Four Arup art, dance and theatrical collaborations were recently highlighted in the ‘Best of 2010’ December issue of Artforum International Magazine.
Artforum is the definitive global publication for artists and contributors to the arts, and its annual ‘best of’ issue features the personal top ten dance, theatre, exhibition, book and movie experiences of 14 artists, critics and curators, as well as listing the single standout exhibition pick of three others.
Arup’s acoustic and theatre consulting work includes Mike Kelley’s 'Day is Done Judson Church Dance', Tacita Dean’s 'The Craneway Event', William Kentridge’s 'I am not me, the horse is not mine' (part of Kentridge’s retrospective at New York’s MoMA) and Dominique Gonzalez Foerster and Ari Benjamin Meyer’s 'K.62'.
"Arup’s acoustics and theatre consulting teams are excited to see the work of our clients highlighted in such a prestigious international magazine. While the artistic concepts featured are due to the pure creativity of the artists, directors and choreographers, we feel privileged to have helped improve audience experiences through our solutions."
– Mike Skinner, Arup music, arts and multimedia consultant
Arup’s acoustics and theatre consulting work on the projects includes sound installations and live remote broadcasts, lighting, technical production, venue selection and even casting.
Acoustics and theatre consulting
Day is Done Judson Church Dance: Arup provided all technical production and multitrack recording production for Mike Kelley’s performance-based installation. The recordings and film documentation will be used as the basis for Kelley’s upcoming film of the same name.
I am not me, the horse is not mine: Arup’s Mike Skinner was technical producer and video operator for the piece at Performa (a non-profit interdisciplinary arts organization), MoMA (during William Kentridge’s retrospective) and at a festival in Mulheim, Germany. Mike’s role was to ensure that all production elements (sound, lighting, staging and video) were correct for Kentridge’s arrival at the venue. During the performance Mike ran video playback and called sound and lighting cues to the technical team.
The Craneway Event: For this performance, Mike Skinner worked with the client (Performa) to select a venue, and secure a 16mm projector equipped with an anamorphic lens as well as a qualified projectionist. A 16ft-long, 200lb aluminum framed screen was custom-built for this unusual aspect ratio, and suspended from the mezzanine level of the venue so that it appeared to float in space.
K.62: For this unusual live performance piece, Arup worked closely with Dominique Gonzalez Foerster and Ari Benjamin Meyers on all aspects of the production. This included assisting with casting, designing a live remote audio broadcast for 20 musicians in 20 locations, lighting design and overall show production.