I awoke elated as "2012 Artist of the Year" (Please See: Entry 12/30/2011), but as the tremendous responsibility became ever more clear I sunk once again into a depression - so much so - that I decided to put the coroner on speed dial.
In a highly unorthodox move, Minnesota artist Billy X. Curmano has named himself "2012 Artist of the Year" and not just in Minnesota but in the whole world wide world (wwww). The announcement was made in January, but because of the artist's busy schedule the award ceremony will be held much later in the year. Unlike similar "of the year" awards, this one avoids the long wait and jump starts 2012. The distinction of this prestigious award and honorary title is augmented with a $100,000 cash component he plans to pay himself over numerous monthly installments.
Reached for comment in New York City, artist and Franklin Furnace founding director, Martha Wilson was quoted as saying, " Billy Curmano is a world-class artist whose work Franklin Furnace has presented and produced four times: On February 26, 1988 he performed “Performance Pod” in our performance space; on February 14, 1990 at the Hilton Hotel in mid-town Manhattan he performed “Homeless Hilton”; on July 23, 1997 Franklin Furnace screened “Swimming the Mississippi,” documentation of his decade-long effort to swim the entire length of the Mississippi River; and on October 29, 1999 we netcast this videotape to a worldwide audience through a collaboration with Pseudo Programs, Inc. Franklin Furnace’s artists are selected by peer review panels from among hundreds of proposals received each year from around the world, a testament to how important the artworld feels his work to be. I think it is only fitting that be he selected as “Artist of the Year.”
Samples of some of these works can be experienced at the artists web address http://www.billyx.net The former Milwaukeean moved to an isolated farmhouse in the Minnesota outback to develop what he hoped would be a singular style unaffected by the whims and trends of the art world. Circumstances have returned him to a slightly larger community in Witoka. When contacted at his rural studio for this announcement, Curmano was apparently unaware he was even being considered for the award. He simply stated, "I'm truly humbled by this totally unexpected honor. There are so many more deserving artists whole world wide (www)."
The Performance Art Network (PAN) in Vienna featured Billy (USA) along with Katrin Herznern (Germany), Julia Klarig and Andrea Salzman (Austria), UpStage (New Zealand) and Pascale Grau (Switzerland) in PANik3, an evening of work intended "to transact aspects of documentation". The players had a full house that remained well into the evening discussing art theory. Maybe it's the water.
When he brings his works into formal spaces, Billy often refers to it as documenting performance in performance - or as the Viennese program noted, "Here the term 'live' and 'not-live' is disputable from scratch. For Billy X. Curmano art equals life. His performances mostly happen on imponderable terrain. In order to reach a live audience, he translates the past event for and on another stage." - Veronika Merklein.
A Book???
The PANik 3 performance also led to a new project with a Viennese Publishing House for experimental artists' books. It will be a 3-way collaboration between Billy, artist/publisher Thomas Geiger and artist/designer Astrid Seme. The publisher's stated intent is to show the breadth and diversity of Billy's work from performance, painting and sculpture to video, post cards and even T-shirts, to a "younger, European audience". The 3 already have a drop box on the web to share work and ideas. After the European publication the files may be used to publish an American version.
"Wasser"
Kurze Beschreibung
Vom Wasserüberfluss zum Wassermangel und den verschiedenen Aggregatszuständen des Wassers mischt "Wasser" Videoabschnitte, live Musik,”Performance Tricks” und Tagebucheintragungen von Extremprojekten in der Umwelt, welche die fast obsessive und manchmal sehr gefährliche Verbindung mit dem Wasser, unserer wertvollsten Resource, betont.
“Water”
Describe your performance shortly
From the abundance of water to its absence and changing states, "Water" mixes video footage, live music, performance tricks and journal entries from extreme projects in the environment that illuminate one artist's almost obsessive and sometimes quite dangerous connection with water, our most precious resource.
Paragraph über Ihre Arbeit
Oft malen Künstler ihre Phantasien - ich aber versuche meine Phantasien zu leben. Ich tue dies, indem ich Kunstabenteuer an einsamen Orten arrangiere.
Ich erschaffe diese Vorstellungen der live art neu in den Darbietungsräumen und erreiche so mehr Publikum - Eine Performance der Performance. (Eine Aufführung der Aufführung).
One statement about your work
Artists often paint fantasies. I've tried to live mine through performance art adventures frequently in remote locations. I re-create these fantasies and expand the audience through live art events in formal spaces that document performance in performance.
Paragraph über das Thema Performance und Dokumentation
Live art ist oft diffus und schwer zu erfassen und schwer zu verstehen, wenn man nicht dabei sein kann. Das dokumentarische Festhalten der Vorstellung während der Darbietung/Aufführung macht einen neuen live art "Moment" möglich, der eigentlich schon einmal statt gefunden hat und jetzt neu erschaffen und lebendig wird, und so wieder zu einem neuen Moment wird, zu einem neuen Erlebnis im Moment. Am Ende sind dies alles nur eingeritzte Spuren, um zu beweisen, dass wir existieren.
One statement about the topic of performance and documentation
Live art is often elusive and difficult to fully appreciate without actually witnessing it during performance. Documenting performance in performance creates a new live art moment that illuminates a previous point in time while becoming simply another point in time. In the end, it is all just tracks scratched to prove we exist.
Seite 3 Neue Uebersetzung
"Swimming the River" (Durchchwimmen des Flusses)
"Swimming the River" war ein ueber 10 Jahre andauerndes, 3809.96 Kilometer langes Durchschwimmen des Mississippi - von der Quelle bis zum Golf von Mexiko - sowohl als Performance als auch um Aufmerksamkeit auf die Verschmutzung des Wassers und der Umwelt im allgemeinen zu lenken. Nationen zeigen ihre Eroberungern indem sie ihre Flaggen aufstellen. Ich aber wollte den Mississippi zurueckerobern zu seiner lebensbejahenden Bestimmung,
indem ich die ganze Laenge unter dem Banner der Kunst durchschwamm.
“Swimming the River” was a ten year, 3,809.96-kilometer swim from the source of the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico as both performance and environmental statement. Nations have claimed territory by posting flags. I wanted to re-claim the Mississippi for life-affirming pursuits by swimming its length under the banner of art.
Das Zen von einem muehsamen Schwimmzug zum nächsten, teilte den Nordamerikanischen Kontinent in gleich verblassenden Pinselstrichen in welcher sich eine einzige Form (die meines Koerpers) immer wieder, in der sich staendig veraendernden Landschaft, wiederholte. (Eine sich staendige aendernde Leinwand - die Schwimmzuege die Pinselstriche die sofort verschwinden) Die Zerbrechlichkeit der menschlichen Form im Kontrast zu den Naturgewalten und den Schifffahrtswegen veranlasste viele Zuschauer sich entlang des Ufers zu versammeln, von Bruecken zuzuschauen und in Booten und Kanus dem Schwimmer streckenweise auf dem Wasser zu folgen - wie eine Art Pilgerreise, die die Zuschauer durch oft entlegene und schwer erreichbare Gegenden fuehrte.
The Zen of stroke after tedious stroke bisected the continent with impermanent brush like strokes that followed a single form (My body) repeated through an ever-changing landscape. The fragility of the human form contrasted by the powers of nature and shipping lanes compelled audiences to line riverbanks, watch from bridges and follow by boat in a kind of art pilgrimage through often remote locations.
Gegenstaende und Eindrücke auf elektronische Medien gebannt, im Verlaufe des Schwimmens gesammelt und erstellt, wurden und werden waehrend der Perfromances und Ausstellungen immer wieder genutzt und eingesetzt, um mehr Publikum zu erreichen, den Geist zu erweitern und so das Abenteuer vom Ufer des Mississippi in die leichter erreichbaren Auditorien zu bringen.
“Objects and electronic media collected and created in the course of a swim” were then used in performances and exhibitions to expand the audience and bring the spirit of adventure from the banks of the Mississippi River to more accessible formal spaces.
I've been selected to perform a solo work based on my "Water Trilogy" for "PANik 3 Performance as Documentation" on Sept. 26 at the Depot in Vienna, Austria.
It's especially sweet because - way, way back - my paintings were selected by an international jury to be among those representing the USA in the III Vienna Graphikbiennale. I was honored and flew off to Europe. As a young pup, I wanted to see everything. I traveled around and - it's a long story, but suffice to say I ended up in Vienna a day late for the opening. I bet I'll get there on time - this time. If you have any Euro contacts that may be interested in my work - let me know.
"PANik 3 Performance as Documentation" also includes: Julia Klaring/Andrea Salzman (Austria), Katrin Herzner (Germany), Upstage (New Zealand) and Pascale Grau (Switzerland).
The release of Billy X Curmano's 3 major works onto a feature length DVD - Live Art - "THE SEARCH" will be celebrated at Ed's No Name Bar, Franklin and Third Streets in downtown Winona, MN - March 5th beginning with a screening at 8 p.m. and followed by and evening with the New X Art Ensemble. The gathering will include a memorial for former band mate and trans-atlantic adventurer Poppa Neutrino also known as William David Pearlman. New Xer's, Steve Smith and Billy X., journeyed to New Orleans for Poppa's second line and returned from the jazz funeral with a few more stories, images and items to share. Appropriately, Poppa Neutrino recorded "The River Meets the Sea" with New X during his days in Winona. It was inspired by adventures that included his Atlantic Ocean crossing on a raft made from scrap materials and Billy's swim from the source of the Mississippi River at Lake Itasca, MN to the Gulf of Mexico.
Announcing the release of Billy X Curmano's: Live Art "THE SEARCH" on DVD. Sales and 2 Min. Trailer available online at:
http://www.filmbaby.com/films/5428
My DVD's have usually been released as handmade one-offs with a price tag to match. The Search is a compilation disc with 3 major works - the 2,367.4-mile Mississippi River Swim, 40-day Death Valley Desert Fast and 3-day live burial - replicated in larger quantities to make them more accessible.
A camera exposes the rough edges of "life as art" through extreme performances in the environment while searching for that indefinable quality that separates the masterpiece from everyday art. With a nod to Kandinsky, the DVD is subtitled "The Search for the Spiritual in Art". It is more about art, a vision quest or warrior's journey than religion. It is archived by the Museum of Modern Art Library in NYC and other prestigious collections.
As a bonus, "The Search" replaces the traditional short sound loop on standard menu pages with a complete composition from Threat Level 3's "Orange Alert". Don't worry you can still start whenever you like, but when you pop in a disc and have to wait for folks to settle in - you'll have a relaxing jazz interlude. A short translation of a missive from Mother Earth by The Terralinquistic Institute of Art Works USA follows the final credits. There's an original score throughout and an eco-friendly package design in collaboration with John O'Hara. A huge assortment of volunteer artists, musicians and ambassadors for art and the environment fill out the cast and crew.
The compilation includes:
PERFORMANCE FOR THE DEAD (14 Min.) The artist spent the last 3 days of a 7-day fast buried alive in absolute darkness seeking visions and hints of the other side. What was performed for the dead is left to the imagination, but elaborate trappings for the live audience included a New Orleans style Jazz Funeral.
SWIMMING THE MISSISSIPPI (29 Min.) a 2,367.4-mile Mississippi River swim from its source at Lake Itasca, Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico, a distance of about 30% of the earth's equatorial diameter. The Swim was never intended to be an athletic event, but rather - an intermix of art and life expressing an ecological imperative. It teetered between the Zen of stroke after tedious stroke and near death emergencies to the humor and absurdity of performance sculpture like the "X3C Polluted Water Wear" making a serious statement about water quality. The documentation was awarded the Henry Hampton Award for Excellence in Film & Digital Media.
DEATH VALLEY DESERT CLASSIC (42 Min. 22 Sec.) Still searching, Billy X. abandoned the traditional storyboard and limited recording to just a singular moment from each 24 hours of a 40-day desert fast in the extremes of Death Valley. The 40 some minutes in 40 days premiered in Los Angeles without the benefit of editing. A fasting body and brain, the environment, creatures, visitors - the forces of the valley... and of the spirit - directed the taping to create the third leg of this fine art trilogy.
Contains: Brief Nudity (Don't worry, Not Billy)
How to order:
$25.00 per copy includes shipping and handling
But wait
Double the money
and we'll double the offer
Send $50.00
And we'll send two copies
But that's not all - "Orange Alert" from Threat Level 3 (regularly $15.00) will be included absolutely FREE with double orders.
Send check or money order payable to:
Art Works USA
27979 County Road 17
Winona, MN 55987
(Taxes/shipping etc. included)
THE SEARCH is also available online from:
In Winona, MN - Available at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum and Blue Heron Gallery.
For serious collectors, the first 100 copies have been hand signed and numbered by the artist and are available for $125 each.
Outlaw art: Purchase of this DVD could be a wise decision. Segments were shot clandestinely and without proper authorization. It could one day be pulled from the market and become extremely rare and valuable.
Amused journalists have dubbed him, "The Court Jester of Southeastern Minnesota" with comparisons to P.T. Barnum, Andy Warhol and Marcel Duchamp.
My dear friend and collaborator Poppa Neutrino passed away on January 23. A jazz funeral is planned for him on Bourbon St. - Probably Feb. 19. I thought you may want to know.
New X will dedicate our next weekly session to his loving memory (Thurs. Feb 3).
Here's just a couple of sites that speak of his work:
http://www.poppaneutrino.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poppa_Neutrino
I'll be returning to my roots with a silly performance piece, "Frozed Up", for the Frozen River Film Festival Fringe Friday this week. I've been in the deep freeze of a kind of hard MN winter and busy, busy with a new DVD release to be announced very soon - after I defrost.
I'll be playing electric dulcimer to help open the annual meeting of the Minnesota Artists Exhibition Program at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts on Oct. 30. I've been an elected artists' panel member for the last two years choosing exhibitions and trying to keep this great program running smoothly. It's the only program of its kind in a major museum in the United States. It has two dedicated galleries within the institution that are totally curated by artists selected from the MN arts community. It will be bitter sweet attending my last meeting as a panelist. MN artists come out and vote for the new panel 10:00 a.m. Saturday.
It always saddens me as the weather makes swimming in rivers, lakes and streams more of an ordeal than a great pleasure. Then, I usually resort to satisfying my call of the wild impulses with walks in the woods. Sometimes I just start out walking in whatever direction I choose. When I tire, I backtrack. I spend the day or night trying to interact with creatures I meet. The last few days I've explored in a couple of directions from my home, as well as with side trips to The Great Bluffs and Whitewater State Parks. It offers a grand feeling of renewal and makes me wonder why we think we can divide the earth into parcels, states and even countries.
I've been swimming in the river as much as I am able. Yesterday, a bald eagle sat perched in an outlook - close at hand - yet high above me. Then there was the magic of turtles ploop, ploop. plooping off their logs into the river as I approached.
If you have to travel a distance for enlightenment, perhaps you aren't paying attention.
The 2,367.4-mile Mississippi River Swim has made me the focus of some attention. The latest came in the form of a phone call from Poppa Neutrino. I was honored when he asked if I would serve as king of the first “Swimming Man Festival” in Burlington, VT. I asked what that meant. He said come to Burlington and perform. I said, “Okay.”
Margarita Baumann became queen. We motored from Winona, MN to Manitowoc, WI and boarded the SS Badger for a 4-hour Lake Michigan crossing landing at Ludington, MI. We took the bridge into Canada at Port Huron intending Toronto, but the border officials informed us of 500 arrests at the G-8 Conference. Not wanting to risk delays, we detoured down to Niagara Falls to become quite touristy. Then it was up to Montreal for a fine view of the St. Lawrence Seaway from Mount Royal. About 90 miles heading stateside and another, but much shorter, ferry crossing and we arrived in Burlington on June 30.
After a morning show interview on public radio, I joined Poppa Neutrino and helped put some finishing touches on the raft/stage. I joined the crew paddling it to North Beach. It turned into a two-day project with a bit of weather and waves slowing us down. I jumped in to recover my blown away Panama hat with good result. The Lake Champlain waters were refreshing even though I lost a pair of glasses.
Long-time-running musical partner, John Pendergast, drove in from New Haven, CT with his violin and guitar. We ended our “Swimming Man” set with the “River Rap” and I threw myself into the lake to bring the re-claiming the waters and its environmental statement home. There were too many other performers to keep straight – just let it be said – it was a great time. Aerialists from NYC flew above the raft twisting and turning down the red silks crowning the stage. The vessel had been strategically anchored at North Beach to take advantage of the large crowds that always gathered for the fireworks displays. The jugglers, dancers and all the players and performers joined together during a dance jam as the night sky exploded with color. We stayed over an extra night for my final kingly duties and a screening of “Swimming the Mississippi” and “Death Valley Desert Classic” at Radio Bean. I hung up my crown and became homeward bound, but the activities will continue all summer in Burlington. Check out a couple of images in the photo gallery and get on over there.
We are blasting off for Manitowoc, WI and the SS Badger across Lake Michigan. Then, it's a run through Canada and set down at the Swimming Man Festival in Burlington, VT over the 4th of July Week end. I'll be doing some solo music and performance art. On the 4th of July John Pendergast and I will re-unite as Amanita ( Check out our CD at CD Baby). Poppa Neutrino has been active organizing the festival, so chances are pretty good I will be sitting in on some of his sets - or he on mine - or whatever the heck you want to call it.
Long ago, I had my blood drawn and spilled in an anti-war performance called “Bloodbath”. The site of the carnage was a small theatre (72 seat) in little old Winona, MN, USA. Dr. Dawn Perlmutter wrote a paper about the use of blood in art and included “Bloodbath”. Her words were published by the UCLA “Journal of Anthropoetics” as “The Sacrificial Aesthetic: Blood Rituals from Art to Murder”.
Years later, those words were re-born in “Euro-Arts” magazine. Earlier this year - and completely out of the blue - I was contacted by the features editor from a Chinese magazine and asked if there were any images available from “Bloodbath”. I dug through my archives, found and sent them off. “Bloodbath” appeared in the April issue of China’s “Vision” magazine. With each publication, it feels as though the work has been re-created. It’s found it’s way around 3 continents.
Probably like many artists, I have read about myself in a number of magazines in a number of languages. With my limited knowledge of western languages, I have often been able to figure out what was said.
I must say this is my very favorite article. I can’t figure out what the heck has been written. I can make out the title, my name and the names of my friends that helped make “Bloodbath” a reality because those items appear in English, but the rest is all Greek – oops! – I meant Chinese – to me.
Vision, April 2010, Youth Vision Magazine, Beijing, China, 2010
EuroArt, Issue 09, Winter 2009, EuroArt Web Magazine, Europe, 2009
Anthropoetics 5, no. 2, Fall 1999 / Winter 2000, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA, 1999
Burlington, VT is hosting its first Swimming Man Festival. They hope it will develop as a people's festival in much the same way as "Burning Man". They've set up a free camping area and plan for performances on rafts in Lake Champlain at a local theater and over their radio network. The grand adventurer, performance artist and musician, Poppa Neutrino, is among the organizers. They've selected me to be "King" of this first festival. I'm not sure what that means, but I'll be performing in July - dates etc. TBA.
New X premiered a new number, "Flying Monkeys Bit My Face", on March 25th. We planned to introduce it at Ed's (One of our favorite venues), but I found there was a Winona Arts Commission Public Forum at the City Hall. "Flying Monkeys" has to do with my recent diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) brought on by WAR.
After a slight break with reality, I designed a new wearable art work. It's a fully formal strait jacket with a lovely satin collar. I attended the Art's Commission Forum with saxophone great Steve Smith wielding a video camera and Dr. David Christenson, M.D. as my attendant.
After about 3 minutes of my ranting and raving about the condition of the arts in Winona, MN before an apparently somewhat baffled group of Arts Commissioners, Dr. David Christenson, M.D. approached from behind and tapped me on the shoulder. He administered several unidentifiable pills and secured me in the formal strait jacket.
I apologized to the entire room and was led off. There was laughter and applause. We went to Ed's and repeated the performance during an extended "Flying Monkeys Bit My Face". Go to my links for the video on You Tube.
I've been silent for awhile, but the band is at Ed's tomorrow night and we are introducing a new performative twist. It reminded me of my Futurist roots.
Here's a quote I thought you might enjoy:
"We Futurists have deeply loved and enjoyed the harmonies of the great masters. For many years Beethoven and Wagner shook our nerves and hearts. Now we are satiated and WE FIND MORE ENJOYMENT IN THE COMBINATION OF THE NOISES OF TRAMS, BACKFIRING MOTORS, CARRIAGES AND BAWLING CROWDS THAN IN REHEARING, for example, THE 'EROICA' OR THE 'PASTORAL'.
We cannot see that enormous apparatus of force that the modern orchestra represents without the most profound and total disillusion at the paltry acoustic results. Do you know of any sight more ridiculous than that of twenty men furiously bent on redoubling the mewing of a violin?"
From The Art Of Noises (extracts) 1913 Luigi Russolo A reply to press comment on lectures given by the writer at the 1912 Futurist exhibition in Brussels and Paris. These words once excited me - I hope they do you. Tanto amore.