Downtown Davis to be Peppered with Dada Art on May 16
04-28-2009
CONTACT: Hope Mirlis
(404) 822-8578
hamirlis@gmail.com
DOWNTOWN DAVIS TO BE PEPPERED WITH DADA ART ON MAY 16TH
City and University Sponsor Interactive Art and Performance Event that will Engage and Entertain
The City of Davis, the Davis Humanities Institute, and the University of California, Davis departments of Theatre & Dance, Film Studies, Studio Art, French, German and Design have sponsored a group of students and community members to organize The Dada Cabaret - a day of nonsensical, collaborative arts events in downtown Davis and on the UC Davis campus that will engage onlookers and allow them to create their own Dada art.
Directed by Hope Mirlis, an MFA graduate candidate in the department of Theatre & Dance, The Dada Cabaret will begin on Saturday, May 16,at 3 PM as a walking tour and scavenger hunt that directs passersby to four different outdoor downtown locations – Davis Commons (1st & E), Mansion Square (2nd & E), Pence Gallery (2nd & D) and the Train Station Plaza (2nd & H). Performances at these locations will include Dada inspired poetry, musical performance, recitations, live theatre and dance. Adults and children will enjoy participatory art installations that will allow them to create masks, photomontages, sound poetry, manifestos and learn more about the Dada (anti)movement. A cabaret performance inspired by Hugo Ball’s Cabaret Voltaire will begin at 8 PM on the UC Davis campus at a secret location. Clues leading to the secret location will be provided at the afternoon festival and on the event website.
Afternoon Performances include, modern dance performances, a chance puppet play, an improvisational violin and watercolor painting performance, a recitation of Hugo Ball’s Totentanz 1916 with dancers on fitness balls, a dance installation of JessCurtis/Gravity’s Symmetry Project, live music by Miss Lonely Hearts, and a socially minded silent rant. Evening Cabaret Performances include songs from the Dada era, as well as modern takes on nonsense, dances, sound poems and chance surprises.
Dada is a cultural movement that began in Zurich, Switzerland during World War I. The movement
concentrated its anti-war politic through a rejection of the prevailing standards in art. By the mid 1920s, Dadaist artists melded into surrealism and other modern art movements. Performers and organizers of The Dada Cabaret will draw upon Dadaist artistic themes to convey a sense of chaos and irrationality in this educational and entertaining public art experience.
For more information about this event, or to schedule an interview with Hope Mirlis, contact her by telephone at (404) 822-8578 or email at hamirlis@gmail.com. Event information can be found at www.dadacabaret.com, and the organizers’ blog can be viewed at dadadiaries.blogspot.com.
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