Christina deRoos

New videos

I recently made the two videos below, and look forward to hearing what Thomas Bell creates for the audio.

   

 

Con(text) & Residency with AS220 (Providence, RI)

As half of Remote Control Tomato, I joined Thomas Bell in Providence, RI for a Media Arts residency with AS220. The residency included two public events: an artist talk on 11/5/13 & a performance on 11/15/13.

Tues 11/5
Artist Talk: The Highs and Lows of Technology in Performance Art.
Thomas Bell and Christina deRoos (co-directors, Spread Art) will discuss their approach to creating interactive multimedia performance work that incorporates an array of technology, often repurposed to serve creative ends. Thomas and Christina will share perspectives from their independent work, and their collaboration as Remote Control Tomato, a performance initiative of Spread Art.

Fri 11/15
Performance: Con(text)
Remote Control Tomato will recreate their audience interactive work, Con(text), first performed in 2012 as part of Performancy Forum XX in Brooklyn, NY. Con(text) invites audience participation into a low and hi tech immersive environment of video and sound created in large part by a live camera feed with multiple video sources and effects plus a live musical score weaving together an array of audio sources. Thematically Con(text) is a multimedia exploration of the intersection of mainstream media, social justice, and identity.

 

About AS220
AS220 was founded in 1985 on the principle that freedom of expression is crucial for the development of strong communities and individual spirits. AS220′s vision for a local unjuried and uncensored forum for the arts was launched in a one-room rental above the Providence Performing Arts Center with a budget of just $800. Today, the non-profit owns – and enlivens – three mixed-use buildings, totaling over 100,000 square feet, in the heart of Providence’s downtown. Learn more at www.as220.org

secrets & stories @ Kunsthalle Detroit through mid-August

secrets & stories revealed themselves through conversations with strangers to me. Beginning with a set of photographs I invited individuals of all ages to select and keep a photograph in exchange for a secret or a story. See the previous post for more details.

Documentation of secrets and stories (the video below - chapter one - of the original photos and audio exchanged, as well as prints of the original photographs and additional ephemera) will be installed this afternoon and remain on display at Kunsthalle Detroit through mid-August. I hope there will be an additional chapter added during the course of the exhibition. 

 

secrets and stories is part of citydrift/Detroit, an art meta-event bringing together non-traditional practices under the philosophical umbrella of the Situationist 'derive'.

citydrift/DETROIT: July 18-21

Join me July 18-21 for citydrift/Detroit, an art meta-event bringing together non-traditional practices under the philosophical umbrella of the Situationist 'derive'.

 

In addition to participating as an Associate Curator through Spread Art, I'm involved individually through a drift where Secrets & Stories will reveal themselves through conversations with strangers to me in SW Detroit. 

Beginning with a set of photographs I will invite individuals of all ages that I do not already know and offer to trade a photograph for a secret or a story. I will capture audio of the secret or story revealed. I will not collect names or other identification of the individuals involved, nor will I ask whether they are sharing a personal secret or a fictitious story.

Documentation to be on display at Kunsthalle Detoit through mid-August, and will consist of prints of the original photographs installed with the audio recordings.

See the full citydrift/DETROIT schedule for Thursday 7/18 - Sunday 7/21 here.

Work in Progress: USA PATRIOT ACT(ION)

During July Remote Control Tomato will be creating a new multimedia performance installation exploring states of surveillance.

Titled "Unilateral Spying Against Patriotic Americans. This Really Is Offensive To All Citizens Targeted (Irrelevant Of Nationality)." USA PATRIOT ACT(ION), we will premiere the work as a 1 hour interactive video, sound and performance installation during the Sidewalk Festival for the Performing Arts (Saturday, August 3rd in Detroit).

An initiative of Spread Art, Remote Control Tomato draws together the work of Thomas Bell (sound art, visual art) and me (multimedia, visual art) to create immersive environments. Mixing a variety of technologies, performances rely on improvisation and often invite public participation.

Welcome to 2013! In July!

Almost a year flew by since I posted news here. Too many good things happening to keep up.

Spread Art has been the focus of a lot energy since our relocation to Detroit, including purchasing a house and ramping up visting artist residencies, curating visual art exhibitions like the Anti-Auto Show, and producing events such as "Don't Box Me In."

I've shown photography and/or mixed media work in a few exhibitions, including the Member's Show (currently on view at Whitdel Arts) and "Clandestine" at UofM's Work Detroit gallery.

I've also had opportunities to present performance-based work during the "Engage" exhibtion at Whitdel Arts (CuerpoSMS, collaboration with Konic Thtr), and the Apocalypse! show of the Performance Laboratory at detroit contemporary (Crapitalism performed by Remote Control Tomato).

Upcoming activities include Remote Control Tomato presenting "Unilateral Spying Against Patriotic Americans. This Really Is Offensive To All Citizens Targeted (Irrelevant Of Nationality)" // USA PATRIOT ACT(ION) // during Sidewalk Festival of the Performing Arts on August 3rd, developing an interactive installation/performance work utilizing brain wave sensors for a Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit fellowship, and an October residency at AS220.

"We Are Not Our Governments" @ Work Detroit

 

Guest Artists for The Maze! Sat 7/28 2pm - 7pm

Spread Art takes over The Maze to present a 5 hour participatory sound & video installation @ Secret Project Robot!

With 6 projectors, multiple laptops, a PA and no time to tech, the improvised performance spectacle will begin with 2pm load in and roll until the clock strikes 7pm, or until systems crash and burn. Welcome to chaos...

Remote Control Tomato (Thomas Bell / sound & Christina deRoos / video) from 2pm - 7pm

Plus from 4pm - 6pm additional sound, video & performance artists including: Brett Zweiman / David Tamura / Robert L. Pepper from PAS / Hiroshi Shafer / and more...

More about The Maze
Trouble and Secret Project Robot Present:
The You Are Here Festival (aka the maze)
Buchwick Brooklyn, July 2012


"As a sort of anti-panopticon, the labyrinth explores the boundaries that we often take for granted about where one art community ends and another begins, while advancing the notion that the audience, itself a kind of community, should be stripped of its consumptive role and forced to discover its creative one." - The Brooklyn Rail

"(an) "anti-festival festival" in which a bevy of versatile musicians and artists play shows within the confines of this tailor-made labyrinth." - The Village Voice

More details here.

The Art of Letting Go @ Figment (Belle Isle, Detroit)

Super fun collaborative bus painting today on Belle Isle as part of Figment Detroit! Thank you Rolando Garcia for making this possible! More photos here.

"The Art of Letting Go" is an ongoing collaborative participatory mural project with its beginnings in Brooklyn in 2009.

Upcoming Performance: July 28 "You Are Here"

Remote Control Tomato (Thomas Bell and I) will perform Saturday 7/28 from 6pm - 8pm at Secret Project Robot (Brooklyn, NY) as part of the You Are Here Festival aka The Maze. Six projectors!!!

The ‘You Are Here’ festival, takes place in New York City approximately once every two years. The festival consists of 4 weeks of performance and time- based arts events in a life size maze installation.

 

 

Interview: Playground Detroit

Thank you, Playground Detroit, for the interview & profile of Spread Art and our new location in Detroit. 

SPREAD ART CREATIVE INCUBATOR RELOCATES TO DETROIT FROM BROOKLYN

Spread Art is an artist-run creative incubatordesigned to foster new works through collaborations with artists, curators, and organizations from around the world. With Operations now concentrated in Detroit, (the organization just moved from NYC recently!) 

Spread Art supports emerging artists through group and solo exhibitions, music events, and performance showcases, and also facilitates opportunities for youth and adults to explore their creativity and increase self-awareness through art. Spread Art supports the creation and evolution of art festivals and cultural collaborations locally, nationally, and internationally.

PLAYGROUND DETROIT sat down with the duo behind the organization, Thomas Bell and Christina deRoos, to ask them about Spread Art and their recent re-location from Bushwick, Brooklyn, to Corktown, Detroit. The two are originally not from Detroit, or NYC, both growing up elsewhere.

PD: When was the first time you visited Detroit? What was your experience and impression of the city like?

de Roos: ”I first visited Detroit in Oct/Nov 2011. A lot of aspects reminded me of the feel of Bushwick, Brooklyn when I first moved there in 2003. I was struck by a similar sense of creative possibility, but on a much grander scale.”

Home Sweet Home: Detroit!

A lot of changes since January. I'm loving Detroit and grateful for the many new doors that are opening.

Below is news about the new home for Spread Art, an organization I co-direct with Thomas Bell. Yoga class schedule coming soon, as well as more info about artist residencies and upcoming events.

Spread Art opening new 4000 sq ft creative center in Detroit

104 Meserole St. -- Spread Art Brooklyn.
Jan 2008 to July 2012

After 4 and ½ years of successful exhibitions, events, workshops, and residencies, Spread Art has wrapped up activities at 104 Meserole Street in Brooklyn as of July 1st 2012.  It has been an amazing time with many wonderful memories and we would like to thank all of the artists who were a part of Spread Art’s events, exhibitions and residencies during our time in Brooklyn.  As one door closes however,  another is opening and in a big way.  Spread Art has moved its headquarters to Detroit and has taken on a much larger physical space. This transition enables Spread Art to continue working in collaboration with artists and spaces throughout Brooklyn and New York City, while also expanding operations and activities in Detroit.

 

3 Exhibitions - Brooklyn and Detroit

I have work in 3 shows happening now - 2 in Detroit and 1 in Brooklyn. Details below.

Art for Denitza

Exhibition at Studio 207, 20 Jay street, Brooklyn, NY, with online bidding here: www.artfordenitza.com

A fundraiser for an eleven year old girl, Denitza (Deni), whose mother, Tzveta Tocheva, was killed in Mexicantown in Detroit. Tzveta was an artist and community organizer who could always be found painting murals and co-organzing exhibitions and events in Detroit. The organizers of this show wanted to help Deni and give something back in memory of everything that Tzveta gave to the community. 100% of the proceeds will go directly to an educational fund for Deni.

I have two photographs in the show. If you are interested in purchasing them I encourage you to visit the website and participate in the fundraiser. If after the fundraiser closes you would like a print of these works in exchange for a donation to the fund for Deni, please let me know.

Inaugural exhibition @ 555 Gallery's new home

2801 West Vernor Highway; Detroit 48216; www.555arts.org

555 has a group exhibiton opening Friday 6/27 from 4pm - 2am at their new home in the former police precinct. Come check out their first exhibition in the new space!

I'm showing photography and the mixed media piece below, called "Thanks to People Like You".

Partners in Crime exhibition@ Whitdel Arts

1250 Hubbard, Suite B1; Detroit 48209; www.whitdelarts.com

Whitdel Arts presents Partners in Crime, a collaborative exhibition in which local artists were randomly paired to collaborate. 

Dynamic duos like Thelma and Louise successfully committed their crimes by making sure they knew how to do one thing - collaborate. These ladies understood that through collaboration, each partner gains from the others' talents.  This innate quality of partnership is as equally beneficial for artists. When artists work together, it creates the opportunity for networking and the exchange of ideas.  Each artist grows as new avenues of creativity are opened...and new schemes are plotted.

I was paried with Jen Boyak, and we created two pieces. Photos are below, but both are 3 dimensional works best seen in person - which you can do Saturday 6/30 or Sunday 7/7. 

I was also paired with Thomas Bell, and we presented the performance piece documented & described below.

Remote Control Tomato
Thomas Bell, sound & performance + Christina deRoos, video + Hiroshi Shafer, video
Internet performance from Detroit to Brooklyn and back again

Spread Art, Brooklyn, NY (Right screen)
Spread Art streamed in video from Whitdel Gallery in Detroit. Thomas Bell performed in response to the video. Hiroshi Shafer livestreamed video and sounds from Spread Art. All took place during Spread Art Summer Group Show V in Brooklyn, NY, part of Bushwick Open Studios 2012.

Whitdel Gallery, Detroit, MI (Left and Right screen)
Spread Art video and sounds were streamed to Whitdel Gallery. Christina deRoos created a real time video mix of artwork from the exhibition opening in Detroit (Partners in Crime), the exhibition opening in Brooklyn (Summer Group Show V), the video streaming from Spread Art, personal video files, and a live camera feed at Whitdel Arts.

 

 

Youth Photography Exchange: La Manzanilla, Mexico & Brooklyn, NY

While in La Manzanilla in April I taught a follow up photography workshop with the La Catalina Wings Scholarship students I began working with in November 2011. For this session, each student created a series of photos reflecting aspects of his/her community. The photos were to be shared with students of PS147 in Brooklyn, NY.

During the workshop we talked about things that might be similar (cars) and things that might be different (for instance sharks, as represented in the photo to the left by Citlalli). See more of the La Manzanilla students' photos here.  

 

The following week I was in Brooklyn and thanks to Ms. Cappelletto and Ms. Poley I was able to  lead two photography workshops with students at PS147 in Bushwick. We reviewed the photos from La Manzanilla students, and the Brooklyn students agreed to take a series of photos of their community to share with the students in La Manzanilla. The next day we reviewed what we saw that was similar (trees) and what was different (school buses, as represented in the photo to the right by Jil). See more of the Brooklyn students' photos here.

Both sets of photos were then shared with photography students in Rwanda, an exchange with the nonprofit Through the Eyes of Hope founded by photojournalist Linda Smith.

Thank you to everyone who helped with this latest round of workshops. It was a unique and powerful experience for the students in La Manzanilla and Brooklyn to represent their community through their own photos, and to step briefly into one another's lives through images. I am grateful for the opportunity to faciliatate this exchange, and look forward to the next creative exchange.

Viva Mexico!

I was fortunate to have a quick trip to Mexico in April. Spring had sprung and the flowers were jaw-dropping. There was also a lot of fog, which is unusual for the area, and a couple earthquakes. 

playing with myself playing with yourself

Thank you Anya Liftig and Thomas Bell for a great collaboration at Bronx Art Space.

 

 

Thomas Bell, Christina deRoos, Anya Liftig
April 29, 2012
Bronx Art Space

Part of ITINERANT: FESTIVAL FOR CONTEMPORARY PERFORMANCE ART

March 30th - May 12th, 2012
Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, Bronx, Staten Island
New York City, USA

Allison & Taya's Impressions: 2012 Spread Art Residency in Mexico

Below are reflections and photos from Allison & Taya De Long after returning from a week in La Manzanila, Jalisco, Mexico as part of Spread Art's residency program. I'm grateful they were able to take part, and appreciate their positive contribution to the community. See more photos here.

Our opportunity in Mexico, thanks to Spread Art, turned out to be an even richer experience than we had imagined!  Our location was right where all the action happens, near the plaza and right next to the church.  The day after we arrived, a bishop was visiting and there was a great celebration which included a parade, live entertainment, and a huge "pozole" feast!

On Saturday, we helped with a free art class for the local children.  There were over 20 enthusiastic kids in attendance.  They worked on 4 different projects during the class.  Two ex pat artists living in La Manzanilla give their time and materials to put this on every weekend.

Exhibition / Performance list updated

Today I updated the exhibition / performance list since I hadn't added anything since late 2009. I guess I've been busy.

Thank you to the many artist collaborators, curators, galleries, performance spaces, schools, students, friends and family members who enabled so much to happen. As always, extra special thanks to Thomas Bell and Roger & Carolyn deRoos, who believed in me before I believed in myself.

I'll be curious to see where the path leads from here...

Next Performance: April 29th @ Bronx Art Space

I'm looking forward to a performance collaboration with Anya Liftig and Thomas Bell on April 29th at Bronx Art Space. The event is part of Itinerant contemporary performance festival, initiated by artist Hector Canonge in 2011 and presented by QMAD (Queens Media Arts Development).

April 29th
6pm - 9pm
Bronx Art Space
305 E. 140th St., #1A, Bronx NY 10454

Directions
From Union Square: 4-5 train to 125th, transfer to 6, one stop to 3rd Ave/138th St, it's 2 blocks from there. Note there are two exits at 3rd Ave/138th, one at Alexander Ave and one at 3rd Ave.
Ring 3A if 1A does not answer.
Bronx Art Space is wheelchair accessible.

This will be the 3rd time Anya, Thomas and I have collaborated, the first time being part of Fountain Art Fair during Art Basel 2011 in Miami (video below) and more recently as part of the Compendium show at Vaudeville Park in Brooklyn (photo below). This third collaboration, however, will be first time Anya, Thomas and I will all be in the same physical space during our performance. So we've got that going for us, which is nice.

 

 

Non Grata performance at Tangent Gallery (Detroit)

On March 29th Spread Art and Grace Exhibition Space co-presented international performance group Non Grata at Tangent Gallery in Detroit. Special thanks to 555 Arts and Moonlight Underground for additonal support.

It was an incredible evening and inspired me to think of performance art in new ways. A few photos are below. Follow this link for more.

Spread Art: Allison and Taya residency in La Manzanilla, Mexico

This week Allison and Taya DeLong are in La Manzanilla, Jalisco for a week on the beautiful Pacific coast of Mexico. I met Allison a few years ago when I was teaching yoga in Mexico and was thrilled when she expressed interest in Spread Art's residency opportunity (free accommodations in exchange for a small amount of volunteer work).

Below are Allison's thoughts about returning to La Manzanilla and the opportuities that visiting Mexico provides for her daughter Taya. I look forward to posting their reflections on their trip after they return to their home in Washington State.

My family was in La Manzanilla, Mexico in 2009 and took classes with La Catalina Language School.  One reason I chose that school was because it offered volunteering opportunities.  I spent some afternoons visiting with a teenage boy who was paralyzed from the waist down as a result of a car wreck.  For work, his mom had taken on cooking 2 meals a day for a large number of workers and I was able to help her in the kitchen some also. 

We hold fond memories of the town and its friendly locals.  My daughter is now 12 and has been studying Spanish lately at home.  When the opportunity arose to stay in a house in La Manzanilla in exchange for some volunteer work, it felt so right.  I had been hoping to bring my daughter to a Spanish speaking country but it was also important to me that it included contribution in some way to a local community.  I am so grateful to be able to share this cultural and contributive experience with my daughter.

Detroit views

I'm beginning to settle into Detroit. A few first impressions below...

 

 

Low Lives: Occupy!

Thank you to Jorge Rojas for inviting me to co-curate Low Lives: Occupy! The event and experience were phenomenal and inspiring. Click here to watch the videos.

*****

Low Lives: Occupy! a unique one-night-only program of live performance art, happenings, and public actions, simulcast to presenting host venues around the world. Join us at the Hemispheric Institute or watch online 6pm - 10pm. All details below.

 

 

LOW LIVES: OCCUPY!
Event Date: Saturday, March 3, 2012
Event Time: 6:00 - 10:00 pm (EST)
Online: http://www.occupywithart.com/llo-live-channel/

 

 

Low Lives has partnered with Occupy with Art and The Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics to present “Low Lives: Occupy! a unique one-night-only program of live performance art, happenings, and public actions, simulcast to presenting host venues around the world. Low Lives: Occupy! will take place on Saturday, March 3, 2012 from 6 -10 pm (EST). Low Lives: Occupy! partner Mark Read of the 99% Bat Signal / The Illuminator, will contribute a special projection and performance in conjunction with Low Lives: Occupy!

Performancy Forum XX: Con(Text)

Thomas Bell and I performed last night as part of PERFORMANCY FORUM XX: Con(Text). Thank you Esther Neff, co-director of the Panoply Performance Laboratory (PPL), for including us in this opportunity.

 

PERFORMANCY FORUM XX: Con(Text)

Hector Canonge!
Ivy Castellanos!
Birgit Larson!
Ellen O’Meara!
Thomas Bell & Christina deRoos!
Meghann Snow!

AND OTHERS!!!

On Saturday, February 11, PERFORMANCY FORUM returns to the series’ fundamental form: back-to-back incendiary performances and copious amounts of Brooklyn beer!

Come sink your claws into the 20th installment of the performance and theory series PERFORMANCY FORUM! This is performance in its natural habitat. It is interdisciplinary, political, passionate, always visceral, not always 'G' rated...

8pm-midnight

$5-$10 sliding scale suggested donation

For this event, we will focus our analytic efforts in the direction of context, text, and other words with ‘x’ in them:

How and why do performance artists use text/words in their performances?
What is “subtext” in the context of each of these works?
Does text confine/dictate “meaning” and limit the possibilities for multiple interpretations of a performance? Can text be used purely as an aesthetic tool? Asemic vs. literal text vs. musical notation
How does the material (Facebook invite, this kind of blurb, etc) affect the context of the work presented? How do artists contextualize their own work through writing? What is an ‘artist’s statement’ and does it belong to us, or to industry? And so on….Please bring your questions/concerns/theories!

XXXXX.XXXXX.XXXXX.

PERFORMANCY FORUM is a clustering, condensing, and critical effort comprising interdisciplinary exhibitions (emphasis on performance art, social practices, and participatory/publicly engaged work), workshops, conferences, actions, events, and more.

PERFORMANCY FORUM began in 2009 as a project of the Panoply Performance Laboratory (PPL) while the collective was in residence at Surreal Estate. It has since become an open project, collaborating with spaces, sites, curatorial collectives, and many others to:

1.) Forge IN-PERSON relationships (including collaborations) between artists from different artistic mediums and micro-communities.

2.) Perform collective research, including drawing of parallels between current performance and social practices and attempts to locate them within historic, economic, socio-political, and aesthetic contexts.

3.) Provide a site (physical or cognitive) for complex and critical thought beyond academic and other institutional parameters, for political and cultural organization amongst artists, and for experimentation with modes, methods, and mediums in conjunction with concrete practice.

4.) Involve publics of 'artists' and 'non-artists' alike in constructive, collective, and critical analysis and debate of artistic operation.

More info and proposal guidelines at www.panoplylab.org/performancy.hmtl

Occupy 2012

Occupy Wall Street - Liberty Square - NYC - 12/31/11

More photos here.

Kids Photography Workshop - Mexico - Dec 2011

I recently returned from a trip to La Manzanilla, Jalisco, Mexico. While I was there I taught a series of digital photography workshops to a group of local students ranging from 10 - 15 years old. I was completely inspired by the kids enthusiasm and work, and look forward to anohter series of workshops in the future.

Photo by Betito

Thank you to La Catalina Foundation, and especially Dean Klompas, for selecting the students from their Wings Scholarship program and otherwise supporting the workshops.

Photo by Citlalli

See more photos from students in the workshop here.

 

OWS / Zucotti Park 11_14 / Brooklyn Bridge 11/15

A beautiful couple nights in NYC...More photos here.

Dimanche Rouge: Saturday Streaming Labs @ Spread Art

Spread Art participates in an afternoon of experimental performances streamed live from around the world with streamed performances from Portugal, Barbados, and Argentina (11am-12pm) followed by live performances streamed around the globe (12pm-1pm)

Join us at 104 Meserole Street, Brooklyn
Or watch online: www.livestream.com/dimancherougestream

Streaming In (11am-12pm)

->Vitor Lago Silva, “The last words of Domenico” (digital performance, Oporto, Portugal) http://thelastwordsofdomenico.wordpress.com/
->Michelle Isava, “Dagger Head Net” (performance art, Bridgetown, Barbados)
->Lorena Avallar, “La Puta Idea” (performance art, Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Streaming Out (1pm-2pm)
->Esther Neff & Brian McCorkle (Panoply Performance Laboratory)
->Anya Liftig
->Valerie Kuehne
->Remote Control Tomato (Christina deRoos & Thomas Bell)
->Collective improvisation with all artists

Panoply Performance Laboratory (Esther Neff and Brian McCorkle)
The Panoply Performance Laboratory (PPL) is a performance collective
formed in 2006 by librettist/director/video artist Esther Neff and
composer/musician/sound artist Brian McCorkle. PPL's hyper-structural
performance art projects are developed in collaboration with
individuals from many different walks of life, and through community
workshops, interviews, and other engaged practices. They often examine
complex systems and trace epistemic, emotional, and socio-political
viewpoints held by individuals and groups. Using home-made
technological set-ups, multiple languages, video, interactive and
participatory elements, field-recorded sound, and found materials, PPL
works operate across many disciplines. Their current project is a
5-episode opera called NATURE FETISH in development at University
Settlement. www.panoplylab.org

Valerie Kuehne is an electrically charged virtuoso of all purpose
cello. Dynamic performer, fearless improviser, songwriter, vocalist,
and classically trained connoisseur of Bach and Britten, Valerie can
be found playing incessant shows in NYC, where she devotes formidable
heart, intellect, creativity, and time to cross-pollinating sundry
genres. Armed with finesse, Valerie is impressively present on stage,
rendering poignant punctuations of changeable emotional weather. In
any setting, her instrument aches with human implications and fiendish
alien fuel. www.dreamzoo.bandcamp.com

Anya Liftig’s work has been featured at TATE Modern, Highways
Performance Space, Exit Art, Chashama, Surreal Estate, Eyedrum, Grace Exhibition Space, Flux Factory, Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, Galapagos, The Flea, Performance Art Institute, Yale University, Center for Performance Research,INCUBATEChicago, University of Wisconsin, University of Chicago, Mess Hall, Joyce Soho and many other venues. Her work, “The Anxiety of Influence,” was an intervention into Marina Abramovic’s “The Artist is Present” retrospective at MOMA. Liftig dressed as the elder artist and sat across from her all day. Her work has been published and written about in The New York Times Magazine, Bomb, The Wall Street Journal, Vogue Italia, Marie Claire Italia, Heeb, The Other Journal, Jewcy, Mix Magazine, Next Magazine, Now and Then, Stay Thirsty, New York Magazine, Gothamist, Jezebel, Animal New York and many others. She is a graduate of Yale University and Georgia State University and has received grant and residency support from The Field, Vermont Studio Center, University of Antioquia, Casa Tres Patios-Medellin Colombia, and Flux Projects, Atlanta. www.anyaliftig.com

Remote Control Tomato (video + sound / Christina deRoos and Thomas Bell) www.christinaderoos.com. www.twin72.com

 

#OWS / Times Square / 10_15_11

Videos from Saturday evening #OWS event in NYC. Best time I've ever had in Times Square.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Remote Control Tomato @ Dimanche Rouge Labs

Remote Control Tomato
Christina deRoos_video + Thomas Bell_sound + special guest Sarah Benoliel_dance

”ArtePax”
15min visual/sound/movement improvisation

Performance for Dimanche Rouge #9 – Streaming Labs
Pole Simon Le Franc, 9 rue Simon Le Franc, Paris 75004

 

Streamed from CPR - Center for Performance Research, Brooklyn, NY

dimancherouge.wordpress.com/​2011/​09/​22/​dimanche-rouge/​

:experimental documentation of experimental performance::video represents approximately 1/4 of physical performance area that was streamed live:

 

Remote Control Tomato @ Dimanche Rouge

Remote Control Tomato @ Dimanche Rouge

sound: Thomas Bell / visuals: Christina deRoos / dancer/choreographer: Laura Arend
Streamed live on the interweb.

Participating physical locations:

1. Paris, France
2. Imwinkelried
3. Kiev, Ukraine
4. Zaporizhya, Ukraine
5. Sofia, Bulgaria
6. Utah, USA
7. Castlemaine, Australia
8. Santiago de Chile, Chile
9. Wenzhou, 温州, China
10. Brooklyn, USA
11. Brisbane, Australia
12. Berlin, Germany

 

 

 

Photos: The Tronic @ Warper Party

Photos from Warper Party 8/16/11 in Brooklyn. It was damn relaxing to have an evening with nothing more than a camera to concern myself with. More photos here.

 

 
Above: Gregg Jarvis

Above: Thomas Bell

Above (L to R): Unknown dude, Thomas Bell + Gregg Jarvis = The Tronic

Recent Video Work

Below are 2 videos from recent shows. All mixes created in real-time using Isadora.

The Tronic

Spread Art

Summer Group Show IV

Brooklyn, NY

Sounds: Thomas Bell, Gregg Jarvis // Visuals: Christina deRoos

 

 

Rise Up Fallen Angel (Excerpt)

CPR - Center for Performance Research

Brooklyn, NY

Play the Moment Composers' Collective + 3 projection screens showing work from over 30 international artists.

Concept, Curator, Musician, & more: Victoria Gibson // Visual Mix: Christina deRoos

 

S.F.otos

I'm visiting San Francisco this week and just uploaded a bunch more images to the cell photos album. See more here.

 

 

Photos from Saturday's American Dream rally in NYC

So this is the first thing MoveOn has done in well over a year that I've paid any attention to...let's hope a little something comes of it.

See more photos here.

vid-yo

 

Cell Photos

Cell (HTC Evo) Photos. See more here.

 

 

 

Next Show: Monday 8/2 @ The Tank

I'm performing this Monday, August 2nd @ The Tank (NYC; 45th St. b/w 8th & 9th) as part of the ongoing Creative Music Incubator series, which unites experimental sonic artists on the first Monday of every month to share creative concepts, explore new sonic possibilities and collaborate in new line ups and in unique situations. Each month is curated and hosted by a member of the NYC experimental music community.

Aug 2nd Curator and Host: Amber Brien

Line up:
Amanda Ray (vocals, electronics)
John Fell Ryan (hand percussion)
Kaoru Watanabe (fue, flutes)
Barbara Merjan (percussion)
Conrad Sparnroft (ebow guitar)
Mitch Blank (dulcimer)
Doug Principato (ebow guitar)
Mike Durek (theremin)
David B. Penn (cello)
Jennifer Leigh Aschoff (keyboards, flutes)
David Tamura (saxophone)
Thomas Bell (bass guitar)

Visuals presented by Christina deRoos

Cover $8 (donation to "The Tank" - a non-profit theatrical space) Not to worry, the drinks are super cheap.

This month there will be multiple mini groups created from the pool of musicians participating. Each mini-group will perform 5 to 10 minute mini-sets. The first half of the night will consist of groups whose members have performed together at some point in the past. The second half will consist of groups whose members have never performed together, ensuring new collaborations and sonic discoveries.

"Do You Know You're Being Recorded?"

Performance of work in progress 7/10/10
Arts@Renaissance (St. Nick's Alliance)
Bklyn, NY

Spurred by the common question: "what is and what isn’t art?," Do You Know You’re Being Recorded aims to create an experience for all involved that blurs the boundaries between stage/audience, music/sound, performance/life.

Do You Know You’re Being Recorded is a site-specific piece that will ultimately be 4 to 6 hours long. During development and when complete it will take place in traditional and nontraditional art spaces, including galleries, supermarkets, theaters, vacant lots...and we hope JFK (the airport).

Laura Arend / Thomas Bell / Christina deRoos

Born and raised in France, Laura Arend’s career began with study at the prestigious Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique et Danse de Lyon. She spent a year as a dancer at the Youth Ballet of Lyon and arrived in New York in March 2010. Arend is currently working with Judith Sanchez Ruiz, and Korhan Basaran. Since May 2010 she has also been a member of the dance company « F521.i » in Paris.

Musician and visual artist Thomas Bell leads Oxygen Music Collective, consisting of over ten different musical projects dating back to 1999. The collective follows an improvised compositional approach, with past projects heavily steeped in the traditions of Funk & Free-Jazz, with tinges of Drum n Bass, Hip-Hop, & the experimental avant-garde. He also curates the Creative Music Incubator experimental music series at The Tank, and founded Spread Art, an artist-run creative space designed to foster new works through collaborations with artists and curators from around the world. twin72.com spreadart.org

Christina deRoos is a visual artist (photo/video, mixed-media, installation) who splits her time between NY and Mexico. She frequently facilitates creative projects that invite public participation and encourage community dialogue and individual self-reflection. In 2009 she founded Live Bliss, a yoga, art and community space in La Manzanilla, Jalisco, Mexico. She is also co-director of Spread Art. christinaderoos.com

*Special thanks to Chez Bushwick & Jonah Bokaer for affordable rehearsal space and equipment, and Center for Performance Research for additional low-cost rehearsal space.* chezbushwick.net cprnyc.org

Mixing Life

For my recent dive into live visual improvisation, I turned photographs I've taken into videos. Not having tons of time to prepare, I decided to pull together as diverse (albeit small) a range of content as possible. Below is what I put together, which ended up feeling/looking like a solid representation of how I experience the world - one part abstract/inexplicable perception, one part beautiful/intense travels, one part frustration/disappointment with the machinery of injustice. 

Check out the previous post if you want to see the final result, which drew from the videos below plus a few short clips of a video game, a tree, a circuit board, all mixed real time with some effects for good measure.

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Photos-->Video-->Live Performance

Video...you have been on my radar for a long time, and yet somehow we never quite introduced ourselves.

With The Tronic performing at Bent Festival, and my having 3 VJ gigs and a week of Isadora experience to my credit, I added live video improvisation to the interesting mix that is my creative output. Around this time next year I'm told there will be a video of this year's Bent Festival. I'm curious to see where this new path will have led me by then.

A week after Bent Festival opportunity knocked again...and I managed once more to make it through a set without crashing my computer. Here is a video of gig #2: Oxygen Ensemble at The Tank on May 2nd.

Note - this video has SOUND - improvised, beautiful, fresh squeezed sound - so check that your volume isn't up uP UP lest you get blown out of your chair.

Oxygen Ensemble / The Tank / NY, NY
Part of the monthly Creative Music Incubator series

Musicians:
Gregg Jarvis - drums
Thomas Bell - bass
Chris Mariner - guitar
Jason Polise - sax
On Davis- guitar
Lars - sax

Visuals:
Christina deRoos

Yoga Retreat in Mexico // March 13 - 20

Hello there!

The yoga retreat in La Manzanilla, Mexico is just around the corner: March 13 - 20! I invite you to sit back and savor the full details that are below!

There is an option for a Spanish Plus Yoga retreat with excursions, accommodations and whole lot more...there is an option for a yoga and meditation only retreat that allows you to make your own arrangements for accommodations and leaves you tons of free time to enjoy the beach and slow pace of La Manzanilla...and there are a variety of options in between. Mix and match to find what works best for you, and if you don't see what would be ideal, let me know and I'll do my best to put it together for you.

As retreats go this one is particularly affordable, and it seems there is an airline fare sale going on at the moment so flights may be extra reasonable as well. The nearest airport to La Manzanilla is in Manzanillo. An often less expensive alternative is to fly in & out of Puerto Vallarta, although that adds a few hours trip by bus to the travel time.

Happy (almost) spring. Please contact me if I can answer any questions. I look forward to seeing you in Mexico!

Thank you to La Catalina Natural Language School for this collaboration.

La Catalina Natural Language School

Treat yourself in 2010…

Reawaken Your Mind, Body

and Spirit!

JOIN US FOR OUR SPANISH

PLUS

YOGA & DREAM WORKSHOP RETREAT IN PARADISE!

 

March 13^th - March 20^th, 2010

La Manzanilla, Jalisco, Mexico

 

  

COMPLETE SPANISH PLUS YOGA & DREAM WORK RETREAT INCLUDES:

•      8-day/7-night stay in beautiful Mexican cottages

•      Healthy gourmet vegetarian breakfasts, lunches & dinner daily

•      Spanish classes at La Catalina Natural Language School & Spanish learning materials

•      Yoga Classes & Meditation

•      Dream workshop

•     Temezcal sweat lodge ceremonial ritual

•     Bay cruise & Tenacatita snorkeling excursion

•     Guided nature hike excursion

•     1-hour full body massage

•     Reiki healing session
  
  

PRO-RATED RETREAT PRICING:

Package #1: COMPLETE RETREAT (SEE COMPONENTS ABOVE) Cost: $1370 - Shared bedroom with individual bed in a shared guest house           $1480 - Private bedroom in shared guest house           $1690 - Private studio apartment or one bedroom guest house

Package #2: COMPLETE RETREAT (MINUS LODGING IN MEXICAN COTTAGES) Cost: $1000

Package #3: COMPLETE RETREAT (MINUS LODGING, SPANISH CLASSES & SPANISH LEARNING MATERIALS) Cost: $900

Package #4 COMPLETE RETREAT (MINUS LODGING, SPANISH CLASSES & EXCURSIONS) Cost: $825

Package #5 YOGA, MEDITATION, DREAM WORKSHOP & 2 PRE-SELECTED MEALS PER DAY Cost: $450

Package #6 YOGA & MEDITATION ONLY (Approx. 20 hours) Cost: $190

Package #7 DREAM WORKSHOP WITH DINNERS ONLY ON M-F (10-hour workshop & 5 dinners) Cost: $170

Package #8 DREAM WORKSHOP ONLY (10-hour workshop) Cost: $120

SPECIAL OFFER!

Local or seasonal La Manzanilla Residents (who spend at least 1 month in La Manzanilla receive FREE registration and 10% discount off the package of their choice!!!

 

Refer a friend and get an additional 10% off your retreat price.

 

$200 deposit required at time of registration.

Space limited to 12 participants.

 

For more info on our Spanish Plus Yoga Retreat,

please visit the following page on our website:

 

http://www.lacatalinaschool.com/spanish-immersion-mexico/spanish+yoga-retreats.htm

 

Contact Us A.S.A.P. to reserve your spot at:

 

Email: la_catalinagroups@hotmail.com

Telphone: 011-52-315-351-5362

Website: www.lacatalinaschool.com

 

 

Namaste.

I <3 Mexico

I'm back in Mexico for a 3 week trip, and am grateful for every second I get. Returning to NY this summer after 18 months south of the border has been an intense ride. I'm hopeful that a few weeks back in La Manzanilla will shed light on the roller coaster I've experienced, most of which has been raw emotion without any specific memories or thoughts attached (making it just a touch difficult to figure out what's going on...My processing has been mostly "inhale_exhale_inhale).

After a few days in PV, tonight was my first evening back in La Manzanilla. The sight of a guy riding his burro through town just after sunset made me cry. Yoga students beware...my emotions appear to be a bit close to the surface!

Speaking of yoga, I expect to be teaching 10am classes on Wed & Fri of this week, and Tues & Thurs the next two weeks. Same location as last season: Live Bliss on Playa Blanca. Email with any questions.

I've posted photos from the trip so far here and will continue to add images that grab my attention.

Bushwick Is...2009

I was wandering around Bushwick today with a canvas, Sharpies, crayons, and a desire to see how folks would respond to "Bushwick Is..." Thomas Bell and I left Spread Art around 1pm with the canvas showing the boundaries of Bushwick way back when (1800s) and the boundaries of Bushwick today. We made a few stops (a pharmacy, a laundromat, a bodega) and received great input on our journey to Maria Hernandez Park (named after a woman who was shot and killed in 1989 for fighting to rid her block of drug dealers).

In the park we were overwhelmed with kids 
and also a lot of adults wanting to participate. Among them was a veteran (Iraq and Afghanistan), whose reflections on his experience returning to Bushwick, and the words he added to the canvas ("god forgive me can you") are unlikely to leave my mind anytime soon.

After the park we made our way to Brooklyn Fireproof to share the community dialogue that had happened so far and invite further participation. Brooklyn Fireproof was a location of today's BETA spaces event, described as "a one-day festival of independently curated, collaborative group exhibitions."

The "Bushwick Is..." canvas is part of an ongoing project begun in 2006 by Erin Partridge, Thomas Bell and myself. The project aims to facilitate community dialogue and self-reflection and to document moments in time as Bushwick experiences rapid gentrification.

I will add more to this post soon, but for the photos are going to have to speak for themselves as I'm in desperate need of a good night's sleep. See gobs of photos from today here.

 

Electro-Music 2009

Just before Halloween I found myself in a van heading to New Jersey for Electro-Music Fest. The destination - Bloomingdale, NJ - was as middle of nowhere as I've been in quite a long time (and that's saying something given where I've been time the last couple years)...but who cares about location when there's mind-blowing music and video? Plus the creepy deserted campsite location made for some interesting evening landscapes.

See more photos here.

Watch video of The Tronic (Gregg Jarvis & Thomas Bell) here.

HK:ArtiST

I've been providing some behind the scenes guidance to the founder of this weekend's Hell's Kitchen Artist Studio Tour. It is shaping up to be a great weekend. Check out the map of participating artists below, & learn more on the website.

"Numbers" Installation @ Chashama Film Festival

Today I finished the Numbers installation for the Chashama Film Festival. A collaboration with Thomas Bell, Numbers highlights human costs of the conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan that are rarely reported in mainstream media. See photos of the process of installation as well as the final result here.

The installation consists of flag draped coffins and numbers stenciled on paper then covered with bubble wrap. The width and placement give viewers a choice between walking across and popping bubbles or making a small but extra effort to jump across and avoid interacting. This parallels the ability those of us in the United States have to avoid witnessing the impact of the government policies carried out in our name. It requires a bit of effort, although not much, to avoid the messy reality of our ongoing policies in Iraq and Afghanistan.

*****

Numbers used include:

32,907 Weight in tons of bombs dropped by the U.S. Air force in Iraq & Afghanistan through 2007

6129 American and coalition military casualties in Iraq & Afghanistan

120  American military casualties since Obama was inaugurated on Jan. 20, 2009

46% The percentage of air raid casualties that are women are girls

766 The number of journalists and academics that have been killed in Iraq

1395 The number of contractor employee deaths in Iraq

102,083 Documented civilian deaths from violence in Iraq (Estimate is 93,552-102,083)

39% The percentage of air raid casualties that are children

>100 thousand The number of American military wounded

$7500 The amount the U.S. Army paid to two children whose mother was killed inside a taxi that ran a checkpoint. Both children were also in the taxi, and were shot and injured.

Thank you to Iraq Body Count, AntiWar, and iCasualties for maintaining databases that make these and many more numbers readily available.

*****

Popping bubble wrap generally evokes enthusiasm from people regardless of age. With Numbers, the excitement of walking, jumping, or otherwise popping bubbles is tempered by the reality of stepping on representations of victims of violence.

Numbers also presents an opportunity for participants to reflect upon the myriad impacts of war, including responses to loud or surprising sounds, such as the pops of bubble wrap. For child and adult survivors of war, loud noises can trigger intrusive memories, nightmares, hallucinations or flashbacks, sometimes resulting in exaggerated responses. As one Iraq veteran explains, "any little noise and I'd jump out of bed and run around the house with a gun." In the same way, the sound of an airplane flying overhead can cause stress for survivors of aerial bombings, while it is of no consequence to others. 

Lastly, Numbers is provides a visual reference point for the ongoing violence as the total number of bubbles in the installation is approximately the same as the total number of tons of bombs that have been dropped on Iraq and Afghanistan to date.

Numbers
On view Thursday, October 22 - Monday, October 26 
Part of the Chashama Film Festival
Final Cut Lounge
679 Third Avenue (at 43rd St.)
One block from Grand Central
Subway: 4,5,6,7

Spread Art @ Brooklyn Artillery

Last night was the opening of the Brooklyn Artillery show at Castle Braid. There were gobs of people, interesting art in a wide variety of mediums (video, installation, painting, photography, movement...), a lot of music, and I even managed to get my hands on a few pretzels (though to be fair I arrived 5 hours after the opening began, so presumably the bowl was filled many times before I came through).

I have collages, paintings, photography and mixed media work in Spread Art's exhibition space. The current show will be up for at least the next two weeks. Spread Art will have rotating exhibitions at Castle Braid through October 31st. Watch for a politically-infused "What Haunts Us?" Halloween show to close the space.

See photos of the current Spread Art exhibition here (more coming soon). Visit in person, weekends through October 31st: Castle Braid; 114 Troutman (between Central & Bushwick).

Above (Left to Right):

1) Cessation of Suffering, 48"x48", Acrylic & collage on panel, Thomas Bell, $1000
2) Waiting, 48"x48", Acrylic & collage on panel, Thomas Bell, $1000
3) Pain, 48"x48", Acrylic & collage on panel, Thomas Bell, $1000
4) Hope Remains, 30"x30", Acrylic, fabric, metal on canvas, Christina deRoos, $1200

September Concert @ Spread Art: 9/11/09

Friday night I participated in the September Concert at Spread Art. Responding to the theme and atmosphere of the the evening I made a mixed media piece out of dollar bills, thread and found  metal. Click the photo to see a larger version.

The September Concert is a series of free concerts, organized by individuals, schools, businesses, and associations to bring communities together, to reaffirm our hope for peace and to celebrate life and our universal humanity. Concerts are held in all areas of our city, our nation, and our world. It is a global day of music for peace, every September 11th.

The September Concert at Spread Art included live music by The Tronic (Thomas Bell and Gregg Jarvis), an ice sculpture by Thomas Bell...and me cutting up United States currency. 

See more photos from 9/11/09 at Spread Art here.

Friday, Sept 18th - Fundraiser for Rwandan Kids

Friday, September 18th Spread Art is hosting a fundraiser for Through the Eyes of Hope. I hope you to see you!

Through the Eyes of Hope:

"Encouraging children to photograph the world through their eyes"

VISION

• to provide photography classes as a means of art therapy to children around the world
• to allow children to tell their own stories through their photographs
• to provide a local trade to help children pay for school fees and food
• to celebrate and affirm children’s creativity by exhibiting their photographs in different venues throughout the world
• to bring awareness of different cultures to communities through the children’s photographs

My favorite music: Oxygen Music Collective

Music I can feel...that makes me think...that no matter how many times I listen to a track I always notice something new...that's music I like. For my money (and ears), it doesn't get any better than the various projects of Oxygen Music Collective.

Have a listen below. If the sounds grab you, please support independent artists by purchasing individual tracks or entire albums (click the "store" tab & then the "snocap" icon).

Enjoy!