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Life In Art: Artscape 2007
Quill Wordsmith
wordsmith@excapethematrix.com
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t’s a weekend full of every form of art. Spoken Word, Poetry, Dance, Music, Theater and of course the Visual arts. Artists from all over the city and the country come to show off what they do best – ART. It’s Artscape 2007, one of the many festivals that take place during the summer in the city of Baltimore. There’s too much to consume in one day – plus you’d need to have on great walking shoes. Kids get hands-on experience with doing everything from blowing bubbles and building Legos, to actually playing and learning how to play actual instruments.
As
you stroll around to the art cars, you see several of them lined up. Not just
any cars, these cars come with a message.
Who would’ve thought that a Honda Civic™ would have a message from the trunk to
the hood referencing one’s choice of heaven or hell? Or a pick up truck made
completely out of wood with a bird’s nest on its flatbed? What about a VW™ with
toys of every mode of transportation glued to its side? Or the truck that
represented almost all of heaven through art and a steering wheel.
"Where the walls were littered with bright graffiti that screamed “it’s okay to be here”, the band played on."
The Mount Royal communities and the campus of The Maryland Institute of College Art (MICA) transforms into an entire strip of must see and must hear. I noticed the tent with the spoken word, which had the poetry community gathered around in clusters, trying to hear what needed to be said. On the opposite end of the street was another tent with local gospel artists pulling in the attention of passersby. They too gathered in clusters trying to give out what needed to be heard. And the message was clear in every respect: ART. Friday night was Spoken Word night at Baltimore’s Theater Project. It was an opportunity to see exactly what poetry could demonstrate, which was how to be a man through the words of The 5th L. It demonstrated how to be a woman poetess with the “Ladies’ Verse” line up, featuring JaHipster, Olu Butterfly and Navasha Daya, lead vocalist for Fertile Ground. On the main stage was a hip hop violin group, Nothin’ But Strings. These two brothers, both graduates from the Julliard School of Music, fused jazz and hip hop influences into their classical violin training to bring forth a very unique sound. Following their contemporary act was a more mature sound of the Isley Brothers.
First
thing the next day, art could be heard echoing throughout the neighborhoods out
of alleys. Music that sounded like it could’ve been from the sounds of Do Make
Say Think or Explosions in the Sky (or some other
instrumental post-rock band)
could be heard from anywhere within a 3 block radius. Tucked behind the cut of
an alley were a guitarist, bassist, drummer and a small crowd of rockers. Where
the walls were littered with bright graffiti that screamed “it’s okay to be
here,” the band played on. Inside the University of Baltimore’s Langsdale
Auditorium, there could be music heard as well. Experimental, Improvisation,
Culture: the three elements that made up the instrumental and international
music in each performance.
Spoken Word, Isley Brothers, Experimental music and alley way impromptu were just a few of the things included in this festive weekend. The DJ Culture stage was also a sight to see (and hear) with freestyle, break dancing and the other elements of hip hop, including shell top Adidas™. The Theater Project was home again to two other entertaining and powerful acts. The Baltimore Improv group, along with the previously featured Mime Hunters, came forth with comedic sketches and improv games. Amazingly, for each event happening this weekend to be free of charge, this was the one that “sold” out of the free tickets hours in advance, while other shows were able to redeem tickets at the door. From an entire sketch based on pineapples and a rock star, to a highly complex word association, the entire crowd was more than entertained with this unscripted, unedited art form called Improvisation. Life on the main stage? The city brought forth Lupe Fiasco and Keyshia Cole for the ultimate free outdoor concert.
"Who would’ve thought that a Honda Civic™ would have a message from the trunk to the hood referencing one’s choice of heaven or hell?"
Though not directly on site, Art By Liz &
Eyeniphotography were among some of the vendors that participated in the weekend
festivities. The two artists were not only able to provide prints and pieces for
sale (along with other artists who didn’t make it to the Artist’s Row) but they
also were the hosts of parking for the event. Closing out the weekend were
performances by Emily King and the Kuumba Collective, among others. The Kuumba
Collective put on a very interactive and surreal demonstration, which touched on
various controversial issues such as the Don Imus media slur, the exploitation
of female, the blaxploitation of urban artists, and not to mention various
fallacies found from MTV to Myspace or even your very own backyard of beliefs
and upbringings.
As you can see, there was much to absorb during Artscape 2007 and a lot that was failed to be mentioned. Among those unmentionables, the Annual Billie Holiday competition and debuting this year, a category for males - The Cab Calloway competition. The Opera presentations at MICA, along with performances by the Sankofa Dance Theater and others were also included. If you thought art was all about a paintbrush to a canvas or even the sound of music alone, this festival would truly get you out the box, freeing more than your mind but also your spirit into a world of art in every dimension. Even living...
LIFE: that’s what art is really all about. Let’s breathe this.
:qws:
ArtScape in Motion
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