Head in the Clouds

Fifty years from now, when art historians look back at the most memorable artists from the early years of the new millennium, what will they find? Certainly some painters, sculptors and performance artists will be in the mix, but the direction that truly defines the current moment in art history could be characterized by the interdisciplinary artists who have reached out to all facets of the arts to create their work.

The artists who mixed performance art with animation, video and sound are the artists most actively impacting the momentum of contemporary art.

The California based, multimedia performance group Cloud Eye Control is among the mix of contemporary artists contributing to this innovative genre of art. Their newest creation, Under Polaris, is taking part in the New Genre Arts Festival with the support of the National Performance Network Residency Program. Under Polaris will be performed at the PAC, Friday and Saturday March 11-12 at 8pm.

With Under Polaris, Cloud Eye Control uses theatrical performance, projected animation and video as well as original music to tell the futuristic story of a female scientist who has devised a way to capture the essence of humanity into a single seed. Her quest is to preserve both the seed and humanity by depositing the seed in an arctic seed vault. She encounters difficulties along the way through her interactions with a number of arctic animals.

Through her experiences, she begins to reevaluate her understanding of herself as well as her relationship with the natural world. She returns from her quest a changed animal as she begins to acquire characteristics of the animals she meets along the way.

The inspiration behind Under Polaris originated with a commission from Leslie B. Durst, a patron of the arts in Portland, Ore. Durst had seen Cloud Eye Control perform at a Portland art festival and commissioned the artists to make another multimedia performance piece that was set at the North Pole. The artists were surprised at first by the commission's unusual specifications, but quickly decided the North Pole would be the perfect setting for a new piece.

"A lot of our work involves journeys using technology to reach beyond one's own capacity," said Chi-Wang Yang, an artist and the group's manager and theater director.

Cloud Eye Control was formed in 2005 when the group's three members met in graduate school at the California Institute of the Arts. All three came from very diverse artistic backgrounds: Miwa Matreyek brought experience of animation; Anna Oxygen, a background in music, recording and performance art and Chi-Wang Yang, a background in theater.

"The work that we do integrates the artistic differences and aesthetics that we have," Yang said. "We're all co-directors of the work and I think it shows in the end."

The hour-long performance is set to original music written by Anna Oxygen, with the exception of the performance's overture, written by Cloud Eye Control's musical collaborators, The Need, a Pacific Northwest rock duo.

Cloud Cover. The California based, multimedia performance group Cloud Eye Control is among the mix of contemporary artists contributing to this innovative genre of art. Their newest creation, Under Polaris, is taking part in the New Genre Arts Festival with the support of the National Performance Network Residency Program.

Innovative in every way, Under Polaris uses video and animation projects not only to create a backdrop for the scene, but also projects images and video onto the objects and performers. This physical approach to projection is a successful integration of multimedia with live performance.

Because it addresses so many artistic disciplines, Under Polaris has been invited to art galleries, film festivals and even animation festivals on an international scale.

"Traditional boundaries of what is theater, what is film, what is animation are really blurring, and I think it's really exciting that they are," Yang said. "I hope that the work kind of excites people who have a lot of different artistic interests."

The performance is expected receive a warm welcome in Tulsa as one of the headlining events of the New Genre Arts Festival.

Tickets are $20. More information is available at livingarts.org and cloudeyecontrol.com.

Studio Tour Preview Exhibition

While the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition's ever-popular Tulsa Art Studio Tour doesn't take place until April 9-10, those interested in a sneak peak at the artists selected for this year's tour can view a sampling of the artists' work early at the event's Preview Exhibition. The preview will take place at Circle Cinema, 10 S. Lewis Ave., from 7-9pm. The exhibition will feature a few works from each of the Studio Tour's nine participating artists: Michael Benton, Kim Doner, Alan Frakes, Mark Hawley, George Kountoupis, Steven Rosser, Christine Sharp-Crowe, Celeste Vaught and May Yang. The preview exhibition will be on display from March 3 to April 4.

Studio Tour Passports will also be on sale at the Preview for $5. The passports gain visitors access to every studio on the tour and are filled with information about each artist. Passports can be purchased in advance at the Preview Exhibition, Gadget Company, Dwelling Spaces and Lovett's Gallery for $5. Passports are $10 at the studios during the tour.

More information is available at ovac-ok.org.

Also this week

Marshall Noice's New Paintings in Oil and Pastel will open at MA Doran Gallery, 3905 S. Peoria Ave. on Thursday, March 10 from 5-8pm. More information is available at madorangallery.com.

New work by Michelle Y Williams will open at Exhibit by Aberson, 3524 B S. Peoria Ave., on Thursday, March 10 from 6-8pm. More information is available at abersonexhibits.com.