COLLABORATIVE
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Photo Scott Umstattd
2010 OUT OF THE ORDINARY
SPRING GREEN, WISCONSIN It all started in 2010 when I collaborated with Neuroscience PHD, Leo Walton, Bryan Walton, creative designer and visual artist, Antwan Ramar www.antwanramar.com to create an event in a large Wisconsin barn . Our intention was to create a surrealistic world filled with unexpected characters, games, music, color, and interaction. As the participants approached the barn they could see a dimly lit character that look like a bird of some sort beckoning them onward and the sounds of loud techno music throbbing in the barn as colored lights streamed out the barn crack walls. As they emerged into the large barn space they were greeted by a huge peacock (me) on a swing in the middle of the barn. One entire wall is flowing colored lights in tandem with the music. Then they notice the low tech playground created by Bryan. There is a huge ball on a string to bat around, a large circle of ribbons moving, a bubble machine that produced large bubbles that once popped freed a puff of smoke. Most unusual of all was a head set Leo had brought that once worn could control two videos. One showed Antwan bouncing on a trampoline and the other Leo walking a boardwalk through a wooded area. The video the participant produced was dependent on which hemisphere of their brain they were accessing. Some guests could run both videos at the same time. |
2015 BAD BOYS
SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE, MEXICO A COLLABORATION WITH PHOTOGRAPHER SEAN REAGAN In the summer of 2015 I was living in a house in Mexico that was in a very traditional neighborhood. The house I was living in was next door to this well known gang hang out. They would work all day doing upholstery jobs and each night of the week there were gangs of young men hanging around and lots of drinking. Many times when I conceive of an artistic endeavor I see it as a collaboration. I heard the line from a Taylor Swift song that triggered an idea of collaborating with a very creative photographer, Sean Reagan. seanreaganphotography.com/ When I gave him the line from the song BLANK SPACE and the idea he was immediately IN " I can make the bad guys good for the weekend" I approached the idea with the Tapiceria guys through |
I approached the idea with the Tapiceria guys through Johnny and Alex , who both spoke English. They liked the idea and I waited until I actually had a dress night as a dancer so that it was not entirely staged just for the sake of the photo. The guys were photographed first without me and were very excited to be featured. They immediately went to get all the relatives and we took another shot. Then it was Sean's creative turn. I told him to interpret the idea in anyway he liked. Collaboration builds creativity.
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Summer of 2015 collaboration with photographer Jesus Alexandre to promote Monarca Mujeres.
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2015 MONARCA MUJERES MONARCH WOMEN 2015 SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE MEXICO |
In 2015 Danza Vida produced Monarca Mujeres : A Human Art Installation CONSISTING OF 14 Women, 1 child, (one male escort) and a large puppet dressed as Monarchs and Catrinas, appearing in the Jardin ( main town square) of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. The intention: to represent elements of transformation with no fear, change as a natural process. We became a blank canvas for photographers and allowed all who witnesses the art to interpret it as they chose.
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2016 Transient Bodies: a Human Art Installation of Living Altar in Motion
BELLAS ARTES
San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
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Top photo credit Steve Isaac
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Along with Patricia Rincon, it featured significant local and international talent. Mari Osa, performing artist and resident of San Miguel de Allende, Mittie Babette Roger, professional writer, dancer, singer. model, and choreographer who also makes her home in San Miguel de Allende, Kimberly Medina Almaguer, Professional Danza Viral dancer, teacher and choreographer living in San Miguel de Allende. Victor Hugo Artistic Designer and dancer of San Miguel de Allende. Lilia Garcelon, performing artist, DJ, and model
played the role of Mictecacihuatl, Goddess of the Bones |
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All night photos in this slide show credited to Erik Zavala Kugler |
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The cast represented the fine artists of San Miguel de Allende , actors, singers, musicians, circus artists and costume, lighting and sound designers. |
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May 2017 Unseen Unity: a photographic collaboration with Scott Umstattd
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Scott Umstattd is a travel and documentary photographer and author of Fighting The Evils of Darkness: A Low Light Photography Survival Guide. In early spring, Scott encountered me on the street of San Miguel. He asked if I would be willing to participate in a shoot he had in mind. I would be the Monarch queen I so often portray but his brief description of wanting the photo to be a bit "dark " in nature got my curiosity going. When I googled him I got a slightly better ideas of his vision but when we talked I found my true passion ignited . I am beginning a fall collaboration that is in the theme of the underworld so Scott's idea about a photo documentation of good and evil to be considered together intrigued me. Photos coming soon. Click on Scotts name to go to his website and see some of his fantastic work. Such an honor to collaborate with him.!!!! |
These photos explore the ideas we have about good and evil , right and wrong, soft and hard. We are all in this world together. Thank you so so much Scott for your amazing eye!!! what an honor to collaborate with such creative clarity. Life is constantly trying to heal our relationship to judgement. and special thanks to real life tough guys Marcial Alexandro Alverando Rodriquez (sunglasses) and Alejandro Moreno Martinez who showed that all life is ART.
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June 21 Summer Solstice 2017
Art Happening photo shoot with Scott Umstattd
In this photo shoot Scott and I again collaborated on an idea. It was Summer Solstice so we decide on the theme of black and white to represent the equality of day and night in the Solstice. Without much notice we created a Facebook event and asked people to come at night to the town center at 10pm . That is all they knew. The result was amazing and very interesting. There were stories that emerged from the photos. Each person became the art and it bloomed beyond what our minds could conceive.
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FUTURE WORLD 2017 Collaboration of Scott Umstattd/Alejandro Trejo at Tim Sullivan's amazing Futuristic World, Ranchito Cascabel.
WORKING IN THE FIELD OF ALL POSSIBLITIES MAGIC OFTEN HAPPENS IN THE FORM OF RAINBOWS
PHOTO CREDIT. SCOTT UMSTATTD PHOTO CREDIT. STEVE ISAAC ( from Transient Bodies 2016)
In collaborating with Scott and Alejandro ( only male model) on this incredible shoot I could feel a sense we all had about using Tim Sullivans gorgeous art property to project our visions of a perfect and artistic world. The rainbow appeared as a magical sign just as we were about to finish the time there. Many times Rainbows appear as magical signs both for me and others. They are symbolic of a perfect blend of all colors to make bright white light. Full spectrum living. Special thanks to all participants who were willing to play in this field of all possibilities.
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Collaborations Fall of 2017
Vivos y Muertos childrens festival Oct 29, 2017
The Fall of 2017 was a busy month as Abril Olvera and I were invited to perform in two major productions for the festivities of the Day of the Dead in San Miguel de Allende. Vivos de Muertes is a large children's festival hosted in a park with lots of activities for children. Abril learned a story I wrote a few years back about a true life experience i once had rescuing a Monarch before winter frost in Wisconsin. The day before our appearance Abril and I found many caterpillars of the Monarch, which is rare for Mexico. We collected them and were able to relocate them all within the parks new Butterfly garden. The children were 4 and 5 years old and it was quite a treat to be able to share this wonderful experience with them .
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Patricia Rincon's Essential Bodies/Myth Project Day of the Dead at Casa de Europe en Mexico
On Nov. 1st Day of the dead in San Miguel de Allende Patricia Rincon Head of the dance and theater department of the University of San Diego presented Essencial Bodies as a Myth Project presentation. Essential Bodies was an original dance/theater written in collaboration with by San Miguel dramatist , Monica Hoth. The magic of life and eternity was explored, inspired by the death dream of the Aztec Culture and brought the subject into our contemporary world through the symbolic movements of the dancers revolved around the idea of the human fragility. The dance group is a non-profit that focuses on crossing cultural borders. Sponsorship for Essential Bodies came also from COR arts research, Casa De Europe en Mexico and El Sindicato of San Miguel de Allende
EXCERPT FROM SAN MIGUEL ART MAGAZINE DEC. 2017 FULL ARTICLE HERE. view.joomag.com/san-miguel-art-magazine-december-diciembre/0972461001510618899 Here is a Youtube link to the full performance www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwF9NzTa37I&t=3510s |
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MARCH 2018 FUTURE WORLD ART HAPPENING
RANCHITO CASCABEL IN COLLABORATION WITH PHOTOGRAPHER SCOTT UMSTATTD TIM SULLIVAN Again we returned to this Futuristic Folk Art Village but this time added an ART HAPPENING of fine dining, live painting, body painting, and circus arts. An amazing extravagance of creativity resulted |
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APRIL 2018
THE BAD ONES DANZA VIDA collaborated with Artstuff. an eclectic art group of young Mexicans, on a photo shoot called the BAD ONES. we donned white masks and went to a local train station. photograher Richardo Ricardo Ledezma Eugenio Jimenez got these great black and whites. |