Jump Frog Productions - Billy X. Curmano - Journal http://billyx.net/news.html Billy X. Curmano: Journal Jannis' PHPRss class - http://www.jannis.to/ Sat, 04 Feb 2012 01:15:30 -0800 About That Artist of The Year http://billyx.net/news.html#53 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.

]]> http://billyx.net/news.html#53 Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800 Jump Frog Productions - Billy X. Curmano - Journal Billy X. Named Artist of the Year http://billyx.net/news.html#52 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)."

]]> http://billyx.net/news.html#52 Fri, 30 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800 Jump Frog Productions - Billy X. Curmano - Journal PANik 3 Vienna http://billyx.net/news.html#51 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.

]]> http://billyx.net/news.html#51 Tue, 27 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800 Jump Frog Productions - Billy X. Curmano - Journal Vienna/Wien - Wasser/Water http://billyx.net/news.html#50 "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.

]]> http://billyx.net/news.html#50 Wed, 14 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700 Jump Frog Productions - Billy X. Curmano - Journal Billy X to Vienna http://billyx.net/news.html#49 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).

]]> http://billyx.net/news.html#49 Tue, 16 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700 Jump Frog Productions - Billy X. Curmano - Journal DVD Release & Poppa Neutrino Memorial http://billyx.net/news.html#48 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.

]]> http://billyx.net/news.html#48 Fri, 25 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0800 Jump Frog Productions - Billy X. Curmano - Journal Live Art "THE SEARCH" on DVD http://billyx.net/news.html#47 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.

]]> http://billyx.net/news.html#47 Thu, 10 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0800 Jump Frog Productions - Billy X. Curmano - Journal Poppa Sails On http://billyx.net/news.html#46 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

]]> http://billyx.net/news.html#46 Sun, 30 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0800 Jump Frog Productions - Billy X. Curmano - Journal Frozed Up http://billyx.net/news.html#45 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.

]]> http://billyx.net/news.html#45 Tue, 25 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0800 Jump Frog Productions - Billy X. Curmano - Journal Billy X Incidental Music/MAEP Annual Meeting http://billyx.net/news.html#44 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.

]]> http://billyx.net/news.html#44 Wed, 27 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0700 Jump Frog Productions - Billy X. Curmano - Journal