CYNTHIA WOODS MITCHELL CENTER FOR THE
ARTS AT UH KICKS OFF 2006 SEASON
Public Events at University to Include Performances,
Art Cars, Theater and High-Tech Artwork
HOUSTON, March 15, 2006 – A visceral multi-media presentation,
an Art Car concerto, music played by an orchestra of amateurs, lively
ensemble theater and a micro-festival of electronic sights and sounds.
Houston will soon be the site for provocative performances and cutting-edge
art thanks to the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts at
the University of Houston.
The center will launch its 2006 season of public events with a
series of performances hosted by the university. Several events
are free of charge and all are open to the public. The center is
in its second year of operation, but is presenting its first full
season of events this year.
“The Mitchell Center’s 2006 season encapsulates the
tremendous creativity that arises from collaboration. These March
and April performances will be dynamic examples what happens when
visual, performing and literary arts are combined successfully,”
said Karen Farber, managing director of the Mitchell Center.
Funded by a recent $20 million grant from George and Cynthia Woods
Mitchell, the center combines the creative forces of UH’s
Creative Writing Program, Blaffer Gallery and Schools of Theatre,
Music and Art. In its second year, the center will host guest artists
and offer inter-disciplinary arts curriculum to students.
The center’s schedule of performances by guest artists is
as follows:
- osseus labyrint – “SWARM”
Known for their enigmatic, physically demanding performances,
Los Angeles-based artists osseus labyrint will project video footage
on their bodies as they investigate the behavior and intelligence
associated with swarm activities. This free event is recommended
for mature audiences as it contains nudity. 8 p.m. Friday, March
31, Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture.
- Stephen Montague - “Horn Concerto” and
“Dark Sun”
This evening of music by composer Montague, consists of two very
unique sections. At 7 p.m. in the Fine Arts Quadrangle (adjacent
to the Moores Opera House), an orchestra of Houston Art Cars (supplied
by the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art) will perform the
“Horn Concerto.” This outdoor event is free to the
public and early arrival is encouraged. Following the outdoor
performance, audiences can proceed to the Moores Opera House for
a presentation of “Dark Sun” performed by UH’s
AURA Contemporary Music Ensemble and the University of Houston’s
Dance Ensemble, and an amateur orchestra. Volunteers are needed
to take the stage along with the musicians to perform in this
monumental work. Interested participants may contact Rob Smith,
director of AURA at 713-743-3163. Admission for “Dark Sun”
is $15 and $10 for students and seniors. 7 p.m., Friday April
7, Moores Opera House.
- The Neo-Futurists - “Too Much Light Makes the
Baby Go Blind”
This free show by one of the country’s best known ensemble
theatre companies is an attempt to perform 30 plays (each written
by a Neo-Futurist) in a single 60 minute production. Visitors
can make an event of the show’s April 14 opening by attending
the evening’s earlier reception for the 2006 School of Art
Masters Thesis Exhibition from 7-9 p.m. in Blaffer Gallery. 9
p.m. Friday, April 14; 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 15, Dudley Recital
Hall.
- Golan Levin, Sue Costabile, Scott Arford, Tree Wave
and more - “Signal Operators, an
Audiovisual Micro-Festival”
This event partners the center with Houston’s micro-cinema
organization, the Aurora Picture Show. It will feature Levin’s
“Scribble,” a semi-improvisational audio/visual concert
featuring computer-generated imagery and sounds. Costabile will
offer her experimental film project “Mini Movies”
complete with live narration and reenacted scenes. Arford’s
“Static Room” combines video signals with audio effects,
and his “TV-IV” combines the sounds created from two
television picture tubes fitted with microphones. Tree Wave’s
performance will combine electronic pop generated by retro-computers
such as the Commodore 64 with imagery reflective of the Atari
age of video games. Admission is $8 and space is limited. 7:30
p.m. Thursday, April 20, Dudley Recital Hall.
All of the guest artists listed above will also work with students
in the center’s academic course titled Theories of Collaboration/The
Intermedia Lab.
Last year, the center hosted its first course, Collaboration Among
the Arts, which grouped student artists from different disciplines
and staged their performances, exhibitions and concerts in Houston
art houses. The center’s 2005 guest performer, artist and
musician Terry Allen, worked with students and performed in the
Wortham Theatre. Blaffer Gallery also displayed Allen’s artwork.
For more information on the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the
Arts, visit http://www.mitchellcenterforarts.
org/ public/default.aspx.
About the University of Houston
The University of Houston, Texas’ premier metropolitan research
and teaching institution, is home to more than 40 research centers
and institutes and sponsors more than 300 partnerships with corporate,
civic and governmental entities. UH, the most diverse research university
in the country, stands at the forefront of education, research and
service with more than 35,000 students.
For more information about UH visit
the university’s ‘Newsroom’ at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.
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