri Music Amphitheater. Visitors first enjoyed a feast of lemon basil salmon, white beans with tarragon, rice pilaf, cream of artichoke soup, spring greens, and fruit salad with homemade cardamom cookies.
Pictured from left to right. Bottom row: Rus Foster, Jim Combs, David Herpich, Giles Reeves. Middle Row: Klimchak, Jeannie Allen, Mike Metlay, Jonathan Mills, Otso Pakarinen. Top Row: Jeff Kunzelman, Greg Waltzer,Bill Fox, Allen Goodman, Tim Walters, Greg Hurley, Kevin Haller, Nick Rothwell, John Rossi, Ivan Schwartz
[Photo: sa & text: Lissa McCullough]
Following dessert, the audience gathered to hear the 20 or so musicians and composers of Different Skies perform the soaring electronic compositions that they had created and rehearsed over the preceding six days of intensive collaboration on site. The ensemble employs a variety of electronic technologies to produce imaginative musical effects ranging from placid soundscapes to rousing rhythms, and even “a violent altercation” between three P3 Sequencers.
After delighting the audience with a dozen such new compositions, including “Conquering the Void” and “Clock Blocker,” the group played a few spontaneously improvised pieces to bring the lovely evening to a creative culmination.
More Concert photos.
[Photo: Hong Waltzer & text: Lissa McCullough]
Posted by sue on September 22, 2008 3:45:40 PM MST
Each group of workshop participants spends 2-3 days on a fieldtrip to Cosanti, the original studio complex of Paolo Soleri. The fieldtrip includes a tour of the Dome House, built by Paolo Soleri in 1949. The group also visits notable architectural buildings in Phoenix, especially the new Phoenix Library, designed by Will Bruder, who studied with Paolo Soleri in the late 1960’s.
A highlight of the fieldtrip is a visit to Taliesin West, where Paolo Soleri apprenticed for 18 month in 1946 and 1947. The staff at Taliesin has made our workshop groups very welcome, with extended tours of residences built by Taliesin apprentices and lately our workshop groups have been invited to share dinner with the Taliesin staff and apprentices.
[from left] Taliesin staff Frank Henry, workshoppers Liza Chiu, Lucia Castello, Kyle Engpian, Erin O'Rourke, Cosanti Foundation staff Roger Tomalty, workshoppers Ashlie Langan, Paola Manzo, Valentina Lucherini and Nicola Toscano.
[Photo: "Doctor Joe" & text: sa]
Posted by sue on September 19, 2008 3:00:49 PM MST
DIFFERENT SKIES returns to the Colly Soleri Music Center. Now in its sixth year, Different Skies is an international gathering of experimental musicians for a week of intensive composing and rehearsals, culminating in a concert open to the public on September 20. at the Colly Soleri Amphitheatre. During the week prior to the concert, the musicians of Different Skies will compose and rehearse the show's music, creating the entire performance in six days. While at Arcosanti, the musicians will be available to conduct workshops for music students from local schools and colleges, and teach master classes on electronic music technique and technology.
[Photo: sa & text: Cosanti Foundation, sa]
The music of Different Skies is exciting, accessible, imaginative, and fun for listeners of all ages and musical interests, from classical and jazz to modern ambient and meditation/healing music. Technology meets imagination to create an evening of amazing entertainment. Learn more about the artists at this year's festival, and for a schedule of some of the jams and performances from this years workshop visit Stillstream.com.
[Photo: sa & text: Cosanti Foundation, sa]
Posted by sue on September 17, 2008 3:17:22 PM MST
A long-standing mystery has finally been solved. Alum from the late 1970’s and early 1980’s will remember this beautiful painting. It was on display on the back wall of the original Arcosanti café in the Crafts III building for many years.
The painting was done by artist and alumna Paula Wittner, commissioned in 1977 by alum Russ Adams. It disappeared in the mid 1980’s. Apparently it was stored in Phoenix and the storage company had gone out of business.
It reappeared in Prescott, at Drake Station Trading Company. Their owners, trying to trace the origin of the painting, got in touch with Paula Wittner just recently. This prompted Russ Adams and Paula to visit the new owners and they are now in negotiation to buy the painting back.
See all the exciting details in an article by reporter Bruce Colbert,
Lost painting turns up in Prescott Prescott Daily Courier - Prescott, AZ, USA
"When Mary (Hoadley from Arcosanti) called me and said my painting was found, I was just totally floored," Rus Adams, the painting's original owner, ...
[Photo: Cosanti Foundation & text: sa]
Posted by sue on September 15, 2008 3:36:09 PM MST
Correction: This is a wild Bob Tail Cat or Lynx, not as earlier reported, a young mountain lion. Arcosanti resident Kip Hersted got a very lucky early morning photo of a young Bob Tail Cat or Lynx in the Minds Garden, north of the East Crescent.
"The young lynx was playing with a rabbit, just like a house cat", said Kip.
The black cat in the foreground is one of the Arcosanti cats. According to Kip, it stood it's ground bravely, declaring territory to the much larger cat.
[Photo: Kip Hersted & text: sa]
Posted by sue on September 12, 2008 10:50:03 AM MST
This continues the 9/8/08 report with the continuation of same concrete pour. Once all of the concrete was in place on level 3 of the new handicap access ramp, the crew got busy on the rest of level 5 of the ramp. Part of level 5 was poured and finished on the previous day.
[Photo & text: sa]
As the crew works on level 5, we can see the covered level 4 ramp, which was poured on the day before. Below Level 4, part of the construction team is fine finishing the surface of level 3 ramp.
[Photo & text: sa]
A view from the visitors center bridge at the rop of Crafts III shows the finished parts of the zig-zag shaped access ramp. Level 6 was poured and finished on day 1 of a 3-day effort, level 5 and part of level 4 were completed on day 2, and
level 3 and the rest of level 4 were finished on day 3.
[Photo & text: sa]
Posted by sue on September 10, 2008 8:34:23 AM MST
The third day of intensive concrete pours started with work on level 3 of the new ramp for handicapped visitors. Once again a crew of four people with wheelbarrows brought a steady supply of concrete to the ramp crew.
[Photo & text: sa]
Concrete was spread evenly over a steel mesh for reinforcement.
[Photo & text: sa]
A 2by4 is used to completely level the surface even with the top of the form and part of the crew worked on fine finishing of the concrete surface. Report continues on 9/10/08.
[Photo & text: sa]
Posted by sue on September 8, 2008 11:44:40 AM MST
Reports from 8/27, 8/29 and 9/3 tried to touch on the excitement of finally getting to pour concrete on parts of the visitors entrance. This came after much time and attention were given to preparation work, especially on the raw desert environment where a path had to be cleaned and leveled, and prepared at an exact grade to make passage comfortable for handicapped visitors.
And a very large boost in excitement was due to a large donation of cement from the Salt River Materials Group (SRMG). [see report from 8/25/08]
[Photo & text: sa]
This report focuses on the second day pour, which concentrated on level 4 of the ramp. Once again the concrete truck was parked as close as possible, yet far away for the wheelbarrow crew, this time on the delivery ramp behind Crafts III. The crew of staff, workshop participants and volunteers started at the bottom end of this portion of the ramp and slowly worked their way upwards.
[Photo & text: sa]
Left over concrete was used to start part of level 5. We continue on 9/8/08 with a report about the third day of this concrete pour.
[Photo & text: sa]
Posted by sue on September 5, 2008 5:12:43 PM MST
We reported on 8/27 and 8/29 about the first concrete pour on the new ramp for handicapped visitors. Part of that mornings effort was a concrete pour to complete the north end of the walkway in the visitors parking lot.
[Photo & text: sa]
For this pour the crew was able to park the concrete truck right next to the prepared formwork.
[Photo & text: sa]
As half of the crew is finishing part six of the ramp, the other half of the crew of staff, volunteers and workshop participants completes the finishing work on this last part of the visitors walk way.
[Photo & text: sa]
Posted by sue on September 3, 2008 11:34:22 AM MST
Welcome to the August 24. 2008 workshop participants. [top row from left]:
Karen Bottoms and David Nordahl [seminar week], Kyle Engoian, Liza Chiu, Nicola Toscano, Lucia Castello and Ezio Vecchi.
[bottom row from left]:
Ashlie Langan, Matt Mays [seminar week], Shu Fun Kwan [seminar week], Paola Manzo and Valentina Lucherini.
[Photo & text: sa]
Posted by sue on September 1, 2008 1:09:08 PM MST