Doxology Opera (1999-2001)
My role in this project was as Media Artist, creating 2D and 3D imagery, both motion and still, for projection. I developed a series of digital paintings as concept visualizations for production designs. These paintings begin a trajectory in my work into allegorical narrative, magical realism, and exploded collage.
Dance for Absent Partners: The Sisterhood performs the rituals that sustain and nurture the community through generations.
The design intention is to transform the 2D illusions of depth and movement to the 3D physical performance space, and to create a rich visual environment in which the images and animations convey elements of the narrative and meaning, and are affective illusions for the audience.
The Cleansing: She seeks the way down many paths
Guides: Gabriel Garcia Marquez, author of Magical Realism fiction, One Hundred Years of Solitude. Donald Byrd/The Group, choreographer, dance theater, The Harlem Nutcracker. The light and set design create magical illusion. This work has inspired and informed my ideas and efforts in live stage performance, installation design, and synthetic world creation. Romare Bearden, artist and educator. From Bearden I get a glimpse of liberation, and challenge. Liberation in that I find his work so bold that I need not fea my timid gestures and impulses, he has already stepped further. The challenge is to find the distinctive vision.
Collaboration: Paul Carter Harrison, author, director; Oliver Jackson, painter/sculptor/production designer; Wendell Logan, composer.
Crossing Over: Embracing her destiny, she joins The Sisterhood.
Doxology Opera brings together my research interest in symbolic language systems, design interests in immersive environments, and graphic/animation work, in service to the collaborative vision of the creative team, and the experience of the audience.
Invocation: The Sisterhood performs the annual rites of renewal. The Novice is tentative.
Doxology Opera presented the opportunity to explore composition and animation in 3D physical space. The live performance environments allows me to reconsider source material and compositional ideas. Creating the magical illusion of live theater performance is a delicious challenge.
Support: Arizona State University, Columbia College, Chicago,IL.
