The secret world of yoga.

Stephen Brown, the mastermind behind SBDance, is nothing if not fearless.  He's always pushing ideas and boundaries.  Maybe it's piles of newspapers as costumes.  Maybe it's asking his dancers to perform in the nude.  Maybe it's embracing stage musicals, or hand puppets, or steel troughs floating on a sea ping pong balls, or experimental specimens.  Or maybe it's abandoning the "dance" in SBDance and embracing your inner playwright.  That's pretty much the case in his latest work, Yoga Confidential: A Rat Bastard's Inside Guide to Yoga and Surrounding Regions.  And while I miss the dancing, Yoga Confidential is a good show.

The play was part of Salt Lake Acting Company's first ever Fearless Fringe Festival. Yoga Confidential qualifies as fringe (although Stephen Brown has been delightfully on the fringe of Utah's art scene for sometime).  It's a rewarding play.  Funny, strange, and all about yoga.  I know Stephen Brown as a choreographer and that's where I've appreciated his work most.  But he's a good writer too.  And for the first time I can remember, Stephen worked with a director (Winnie Wood) who brought extra clarity and intrigue to the story.

You've got to know a lot more about yoga than I do to understand all the intricacies of this story.  But what I love about the play is that Stephen (who is an established yoga instructor) treats the subject with both love and hatred.  He laughs at the silliness of the whole affair while still respecting the traditions.  He asks us to wonder whether or not the whole things is a sham, yet still recognizes the benefits it brings to life.  All in all, it's an even-handed take on yoga, particularly from a guy who's using the playbill to promote "an affordable winter get-away for all levels of surfer and yoga practitioner" in Playa Grande, Costa Rica.  I love a showman.

I can't end this post without noting the cast.  Stephen was joined on stage by Daniel Beecher and Tracie Merrill both of whom were excellent.  I particularly enjoyed the charm and humor of Mr. Beecher. 

As always, SBDance performances are fleeting.  But you still have two more chances to catch this show.  It's playing at the Sugar Space on September 10 and 11.

Oh, and one more thing; while Stephen is a good writer, I still like him best as a choreographer.  So Stephen, consider this my vote to bring back the dance in SBDance.

The re-gift.

I'm pretty sure that I've written about one work of art more than any other; Jochen Gerz's The Gift.  I talked about my original participation in the work here.  I talked about my return to the museum for the artist's reception here.  You can see photos of portraits from The Gift and their trip to SLC here. My appearance on the SFMOMA blog is discussed here. And I talked about finding my photo from The Gift here.

For almost a year and a half, two portraits from the work of art have been hanging in my office where they've inspire jokes, conversations, discussions about the value of art, and all sorts of other reactions.  Here's a reminder of what the pictures looked like in my office.

I recently decided it was time to shake up the art at the office. That meant moving the portraits to my house.  Yes, they're a little creepy late at night when you see complete strangers staring at you in the darkness.  But I've grown to love these strangers.  And I think I like them at home, even more than I did at the office. 

Since part of this whole artistic experiment is to talk about the experience of living with The Gift, I'm once again sharing photos of the portraits in their new home.  And in the process, saying thank you to Mr. Gerz and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art for a whole lot of art world inspiration and fun.  Here are the portraits where they live now:

Book twenty-five: The Madonnas of Echo Park by Brando Skyhorse.

I heard an NPR interview with Brando Skyhorse, author of The Madonnas of Echo Park, that offered interesting insight into this book.  Although Mexican American, Skyhorse was raised under the impression that he was Native American.  He was named after Marlon Brando because his mother respected the actor for his refusal to accept an Academy Award, citing the treatment of Native Americans.  His mother also changed their last name to Skyhorse.

Knowing this makes the opening of the book more interesting.  Skyhorse precedes the novel with a story about events that inspired the novel.  I thought this was a bad idea.  But after reading the intro, I changed my attitude.  It's a charming story that sets the reader up for a different kind of novel.

Let me get this out of the way right up front.  I'm notorious for criticizing books written in first person.  And this book is written in first person times ten. That's because each chapter in the book is told from the first-person standpoint of a different character.  This should just annoy the crap out of me.  And at first it does. But once I accepted the writing device, it made for an engaging and challenging read.

I particularly enjoyed the literary nature of the novel, with themes and ideas that radiate throughout the novel.  There is the Madonna (the Virgin Mary), who appears as a reminder of powerful women who rely on tradition to build their lives.  There is Madonna (Like a Virgin) who serves as the patron saint of a new generation of smart, young women set on abandoning tradition (or are they?).  And then there is the endless blooming and fading of Jacaranda blossoms, tracking lifetimes of relationships.

The Madonnas of Echo Park is a timely and timeless read.  It's timely because it confronts issues of immigration that are fueling heated debates today.  It's a brilliant look at the lives of Mexican immigrants, and the hatred they face.  It also demonstrates the value Mexican immigrants bring to America.  The book is timeless because it reminds us how easy it is to marginalize whole populations of people.  Whether it's Italians, Irish, Jews, Mexicans, or even now Islamists, we can't seem to stop focusing our hatred and disdain on those we consider outsiders.

A new pair of art sneakers.

Remember when you were a kid and you got a new pair of sneakers.  And you were just sure they made it possible to run faster or jump higher.  Well I'm enjoying the same kind of excitement with the arrival of my new Keds.  Only instead of running faster and jumping higher, I'm expecting these shoes to make me paint better or write more brilliantly.  That's because these kicks are part of Keds Whitney Collection (as in the Whitney Museum of American Art).  And they are designed by one of my favorite artists, Jenny Holzer.  You may recall that not too long ago, the Whitney presented a show of Holzer's work.

As is usually the case with Jenny's work, the shoes feature words.  These words were taken from one of her previous works: "Protect me from what I want."  I read that originally Holzer wanted to use a different line from one of her art works, "The future is stupid."  But the marketers at Keds felt the line wasn't marketable enough.  So she opted for "protect me from what I want."  Is it just me or does the current line seem like a total comment on our consumption-based society and wouldn't Keds want to shy away from that idea.  I guess it just goes to show that maybe the future is stupid. 

Book twenty-four: Consider the Lobster by David Foster Wallace.

Not too long ago I finished reading Trevor Corson's The Secret Life of Lobsters.  One of my friends read my blog post (thanks Jen, not many people actually read my blog), and left a comment that I should read another book Consider the Lobster and Other Essays by David Foster Wallace.  I downloaded the book to my Kindle but never seemed to have a break in my reading schedule to fit it in.  I finally got around to reading it.

This book simultaneously makes me feel smart and stupid.  I feel smart because it's obvious that Wallace is one intelligent guy and brings an intellectual attitude to just about any subject he tackles.  I feel stupid because there are whole swaths of this book that I'm pretty sure I didn't really understand.  And I wouldn't have made it through the book without the on-board Kindle dictionary. Because D.F.W. (he likes to use lots of unexplained acronyms) has an impressive vocabulary (although he also likes to make up his own words).

Many of these essays were written as assignments for major magazines.  And it's interesting to see how Wallace takes a basic, straightforward assignment and turns it into something more philosophical or literary.  A book review turns into an in-depth discussion about the value of grammar and "correct" language usage. An assignment to cover a Maine lobster festival becomes a rumination on sentience in the animal world.  And an assignment to cover presidential candidate John McCain on the campaign trail turns into an epic tale of American politics. 

This is a book for serious readers.  The writing style is modern and experimental.  And it's difficult to keep up with Wallace's obvious intellect.  Some of the essays are already outdated and so are nothing more than the author showing off.  But I still enjoyed the book.  The philosophical nature of many of the essays is rewarding.  And David Foster Wallace has a delightful, subversive sense of humor.  So I say you should consider Consider the Lobster.

A Polaroid imposter.

Sadly, my recent plea to Lady Gaga for the opportunity to take a Polaroid went unanswered.  But that didn't mean the return of the FlirtCam wasn't a huge hit in Vegas. That's right, I was making new friends right and left starting at the Lady Gaga performance. There was Gideon to our right who drove in from Los Angeles with his friend. He ultimately suggested we should meet him after the concert at Krave (either because he loved the Polaroid or because his friend looked really grumpy and we looked like we might be more fun).

There was the older gay couple from Las Vegas on our left who were a little curmudgeony about the photograph until after I gave it to them and then they loosened up and started chatting.

Then, there were the French boys.  At first I thought they were brothers but as the show progressed, I couldn't be sure if they were related or if it was young love.  Felix said they were just "being French." But if that's the case, French brothers sure like to get cozy sitting on each other's laps. Whatever they were, they were positively charming and funny.  And they loved it when I gave them a Polaroid. While I didn't take a second photo of Gideon and the other couple, I did get one of the French boys.  So here it is along with a Polaroid of Felix and me at the concert.

And now for the last photo of the night.  If you can't get Lady Gaga to pose, why not get the next best thing: The Lady Gaga-inspired drag queen at Pirahna's after party.  Here then is Miss CoCo St. James performing as Lady Gaga.  I'm so happy to have the Polaroid back.

Going Gaga.

If you like your arena shows over-the-top with plenty of real pop talent, then get thee to a Gaga show.  I recently saw the Monster Ball Tour starring Lady Gaga at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.  And what a show it was. Flaming piano: check. Massive sets: check. Bleeding religious-inspired statue: check. Instant costume changes with crazy Lady Gaga outfits including a spark-shooting brassiere: check, check, and more checks.  Yes, this show pretty much has it all including a mythic story line that has Lady Gaga facing all kinds of tests including the Fame Monster to successfully make it to the Monster ball.


And the spectacle may not be the best part.  Because Lady Gaga has the musical chops to ensure that her talent isn't overshadowed by the flash. Her vocal performances are near perfect even when she's dancing, writhing, and be hoisted on the shoulders of her dancers her voice never wavers.  She's at her best during the most vulnerable moments in the show; when it's just Lady Gaga and her piano performing and brilliant song like Speechless.


It also seems to me, you can read this show on a deeper level.  Because in her stage performance, like in her music, Lady Gaga seems to take pop/literary references from the past 60 - 80 years and bring them together into something new and inspiring.  Sure that sounds like a lot of credit to give someone who may be just another pop fad.  But consider a few of the concert's themes.  There's the Tinkerbellian idea (yes I just intellectualized Tinkerbell) that you can make another's life better with a simple act of belief.  Or the Wizard-of-Oz-like suggestion that you can only find personal truths after you've gone through the struggle of losing yourself.  There are also bigger mythic literary themes, like the idea of confronting your fears in order to achieve a new level of enlightenment. I could even make comparisons to performance artists like Paul McCarthy or Matthew Barney.


I'm sure a lot of people who saw the show are reading this now and rolling their eyes. But I think Lady Gaga is trying to be bigger than just another top-of-the-charts starlet. Take the messages she delivers during the show, many of which concern gay rights.  I'm surprised that Lady Gaga can pull in such a main stream audience even while confronting controversial issues like gay marriage. It should concern conservatives worried about a shift in public attitudes towards homosexuality.  Because it's not liberal voters who will shift current attitudes.  It's not activist judges.  It's not even the gays and the lesbians themselves.  It's people like Lady Gaga and her fans who will eventually make it so uncool to oppose gay marriage, that few will continue the opposition. That's the kind of music-fueled, social change I haven't seen in a long time.


Enough of my academic thoughts on Lady Gaga. Let's get back to the pure, wild, fun-filled spectacle that is the Monster Ball.  Here are some pictures from the concert.

First, a couple of photos from before the concert as we wait for the mayhem to begin featuring Felix, James, Justin, and me.

You'll have to see the show in person to experience the dramatic opening; my camera just can't capture it.  But these photos give you an idea of what the early part of the performance was like.

From one of my all-time favorite Lady Gaga songs, Boys, Boys, Boys.

The transformation of Lady Gaga.

And a few random shots from the latter part of the show.