N S M G 1

ART & PERFORMANCE CELEBRATION

A tribute to Mother Earth

Art Direction and production: Monique Allain

April 22nd 2023 - 1:30 PM / 6:30 PM

New Darlington, North Salem, NY

PROGRAM

1:30 - Landing and gathering

2:00 - Bob Kotch and Elliot Semel - Jazz

Bob (Alto Sax) and Elliot (Piano) will be performing two Jazz pieces: "Birth of the Blues" and "Moanin' ".

Jazz is a uniquely American form of music, both in birth and evolution, although it is now global in nature. We will perform two pieces. Birth of the Blues, outlined the early evolution of the blues form. Moanin’ set the standard for the hard-bop jazz movement in the 50’s.

2:20 - Alexandra Kohl - Visual Arts - Horsehair Weavings

The artist will speak about the process of her work and how she came to using the materials.

Alexandra draws inspiration from the healing spirit, elegance, and strength of horses. She feels most at home when working with her hands, whether focusing on her craft or outdoors completing farm work. Alexandra is interested in new perspectives created from human interaction with natural materials. Through weaving, she hand-places strands of horsehair into forms that juxtapose organic and geometric.

2:40 - Edward R. Cassano - Ocean Exploration - Visualizing the Deep-Sea

Using images and short video captured during remotely operated vehicle (ROV) science operations Ed will share rare images of the deep-sea environment. Ed’s company Pelagic Research Services developed, owns, and operates the 6000-meter ROV System Odysseus to support science and exploration work to understand the deep-sea.

Images were collected from several research projects in Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone – about 1200 miles west of Costa Rica and offshore of Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

3:00 - Anita Zander & Helen Houghton - Classical Music

Anita (Flute) and Helen (Piano) will play two musical pieces that are delicate and lyrical: “Minuet and Dance of the Blessed Spirits” since it is such a lovely piece, with a melody that will be familiar to the audience. The second piece, "Morceau de Concours" is short and really magical in its lyricism.

“Minuet and Dance of the Blessed Spirits”: from the opera Orpheus and Eurydice, by Christoph Willibald Gluck, was produced in 1762 and is the oldest work of its kind. The tranquil and lovely abode of the blest where the good spirits in Hades find rest, is the setting for the “Minuet and Dance of the Blessed Spirits.”

“Morceau De Concours”: by the French composer Gabriel Urbain Faure (1845-1934) is a one-movement work, a beautiful arabesque with flowing lines that allow the performer to demonstrate her lyrical abilities in lovely waves of sound. The piece was composed while Faure was professor of composition at the Paris Conservatoire and was used as a test of the flautist’s musicianship.

3:20 - Leslie Connito - Visual Arts

Leslie is a New York artist who works in various media, investigating concepts of time, memory, disintegration, permanence and impermanence. Her oil paintings and mixed media art reflect everyday life and often include snippets of culture, politics, history, music, art history, and endangered species, which are painted into the images in layers. She uses symbols as narrative tools in her oil paintings, mixed media work, and encaustics. Her expressionistic work contains elements of conceptualism, surrealism and narrative art.

Leslie will present three artworks: “Cognitive Structure”, “Lobster Rhetoric”, and “Endangered Species”. The works are are good examples of a combination of these elements.

3:40 - Regina Jehá - Documentary

Regina, a Brazilian filmmaker will present a fragment of her recently released film, Frans Krajcberg: Manifesto. The film highlights the tireless struggle that Krajcberg undertook throughout his life, until his death in 2017, for the preservation of the Amazon. One of Regina's great motivations, when showing the work of this internationally acclaimed artist, is to keep his work alive, to awaken the public to the importance of the engagement and voice of each one of us in the struggle for the preservation of the environment.

4:00 - Thomas O'Brien & Charles Cecil - Indie-folk-rock originals

Thom O'Brien, a singer and songwriter born in Westchester, recently released his first album. He will play guitar and share songs from it with us. After his solo performance, Charles Cecil will accompany him.

4:30 - Monique Allain - Visual Arts - Studio visit

Monique Allain is a French/Brazilian/Mexican ARTI(vi)ST which supports life with peace in a sustainable environment through connections with Earth and others. She moved her art studio from São Paulo to North Salem in August 2022 and will open it.

4:40 - Gathering - Let's celebrate life!

Each presentation will last 5 to 10 minutes. There will be a short break between presentations, so that we can connect and exchange impressions.

Concept

The MAKERS GATHERINGS (MGs) are private, intimate, affective and poetic situations of celebration and exchange between artists and creators. Participants with diverse backgrounds, filmmakers, musicians, photographers, dancers, performers and artists, make short presentations, talking to the public about their latest production, and sharing a little behind the scenes of their work.
I believe that what transform are experiences that emotionally touch. Art and poetry, great transforming agents, promote political, social and environmental reflections, essentials at the present moment, for the construction of a more fair and human society.

MGs are collective constructions in which friends, public and presenters, in close harmony, establish connections and expand their horizons. We all together make the spectacle happen!

Several of these gatherings were produced while I was living in Brazil. In June 2018, the first US MG broke out in a spontaneous and uncontained way, responding to the desire to gather stimulating people, make new friends, and celebrate the moment with creation. Minimally planned, the event happened in Brooklyn and there was no record. The enthusiasm of the participants was such that it fostered the desire to make more MGs. The second one then came out in November 2018. It was amazing!

It's time to enjoy a new edition in North Salem.

This NSMG is a tribute to Mother Earth! We care about the environment.

Enjoy!

PRESENTERS

Alexandra Kohl

Website: AlexandraKohl.com Instagram: AlexandraKohlDesign

Bob Kotch and Elliot Semel

E-mail: Bobkotch@gmail.com

Edward R. Cassano

Website: pelagic-services.com E-mail: ecassano@pelagic-services.com

Anita Zander & Helen Houghton

Leslie Connito