Live Stream // Fever Dream took place on December 9th 2017 at the Gowanus Ballroom, a 10,000 sq/ft former cannonball factory dating back to the 17th century. This event helped solidify the identity of Hidden Currencies as an organization and as a network of artists. It was the event that codified Hidden Currencies' statement of intent, and helped develop the work of the artists involved.
The statement of intent reads as follows:
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An interdisciplinary creative community can prompt artists to explore new dimensions of their art through critiques, demonstrations, and workshops. Artists of different mediums give valuable feedback that will stem from their various backgrounds.
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In the midst of a climate that commoditizes art and music, it is important to create a network of individuals who can hold each other accountable to their ethical standards of making art. This community will facilitate growth outside of what could be attained independently.
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To work with local communities to establish a connecting point for the next generation to engage with art in a variety of mediums.
The full title of the event was Live Stream // Fever Dream: Submission to the ritual of media in the era of Trump. The event was created in response to the tumultuous events of the first two years of the Trump Presidency, many of the themes explored in this event continue to be relevant to the work of the organizations founders, Rebecca Alman, Duncan Figurski, Michael Matchen, and Kai Mote.
Below is the text given to the artists who participated in Livestream // Feverdream.
"The intrusion of media in daily life is so ubiquitous that we are compelled to submit to it. By submitting to it, we are rewarded with access to an overwhelming wealth of human knowledge, but we pay for it with our time and focus. Just as often as we manipulate these tools, we too are manipulated. Our engagement with digital media has formed new deities, rituals, patterns, and “sacred acts” that we engage in daily. We plan to create a church to these practices, so that we can emphasize these rituals as they take place around us in our everyday lives."
Livestream // Feverdream included works by,
Rebecca Alman, Jared Bates, Serena Caffrey, Dey, Tactile Movement Collective, Duncan Figurski, Mac Folger, MAIDN, Kai Mote, O Paradiso, and Twin Primes.
The event was made possible by the work and dedication of over 30 artists as well as knowledge and expertise of the Serett Metalworks staff. None of it could have happened without the radical commitment of the Hidden Currencies community to accessible experimental art. Rebecca Alman, Duncan Figurski, Michael Matchen, and Kai Mote all exchanged labor at the Foundry for access to the space. All materials and production costs were came out of the pockets of event organizers. Many of the materials comprising the installations were found objects in the streets of Brooklyn.
Below is a description of the three unique works that I contributed to the event outside of the collaborative installations.
The first piece was a miniature theater that played livestream footage of the event on the screen. When the viewer peered into the oculus they would see themselves looking into the piece. This work was directly inspired by Bruce Nauman as well as Inland Empire by David Lynch. The first video is the footage of the surveillance piece that was also broadcasted live on Facebook.
My second piece was a ritual sacrifice in which I shaved my hair in front of a live audience. With the bombardment of media in the modern world one can find themselves put into a trancelike or meditative state. The sheer breadth of content blends into a mental white noise; where Buddhists try to empty their minds, those in the cult of the Feverdream attempt to fill it to the brim in order to reach Nirvana through the back door.
My final work was a video projection that was the visual backdrop for a dance choreographed by Mac Folger and Rebecca Walden. This can be seen below the surveillance video and above the photo documentation of the event. This video plays with digital breath and movement, becoming more and more saturated depending on how much movement is in the frame. This video is the memory of a calm and empty natural world, distorted in a manic and bacchanalian interpretation of Alvin Lucier's 'I am sitting in a room'. Finally the work arrives at a point where the visuals are no longer distinguishable and it is a manifestation of visual code. This video has no sound because it was accompanied by an improvisation led by conductor Martin Yazdzik and performed by his students.
