Note: I have not, to date done reviews on this site for a variety of reasons. That said, I have so generally been frustrated with what I have seen in the Bay Area performance world that I would like to make special mention of shows that particularly stand out. There have been a few since I have been here and rather than going backwards, I will simply look forwards. This is the first.
It begins no different than a gallery piece. A few objects hang in space. We, the audience, mill about looking and interacting. Sound and video play out of phase. Found sound and found footage connect in this room for the first time, or reconnect after a long separation. Sometimes harmonious, sometimes dissonant, it soon becomes clear these are intentional accidents.
Not accidents at all in fact, the objects move and interact with the audience. Small clear plastic domes, three of them, with speakers mounted inside. Just big enough of two or three heads to fit inside and listen. These speakers tell a different story than the words coming from the video. Sometimes profound, sometimes mundane monologues against a background of war.
She emerges from the darkness of the crowd. A face a little too intense to be a spectator.
Somewhere the focus shifts. No longer mere installation we are watching a dance. This is a dance between video, music and human form. She starts simply. From a stare building to crescendo in writhing explosions, a body at war with itself. A self trying to contain the destructive power of the atomic bomb exploding around it.
This is Gadget
A performative installation conceived and designed by David Szlaza. Gadget explores the emotional center of the creation of the atomic bomb and its aftermath.
Gadget is being produced as part of FoolsFury‘s three week ensemble festival. Music is by Matt:Matt with movement by Kira Kirsch. Gadget runs approximately 1 hour. Performs through this Saturday June 27th.
The company’s description:
“GADGET” is an interactive media installation that is intended to simultaneously bring humanity and humanness to the collaborators of the Manhattan Project through original and archival interviews while provoking the audience to question their own understanding and opinions of the creation of the atomic bomb and its effect on society. Through a combination of media and live performance, the installation aims to create an environment of learning and experience for the audience that is unique and individualized. By allowing manipulation of the material and the ability to choose what they are looking at and listening to, an audience member can begin to exercise his or her autonomous democratic rights and develop their own sense of consciousness around the making of the atomic bomb.
