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INDELIBLE MARKS (2009)Project Description
Choreographed and directed by Annie Kloppenberg, Indelible Marks was a collaborative project with Kloppenberg, videographer Lily Skove, and musician Michael Wall. It premiered in February 2009 at The Ohio State University, followed by performances at Green Street Studios in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Movement Research in New York City.
Lily Skove and I created video backdrops for the 40-minute long piece. We explored the attraction of water to itself, its capacity to carry color and blend, its response to gravity, and the repulsion of bubbles trapped in water between two surfaces. The making of these videos was a choreographic and performative act. I prepared the materials, and Lily established the frame within which the performance took place by positioning the camera. Because each video was made as one continuous shot, we discussed the cadence of pouring the pigments both before and during the filming. There is a video excerpt in this gallery.
In addition, I provided paper elements that were tied up to the ceiling for the beginning of the performance. At a particular moment, they floated down to a vertical hanging position. The panels were positioned far downstage, blocking audience views and serving as a projection surface that split the space. They were made out of newsprint and ceramic slip (see Banner in the Questioning Permanence series). The pregnant drape of these banners tied up, the surprise of them slowly drifting down, the dancers movement through and around them, and finally the loud tear and crumple of their demise: these moments made these banners figures in the larger drama.
