Art, Song, and Dance: a quintessential collaboration

By: Louisa Shepherd

What do a photograph, a dancer, and a xylophone have in common? They’re all essential elements of our upcoming show, The So-Called Laws of Nature, a collaborative concert presented alongside MamLuft&Co. Dance and the Cincinnati Art Museum.

Concert:nova is especially known for its great collaborations and we are excited to be working once again with the wonderful folks over at the Cincinnati Art Museum. “I’m looking forward to working with concert:nova,” says Liz Gardner, Assistant Director of Interpretive Programs at the Cincinnati Art Museum. “This is an exciting time for the Art Museum. It’s a true testament to what happens when you put creative minds from different disciplines in the same place.”

The So-Called Laws of Nature will be concert:nova’s third concert in partnership with The Cincinnati Art Museum and draws inspiration from Doug and Mike Starns’ “Gravity of Light” Exhibit on display at the Holy Cross –Immaculata Monastery in Mt. Adams. Light is a central theme to this exhibit. In fact the photos in the installation are illuminated by a carbon arc lamp that produces a light so bright that it is too intense for the human eye. “Visitors will have to wear goggles,” says Liz Gardner. “This exhibit presents light as a metaphor for spiritual illumination. Visitors are sure to get a full body sensory experience.”

“Our curator, James Crump, met the Starn brothers in Stockholm and in 2010 approached them with the idea to place an installation in the monastery,” she continues. “The Starns fell in love with the space. It’s abandoned, but it has been used for displaying art on a few occasions. It’s a very intriguing space,” says Liz.

When the dancers of MamLuft&Co. Dance, a professional modern dance company, visited “Gravity of Light” they were surprised to find that the themes of the exhibit resonate so strongly with their own art form. ” We liked the Starns’ idea that in order to know something you have to see it and touch it,” says Jeanne Mam-Luft, founder and Artistic Director of MamLuft&Co. Dance. “A lot of what we do is centered around communication through touch,” she continues, “the Starn brothers speak about light and dark as things you can almost touch. As dancers our bodies are tangible, but movement, like light, is intangible.”

So what should audiences look to gain from this collaboration of art, song, and dance? “I think people will be tempted to make literal connections,” explains Jeanne. “I would encourage them to look deeper and more abstractly between the visual, musical, and dance elements. Come in with a blank slate and soak it all in! Look for meaning, but even more importantly, just enjoy the experience,” says Jeanne, whose husband, Jeff Luft, will be performing in The So-Called Laws of Nature as a member of the concert:nova Percussion Quartet.

The So-Called Laws of Nature is fast approaching with our first of two performances less than a week away. Be sure to purchase your ticket today at cnpercussion.eventbrite.com. This show promises to be one of our greatest collaborations yet!

The Gravity of Light exhibition is sponsored jointly between the Cincinnati Art Museum and FOTOFOCUS. Visit cincinnatiart.org and fotofocuscincinnati.org for more exhibit info. To learn more about MamLuft&Co. Dance visit mamluftcodance.org