COUNTERCRAWL IV, ART ERRYWHERE AGAIN

FACE, Performance by M. R. Miller

The 4th installment of Countercrawl is right around the corner, and it comes packed with performance art, interactive visual art and as usual, many local bands. If you have not heard of Countercrawl yet, either by word of mouth, or through intentionally limited press outings, this is your chance to witness what might be defined as a multi-venue community building bike-ride, (similar yet somewhat rebellious to the execution and concept of Artcrawl) or by all biking means, make your definition of it through empirical observation.


So invite your friends,  pimp out your bikes, get your backpacks ready with bottles of water, brownies and a camera, and countercrawl  through the many exciting stops on Saturday  April the 28th.  The following is a tentative schedule posted by countercrawlers on Facebook:

REMARKET 11AM-12:30PM:

Bands: The Pete Jazz Trio, Pinky Lieder, The Weird Weeds and Papaya

There will be:

a bone marrow registry performance
swap (almost anything)
watergun fight
Performance:
The Green Blob by Hillary Scullane (may/will continue throughout the day)
photobooth!!
Bring a coffee cup and color it nice!

ROSALIE HAUS/DOWNTOGETHER  1:00 AM - 3:00 PM:


Rosalie:

Bands: Shotgun Funeral, Julie Rogers, Klezmer Band, David Dove

There will be:

Performance: Laughter Box by The McCords
‘bubbles’ by Jesse Noel
Thien’s Drawing Class:
Draw the symbol and/or caricature of the zodiac constellations:
Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Ophiuchus, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces, and Cetus.
(Thien will collect all drawings and accept any drawings already drawn at Remarket).

DOWNTOGETHER:

Bands: Adam & The Ancient Gods MC Homeless Sakkred

There will be:

A Seed Swap,
Food Not Bombs will be providing sustenance!
INSTALLATION at DTH by Y.E. Torres, 'FORCED NAP - CHILL OUT TIME'
Performance: Uprooted II by Sway Youngston

SUPER HAPPY FUN LAND 3:30 PM - 6:30 PM: 

Bands: William & James Band, Female Demand, Rusted Shut

Performance: Raindawg, “Where We Live” - collaborative twitter performance with CC attendants,
Projection by Jonathan Jindra

NOTSUOH 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM: 

7:00-7:30 Performance downstairs by Kevin Rue (Music)
7:40-8:25 Continuum performance upstairs (ESQUE), with Jesse Noel, Jonathan Jindra and many countercrawlers, with live music by John Zambrano and Voidfuck
8:25-9:15 open SWIM (free time, people do their thang)
9:15-9:25 Max Xandaux
9:30-10:00 Performance: FACE by M. R. Miller
9:30-10:00 Fiskadoro (Music)


Lovology, a durational performance by Tina McPherson will be happening through out the whole event.

Visual Art upstairs: Sculpture by UH students.
Projections:
James Hickey and Patrick Bochard's interactive projection piece
Pinata by Hilary Scullane

  (SECRET SPOT FOR BIKES ONLY  10:15 PM -11:00 PM)

HOUSE OF CREEPS 11:30 PM - ???  

Bands: Lengua, Daphne, Lazer Cuntzzz, Twilight Dub Sound System

Gallery Space: Collected collective collage and drawings by Thien.

To find the exact location of these venues, do a little bit of googling, or seek countercrawlers through the social media interwebs. 

Hope to see you there.  

Counterlinks:

Countercrawl FB Event

Countercrawl TUMBLR

Countercrawl FB Page

The Green Blob by Hilary Scullane will be swallowing people, and you can not defeat this blob with ice.

Lone Star Performance Explosion: THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL PERFORMANCE ART BIENNALE is finally HERE!!!!

Houston is about to experience one of the largest performance art events it has ever seen. That is right; artists from ALL OVER THE WORLD are currently flying into our flat little city, preparing to blow our minds with the weirdness that is Performance Art.

The whole festival will kick off with a symposium at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, this Wednesday. A panel of local and international artists will all be weighing in on the fabulous question, "Why Performance?" I am proud to say I have been invited to give my two cents.

Thursday night will begin the three performance events at DiverseWorks. So far the most buzzz I have heard is about Rodney Dickson's piece and Non Grata. I was privy to seeing Rodney's list of needs for his piece, and h.o.l.y.s.h.i.t.... Let's just say, my mind has already been blown by the way his brain works. It is the best list of demands I have ever seen (and by the way they were 'demanded' very, very politely). I would give you a couple of items from the list, but I don't wanna spoil it... Okay, I will give one little clue for the super curious... click here.

Our dear, beloved Ryan Hawk (Houston performance artist turned New York's Grace Exhibition Space's intern) gave me a run down of Non Grata's recent piece in New York. They are performing something different here, but I wanna see anyone who inspired sweet Ryan to shove a glowing lightbulb into his butt area. Yes, Non Grata did that. Yes, you can experience Non Grata too. This Thursday. Ready to buy your tickets yet??

Friday night will be happening at AvantGarden. The main thing I know about Friday is that Jonatan Lopez created an indiegogo campaign in order to buy ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS worth of chocolate. How could you pass up a performance art piece that requires that?

Then Saturday night will bring it all to a head at Notsuoh. Get ready for some Houston classics including one of my favorite characters: Jim Pirtle. He gave me a description of his piece at 4am last Saturday and I couldn't begin to repeat what he told me, but it embodied that wonderful drunk dirty magic that makes Notsuoh glow. And of course, Emily Sloan's Hatchetation. It is already been buzzing all over the facebook. Hide your beerz!

Nancy Douthey will be performing Saturday night as well, and her work is always, always amazing AND I WILL BE PERFORMING TOO, WAHOO!!

Listen all of you, and listen carefully. A group of people was carefully chosen from around the globe based on skills and reputation for creating strange and meaningful experiences. These people have ALL been brought to your city in order to create an amazing festival for you. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. These people are known WORLD WIDE for their SKILLZ, y’all. This kind of thing does not usually happen within Houston, within Texas, within the bottom half of the US of A. BE THERE OR BE EXTREMELY, PAINFULLY SQUARE! Get your wallet out right now and buy your tickets already.

I had a few of the local artists answer some questions for me about the upcoming show... ENJOY!!!!

What are you looking forward to MOST about this festival?

Emily Sloan: The unexpected! I am very excited about meeting the other artists, seeing their work, and witnessing the reactions and responses of myself and others. In fact, I think we should have a follow-up interview after the festival.

Jonatan Lopez: I am excited about experiencing so many diverse and intense performances by so many artists. We have artists coming from all over the world, I can't wait to see the current social issues they will be addressing and the new ways they will be engaging the audience. I am especially, super excited in Rodney Dickson's elaborate performance happening at DiverseWorks and the Viagra-enhanced performance happening the same night.

What do people have to gain from experiencing performance art first hand?

Emily Sloan: Experiencing performance first hand is more memorable. Your senses are engaged, you are sharing the moment with others, and you are experiencing the entire environment..

Jonatan Lopez: People get to experience conceptual art at a much deeper level than they would with visual or performing arts. Most likely, the audience will become part of the performances via optional or mandatory participation; thus, they will leave with a concept engraved in their memories rather than a material object to hang on their walls. And that, to me, is more valuable and durable.

Why should people come to Lone Star Explosion?

Emily Sloan: Seriously, something will happen that you will be glad you didn't miss.

Jonatan Lopez: Why should people not come to Lonestar Performance Explosion? Cause of the rodeo? I am sure that all performance art lovers out there have the event marked in their calendars. This is 'a can't miss' event. More than 30 international and local artist presenting their newest works, if Lady Gaga was coming this weekend and I had tickets to go see her, I would give them away on Craigslist. Plus, this event is highlighting the recent revival of performance art that Houston is experiencing, you’ll get to experience the works of not only international artists but of a group of young new artist in Houston that are bringing new and fresh ideas to the realm of performance art.

Brian and Stevie McCord- The festival is an awesome opportunity for Houstonians to gain exposure to and to form dialogue with the national and international performance performance art community.

Can you share some information about the artists coming to Houston that will entice people to come experience this event?

Jonatan Lopez: Check out Marcus Vinicius work online, it will blow your mind. The performance art group Non-Grata also creates extremely interesting and, rebellious performances that at times involve destroying or blowing up objects such as cars, which in a way reflect current public attitudes towards the constrains of society, specially now with the whole Occupy movement.

Would you like to tell us anything about the piece you will be presenting?

Emily Sloan: Sure. My performance will involve a new direction inspired by some experiences I had working with a cause close to my heart, the Southern Naptist Convention, a specialty performance project with a focus on napping. The Southern Naptists offer free services and are open to all faiths. Basically, if you like Sunday naps or have ever fallen asleep during church, you are welcome to join...

During an outing to share the benefits of napping with some lost souls not familiar with the Southern Naptists, some of the audience became angry. They accused us of condemning people to hell and thinking we are the only "saved" people. Some of the other onlookers heard the actual message of offering rest and began to argue with this group, thus stirring a conflict within the crowd. On another occasion while sharing about this group, I received a message stating that we were just another church that has strayed too far from the bible and is out to get money like so many others. On yet another occasion, a writer wrote an article asking if napping was a “good” answer for the apocalypse. The Southern Naptists do not utilize an "inspired text," are not making or taking any money, and have yet to take any stance regarding the apocalypse (though I suppose you may be lucky if you did manage to sleep through such).

These experiences of being assumed into an antagonistic position have left me wanting more! My response for the festival involves an anachronistic role intentionally seeking to put a "turd in the punch bowl" while also being an invited guest and expected performer. I'm doing my best to withhold expectations...

The (unnamed here) role I will be co splaying incidentally reminds me of my mother!

Brian and Stevie McCord: "Soyrizo", is about food and disparity, presented as absurdity, through humor.

Jonatan Lopez: We are all shades of BROWN.

What IS performance art, ANYWAY?

Emily Sloan: Performance art is medium-specific art with the medium being the body.

Jonatan Lopez: The definition of performance art can be as broad as the definition of art itself. It keeps reinventing it self. I see it as much stronger way of communicating a concept, it can also serve as personal and social transformation, for example, some of my performances become social experiments through which the audience is confronted with current political and moral issues worthy of debate. Through the dialogue that my pieces open, I get to learn valuable things from people's opinions and express my own. That helps me grow in a personal level and hopefully it opens people minds to new ideas as well. Performance is real, performance is rebellion, confrontation, positive transformation, liberation, experimentation. Some young performance artists focus on extremely mundane actions of our daily life, such as washing your hair or taking a bath, highlighting them as meaningful rituals, which leads audiences to question. Is this really, really performance art? And I think that’s the beauty of it, any action can be performance art. I give kudos to this new wave of artists for rebelling to previous notions of the definition of this medium. And though theater and performance art at times blend, they are two very distinct entities.

Nestor Topchy: Performance art is the frontier for sharing experience in a direct way via action performed live in real time and space, the last vestige and hold out of ritual, shamanism, absurdity, extreme expression and mystery in an increasingly calcified, contrived and straitjacketed condition forced upon us by contemporary consensus based culture. Performance art may remind us of our most human qualities and often challenges us in unexpected ways. It may even inspire us in ways we never imagined, and as catalyst for self reflection prompt a deeply personal poetry to enjoin the darkest most unexplored recesses of our undiscovered collective mind.

Brian McCord: Performance art for Stevie and Myself is an active integration of ourselves, with our concept, under immediate circumstances, for the observer. Its immediate work... Like crashing a forign concept car into our observers.

Anything else?

Emily Sloan: You won’t find “me” at this festival.

Jonatan Lopez: Sometimes people say that everything we are doing now has been done before and at times that is the case, but we are bring our own modern ideas to it. Society is different now. We give old concepts and ideas a new voice, even if we are just expressing who we are. Performance art just like society is always evolving, becoming more connected, more present and more eager to make sense of it self.

My two cents: I got a little glimpse here and there of the inner workings of this festival and I just want to say: Kelly Alison is the arms and legs of this operation and this festival never would have happened without her, If you see her there, give her a big high five!! She receives the PERFORMANCE ART HOUSTON VOLUNTEER AWARD for 2012.

LIST OF ARTISTS:

International artists include Myk Henry (Ireland), Elena Nestorova (Finland), Gim Gwang Cheol (South Korea), Orion Maxted (London), John Boehme and Natali Leduc (Canada), Marcus Vinicius (Brazil), Rodney Dickson (Northern Ireland), Non Grata (Estonia), Ville-Karel (Estonia) and 1KA (France)

National artists include Nyugen E. Smith (New Jersey), Jamie McMurry (Los Angeles), Jill Pangallo (New York), Patrick Lichty (Chicago) and a diverse collection of local artists including The Art Guys, Jim Pirtle, Nestor Topchy, Julia Wallace, Jonatan Lopez, Rahul Mitra, Emily Sloan, Daniel Adame, Nancy Douthey, Brian and Stevie McCord and Daniel-Kayne.

Event dates and locations:

● Symposium at CAMH. Wednesday March 7, 2-4pm. Cullen Educational Resource Center, Contemporary Arts Museum of Houston 5216 Montrose Blvd. 77006. www.camh.org

● Performances at DiverseWorks. Thursday, March 8, 7-11pm. 1117 E. Freeway 77022. www.diverseworks.org

● Performances at AvantGarden. Friday, March 9, 7-11pm. 411 Westheimer, 77006. www.avantgardenhouston.com

● Artist Reception at AvantGarden. Friday, March 9, 11pm-2am. 411 Westheimer, 77006. www.avantgardenhouston.com

● Performances at notsuoH. Saturday, March 10, 7-11pm. 314 Main (Downtown) 77002.www.notsuoh.com

Tickets are $30 to attend all events, or $12 per performance event.

To purchase tickets and for more information visit lonestarexplosion.org

To contribute to the fundraising campaign please visit www.indiegogo.com/Lone-Star-Performance-Explosion

Watch Out Drunkards (An interview with Carrie A. Nation by Anita Latinlova)

Hello Performance Art Lovers, I am back from Spain and just in time for the most amazing event of the year, Lonestar Performance Explosion, Houston's first International Performance Art Biennale. The event will bring together international and local performance artists in a three day adventure that promises a lot of "Ay Dios Mio I can't believe I just witnessed that" experiences. From cars being destroyed anarchist-style, to full frontal viagra-enhanced male nudity to more benign yet still rebellious performances such as "Hatchetation" by Carrie A. Nation.

After partying non-stop, trying lots of new narcotics and drinking night after night with my 100 + relatives in Spain, I ended up developing a liver problem. My doctor told me I either say Adios to the booze or Adios to my glamorous life as a reporter/performance artist. So that's why I am very interested in experiencing the  Hatchetation organized by Carrie A. Nation, a new Temperance Leader and Spiritual Entrepreneur in town who is employing performance art as a vehicle for social change by protesting drunkenness, rather than bitching about a tree's love life or popping out of an egg on stage, (not saying that those actions are not performance art, I mean.....everything  is)

So I was lucky to score a fabulous interview with Carrie A. Nation about her upcoming protest  at notsuoH on March the 10th.

AL: Dear Carrie. Can you tell us a little more about the Temperance movement? Why is it important for Houston drunkards to witness your upcoming Hatchetation protest at the sin infested notsuoH during Lonestar Performance Explosion?

CAN: Well, kudos to you, Anita, for choosing my exact words to describe notsuoH. You’ve done your homework. I am organizing a Hatchetation to take place there on Saturday, March 10th. Its a big night for notsuoH and the Houston art scene. Though it may seem disruptive, the timing couldn't be better for sharing my message of sobriety. Most drunkards WILL NOT want to but they WILL be forced to witness a Nation-Hatchetation-inspired response though.

AL: Is redemption available for everyone? Are there some stubborn drunkards out there for whom a Hatchetation or exorcism may not even work?

CAN: Loss of brain cells, enough said.

AL: I know you have been collecting sinful alcohol-inspired testimonies to be shared within the Hatchetation. Could you share some of your favorites so far?

CAN: “We woke up with vomit on the floor beside our heads, couldn't remember how we got to Mexico and wondered where the hell did we get those Mopeds.” – a recent confession from a mother of two and daughter of a Temperance follower

AL: Oh my God, lol. What could be the consequences if we do not repent once and for all and drop the bottle?

CAN: There are consequences for holding too tight to that bottle!!! These consequences include: being late to work, throwing up at parties, loss of brain cells, losing your purse, syphilis, screwing up valuables, cursing someone out (undeservedly), talking so much no one can stand you, forgetting what you've done, and getting the diabetes!

AL: Does stealing booze from the homeless count as a sin? If yes, Why? If no, Why not? If maybe, Why maybe?

CAN: I do it all the time, so no.

AL: How will you prevent your followers and protesters  from engaging in sinful drinking after the Hatchetation at that evil establishment called notsuoH? After all, the devil owns that place.

CAN: Good question. It is my prayer and hope that my protesters are right in their heart of hearts and truly committed to sobriety. It would be sad to see any of them come to a violent end.

AL: Do you think teenagers should be allowed to buy alcohol legally? Some argue that if its is made legal for them, they might not want to suck on the bottle that much.

CAN: Ms. Latinlova, I think NO alcohol should be legal for anyone regardless of age.

AL: What is the best way to deal with an annoying drunk?

CAN: Show them my picture.

AL: Do you think Houston should be a dry city?

CAN: Now you’re catching on, Anita.

AL: What should people wear  to witness the Hatchetation?

CAN: Clothes, I hope. It is not my intention to catch anyone in the act of sex, though there is always a high chance for such when drinking is involved.

Well there you go drunkards, make sure you come to Lonestar Performance Explosion and witness Carrie's protest Saturday March the 10th at notsuoH.  And don't listen to Jim Pirtle (the owner) if he offers you a drink, we all know he has made a pact with the devil. And remember,  drinking can lead to anal sex.

Houston's First International Performance Art Biennale

FUCK YES.

March 8-10 2012 at DiverseWorks, AvanteGarden, Notsuoh

INTERVIEWS AND OTHER FABULOUSNESS COMING SOON!

Its the best thing that has happened to Houston Performance Art since this blog. ha.

Check out the website for more info, CLICK CLICK!

Sleep Over For ALL by Lindsey Slavin

 

There are many interesting events happening this week at the fabulous Skydive Art Space as part of Many-Mini Residency, an ambitious week long non-stop project facilitated by Sarrita Hunn and Ryan Thayer that has invited many artists to present experimental works within the realms of performance and unclassifiable art.

Such is the case of SLEEP OVER FOR ALL, and art event

by Lindsey Slavin.

 "Never made a prank call, participated in a massage train or a game of Never Have I Ever? Feel the urge to gush about that cute guy/girl you have a crush on and trust that your secret won't leave the circle? Wear your pajamas, BYOB or alcohol of choice, and get ready for a makeover, because we're going to be best friends after tonight," announces the artist.

Slavin's art event starts tonight at 10pm and it ends tomorrow at 2am, immediately followed by "Home Health Care" by June Woest, another wacky/cool event  that promises to sterilize Q-tips and tongue depressors in a mini-chocolate fondue fountain.

Strange enough for you?

Visit the Many-Mini website for a full schedule

at www.manymini.org 

and for more info about Skydive visit 

theskydive.org

Skydive is located at 2041 Norfolk Street, Houston, Tx 

Oh and dont forget to bring ALCOHOL for Slavin's event, 

but drink responsibly.

Continuum presents Meditation Lounge

Houston's newest Performance Art Group has prepared a meditative oasis at HCC Northline. So if you're feeling a little stressy, take some time to go check it out.

With the desire for creating an oasis for the students of HCC Northeast Campus and for the general public to escape the daily routine, Continuum, a new performance art group in Houston, has developed a series of interactive installations called "Meditation Stations" to be on view and functioning at the campus gallery, which is situated in the first floor, dead center in the middle of the building. Some of the stations feature written and audible instructions, allowing the participants to immerse themselves into a state of deep relaxation and self awareness.

The Meditation Lounge will be open to the public Monday through Thursday 8am to 8pm, from June 20th to July 14th 2011. There will not be an opening reception because such an event would defeat the purpose of this exhibition. However, Continuum will hold a BYOP (Bring Your Own Performance) event in the Lounge, in which they will hold initiation rituals for their new members. If you are interested in witnessing these special occurrences, or performing at the event, please email juliaintherye@aol.com.

Gallery Hours: Monday through Thursday, 8am-8pm,
Curated by Jonatan Lopez
Facilitated by Continuum
Special thanks to Tina Kotrla

Continuum's participating members:

Meghan Carey, Koomah, Jonatan Lopez, Raindawg, Hilary Scullane, Julia Wallace, Sway Youngston.

In “A Cleansing Ritual,” Julia Wallace shares a personal practice that she uses before she enters meditation. At the entrance to the Meditation Lounge, Julia offers special water that has been infused with powerful, positive energy through a group performance. Guests are given suggested directions for using the water ritualistically to prepare themselves to meditate.

"In-TENSE-ity" by Sway Youngston aims to completely relax the subject by tensing each muscle group in the body, recognizing the tension that already exists there, and completely releasing it. The subject will then be guided through mental tension liberation wherein negative emotions are acknowledged and released. “In-TENSE-ity” is a guided meditation delivered via audio recording. Subjects will lie on the cushions provided, put on headphones, and drift away.

Zen of Childhood, by Koomah, is a guided meditation that invites people to see the world through the eyes of a child. Video images include playing in a sandbox, bubbles, and washing hands. Accompanying music guides performers into a meditative relationship with the child-self.

In Tea Bliss, Raindawg employs a collection of teacups, stones, wind, and chimes to invite you on a trip to inner space. When you place a stone in a teacup, the sound of wind and chimes will carry you to a place to which there is no road.

About Continuum:

Continuum is a group of performance artists that came together in a performance art workshop facilitated by Julia Wallace in March and April of 2011. They are connected in the desire to help and encourage each other's self discovery through performance, as well as a desire to give the gift of performative expression to others. Continuum aspires to create an encouraging and safe atmosphere for each other as well as the community to explore and express themselves through the medium of performance art. For more information about Continuum please visit www.continuumperformanceart.blogspot.com

Emily Sloan's Southern Naptist Covention

This Sunday, June 12th! 1:00pm at 14 pews!

The Southern Naptist Convention.

A performance by Emily sloan.

After checking out this video,

you won't want to miss this.

For more information, please contact Emily Sloan at

713-582-1198 or emily@emilysloan.com or visit: www.nappingaffectsperformance.blogspot.com

About Napping Affects Performance: Napping Affects

Performance (NAP) and NAP Church are interactive

performance projects by 14 Pews artist-in-residence

Emily Sloan providing community naps in collaboration

with various performances, including (but not limited to) collaborations with sound, word, touch, and the delivery

of naps to various sites and/or contexts. In May and

June of 2010, NAP operated out of Art League Houston

with six weeks of continuous performances taking place

during Art League’s regular hours of operation. Since

then, followers and napophiles began meeting once a

month for a Sunday naps and naptisms during NAP Church

services.

Napping Affects Performance, Universal NAP Church,

and the Southern Naptist Convention are organizing the

"NAPTURE: Don't be Left Awake!" event to be held in

Houston, October 21, 2011 at 14 Pews. For more

information, please visit:www.nappingaffectsperformance.blogspot.com

About 14 Pews: Located at 800 Aurora St., Houston,

Texas 77009, this Houston landmark is the oldest white

wooden church in the Heights. Built in 1924, it has

housed the Sunset Heights Church of Christ,

Aurora Picture Show, and is now home to 14 Pews.

14 Pews is a non-profit microcinema providing regular

screenings of independent documentaries and feature

films, along with 4 annual film festivals and several

affordable film/video educational classes. For more

information, please visit:www.14pews.org

Artist Profiles: Skippy Cooper

ATTENTION FOLX: We have a new artist in town! And don't worry, she is way cuter in person (I'm not being insulting, I can say that because the picture above is from a series of photographs that deliberately hide her good looks!) Her name is Skippy Cooper. I can't wait to see what she brings to the mix. From the looks of this video, she has the potential to really shake things up.

She was kind enough to answer a few questions for Performance Art Houston, ENJOY!

Tell us a few fun facts about yourself:

Well, in addition to doing art, I also do stand-up comedy, write, and make music (I play the guitar, keyboard, ukulele, and sing). All of that to say that my prized skills are probably my typing speed of 101 wpm, and being able to juggle.

Where are you coming from?

Mostly insecurity, like a lot of people. I have questions about myself in terms of my racial and social identity, and I try to explore those. I'm half Mexican and half white, so I've always had some kind of struggle with my racial identity. Even just being asked what my race is, I'm never sure how to answer. People are always assigning races to me and I'm currently working on a video performance series on the subject. As far as social identity goes, I'm an adult with insecurities, social anxiety, and a vagina so the possibilities are pretty endless in that realm. At the same time, I'm always afraid to fail in life and have been that way since a young age. Normally, if I don't think I'll be just really great at something around the first time, then I won't even try. So I feel that creating characters like Michellie, where almost everything in her life is a failure, is important - and not just for myself, but for a lot of people. Failure is funny and everyone does it at some point, but normally no one wants to laugh about it when it happens to themselves. Michellie is able to kind of brush off the failures and find a silver lining.

What kind of art do you do?

I went to university for photography, but in my last year of school I was introduced to some really great performance and video artists by way of my mentor and professor (Sensei shout out!). I realized that my passions, questions, and ideas were really best suited for time based media. I still do photo projects that I love, such as On Separation and Glamour with a You, but I mostly use performance and video work these days.

Has Houston influenced any of your performance work yet?

I don't think it's influenced me and my work, really. Although, I'm not sure I'd be able to recognize if it were to influence it. I mean, I don't do a ton of location based work. Although, if I were to do that in the future, I would guess that whatever city I reside in would have the possibility to influence those pieces.

Describe a favorite performance art piece that you have done.

As narcissistic as this may sound, I'm actually kind of proud of a few. My first ever performance piece I did after realizing I loved the medium, was called Hug Jobs 1 . It came about, because I am probably the master at giving the awkward, uncomfortable hug. At the opening, I would sporadically hug visitors for at least one minute a piece. I thought it was interesting how this action and symbol of love and friendship could be turned into something uncomfortable and almost threatening.

My thesis work, Even Out of Adoration , is an exploration of self control and assigned behaviours of women. It was born from my history of feelings I had as a child, and still often have, when I would become frustrated or angry. My grandmother has had a huge collection of Swarovsky crystals that I was never aloud to touch ever since I can remember. When I would get enraged, I always wanted to break them and other things, but never could, so I never did. For the piece, I collected glass pieces that resembled precious keepsakes over the course of several months. I then displayed them on shelves before destroying them with an umbrella while wearing a feminine dress and high heels. I found the fact that this violent act is kept beautiful through my fashion choice and demeanor to be interesting and important.

Name some of your performance art heroes. Who has inspired/influenced your performance art? What is your favorite performance art piece EVER by someone else?

I love Jill Pangallo. She does a lot of character and identity work with an air of comedy, too. I also really love Wynne Greenwood's work, especially her Tracy and The Plastics pieces. Even though she's a photographer, Nikki S. Lee is amazing and it definitely influences my pieces, especially the ones that deal with race and stereotypes - her series "Projects" are definitely performances captured through photography; so I don't think she is only a photographer. William Weggman and Reggie Watts are both just hilarious to me. I tend to gravitate toward works that are funny in some way, but also interesting conceptually. They've all influenced me a lot in my performance work, I have to say. I don't know if I have an absolute, end-all-be-all favourite performance piece, though.

Visit Skippy's website at www.SkippyCooper.com

Maybe drop her a line and welcome her to town!