     The release party for ARTIFICE issue 4 was warm, crowded and energetic. We had an amazing crowd--thanks to Elegant Mr. Gallery and all that came to celebrate and support ARTIFICE and contributors like me! And of course, thanks to Tadd, Ian and the others who put together this great event. Here are some of the photos I took of the space. I have a somewhat odd, cat-like habit of exploring the entire space of any venue in which I read or perform, well before I step before the audience or start my set. I'm not sure why; in this case, it seems like it's partly to capture some images! Certainly it's important for me to build an impression of a space before I can work within it. Taking these pictures gave me a relationship to my physical location and a context within which my body and voice would work. Actually, the ARTIFICE folks seemed to be thinking along these lines too. Hidden portable devices docked at opposite sides of the room played looped, non-synchronized audio versions of some of the pieces in the fourth issue (including mine). This was a really effective way of inhabiting the space and creating a whole environment, almost a walk-in version of the magazine! Once the crowd got larger, the murmur of those voices was lost under the roar of the immediate, "live" voices. But I still liked knowing it was there. I enjoyed reading with Steve Gillies, Jen Gann, Josh Kleinberg, Rebecca Elliot and Devin King. Personal highlights include Devin's engaging performance of "Why, the decision on your part, to learn to sing" (his contribution to the fourth issue), and Meghan Lamb's video adaptation of Catherine Gammon's "Kafka Writes to Romeo/Romeo Writes Back." For those who missed out, there are plans to produce a DVD collection of video poems associated with this issue. Not all of the videos created by and with ARTIFICE contributors were screened; some were meant for the smaller format of a computer or TV display and not scaled for projection. And of course, ARTIFICE #4 is available for sale online and at various actual locations! Get it while you can--there won't be another, and this one is gorgeous! |
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