birds and clouds from one life to another

Description of the project

‘See those cranes flying in great arcs!
The clouds beneath them have drawn alongside now,
Moving with them, as if leaving one life, They enter another.
…
That clouds and cranes should share their flight with
The lovely sky, which they cover so swiftly
…
You may ask: how long have you been together? A short while.
And how long before you will part? Soon. Such is for lovers love’s brief stay’ – Bertolt Brecht, The Lovers
birds and clouds from one life to another by Sydney-and Berlin-based artist Sylvia Schwenk and German artist Nikola Dicke, centres around two works of participatory works of performance art which combine poetry, music, a revolutionary way of flying model planes (model planes are usually flown individually and competitively), origami crane workshops, origami-crane-flying, relationship building and food.
In the first work of performance art, a group of model plane pilots from various clubs in Germany and Holland fly their model planes together as a group, performing a work choreographed to music that echoes the flights and movements of birds. The pilots practiced the work over many months within their own clubs and came together for the first time on the day of the performance, rehearsing the work in its totality on the morning and then presenting the performance ‘live’ in the afternoon. The pilots wearing matching clothing of red, grey and white – the colours of a type of crane – also perform on the ground as equally as their planes perform in the sky.
In the second performance, people from the surrounding area who the artists invited to perform, together with some of the pilots and spectators present an origami-crane-flight-performance. The work starts with origami crane workshops that see small origami crane folding, the creation of large origami crane sculptures from 9sqm of paper by groups of people working together and culminates in an origami-crane-flight performance where 10 people ‘fly’ 5 large origami cranes over green fields in a choreographed work, all set to an original piece of music.
birds and clouds from one life to another, references Bertolt Brecht’s poem The Lovers in its title and in the nature of this major work of art – just as birds and clouds are only together for a short while in the poem, so too is the joining of the 300 or so people who attended or participated in this art event. The work builds relations across people from different demographics: model plane pilots from Germany and Holland, Origami performers, school children who perform in the work or help with the event, their school teachers, friends, family, and colleagues, as well as art audiences and spectators.
The project also creates dynamic and strong works of art – the works of performance art themselves and works that re-present the performance in different mediums to different audiences at different times, such as DVDs, installations, text pieces, photographs and sculptures.

About the artist

www.schwenk.com.au
Sylvia Schwenk is a German born artist who lives and works in Sydney Australia and Berlin Germany. Her practice is interdisciplinary and looks at the relationship between performance and the everyday and reflects upon the significance and beauty of commonplace activities and spaces. Sometimes she simply captures a moment and other times she creates socially based works of participatory performance art that are performed in the urban landscape of different cities by everyday-people-cum-performers.
Sylvia performs and exhibits her work both nationally and internationally, with shows in Australia, Canada, Germany, India, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United States, and Vietnam. She is the recipient of numerous commissions, including a recent commission from the European Union, and has also received many awards, grants and scholarships, and her work is held in public and private art collections.
Sylvia received her Doctorate from Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney AU and has also studied at the Köln International School of Design, and the Universität der Künste Berlin, DE. She has completed numerous artist residencies, including the Künstlerdorf Schöppingen, DE, and albb Saigon. Sylvia is also an emerging writer and presents conference papers and lectures about performance art and her artistic practice.

www.nikoladicke.de
www.graffiti-mobil.de
Nikola Dicke is German-based artist whose work develops new techniques to overcome old boundaries. In her installations made of slide-projectors and flood lights her hand-drawn miniatures become large-scaled Light-drawings that stretch into the third dimension and change the surrounding space. Nikola Dicke’s works question our viewing habits of our everyday life - they provide new and fascinating experiences.
Nikola Dicke studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Münster, Germany, with Michael van Ofen und Ludmilla von Arseniew, with whom she completed her Master's degree. She is the recipient of numerous art prizes and scholarships including the Stiftung Künstlerdorf Schöppingen and DA, Kunsthauses Kloster Gravenhorst.

 

About been out, vol. 1
been out, vol. 1 is an all-arts competition for young artists exploring the parameters of art in the generation of digital natives. In these times of cross media and viral marketing, the open competition been out, vol. 1, organised by Bohème Précaire in cooperation with 2010LAB.tv, questions the art of the digital natives. Do they still know the meaning of art? Is there still a trade based on art?

According to the free-associating motto “go out, be out, include the outside”, the applicants should question and revalue the gridlocked meanings of urbanity, arts, architecture, and private and public sphere.

kunst.labor is the online-gallery of been out, vol. 1.
Further information: www.bohemeprecaire.com
And: www.facebook/beenout