Margaret Wiss/Mike Brun + Cheryl Schainfeld
Apr 25–May 8, 2021
“by side by” by Margaret Wiss + Mike Brun
Tell us about the artwork . What makes it unique?
“by side by” is a visual meditation, a continuum. Begun March 21, 2020, the movement sequences confront the constants and variables of place and time during the coronavirus pandemic. Margaret Wiss' solitary gyre slowly and reverently communing with the ever-changing landscape is complemented by the spare and evocative piano composition of Mike Brun. The repeated ritual, sensual as it is restrained, solitary as it is connected, is a panorama of resilience and hope. This piece was originally planned for the stage, but with COVID morphed into a remote collaboration.
“As a choreographer and dancer lacking formal space, people, touch, and a community, I was forced to reassess what dance meant to me. During this time, the landscape is my primary collaborator, emphasizing the absence of others but also the presence of space, time, and nature. This work reminds me to have hope in these turbulent and seemingly directionless times.”
Tell us about yourself. How did you come to be an artist in video/digital media?
Margaret: I am a dancer and choreographer based in Boston. My creative practice embraces many disciplines including film and science. I have my MFA in Dance from NYU's Tisch School for the Arts in which I studied the language of collaboration in the creative process. With two artists as parents, my introduction to video and digital media started at a young age. The documentation and manipulation of technology with dance either on stage or on film are integral to my practice. My own screendances have been selected for numerous arts and film festivals including Boston’s 2020 Art Fair “Area Code”. In 2018, I founded Xsection Film Festival, a Boston-based event sparking interdisciplinary collaboration between dance, science, and film.
“Origin” and “Stretch” by Cheryl Schainfeld
Tell us about the artwork. What makes it unique?
“Origin” refers to the human condition, our existence, joy, sorrow, resilience, struggle and strength. The uniqueness lies in each of us. To convey that I mix form and abstraction with various motions and depths.
“Creating a painting or artwork is similar to choreographing a dance or composing music. Each element has its own function and character that interacts both on its own and as a whole in the composition. Making a mark has both predictable and unpredictable outcomes. This contradiction excites me. ”
Tell us about yourself. How did you come to be an artist in video/digital media?
I started creating digital art in the early 80’s on workstations before personal computers were commonplace. I started a broadcast design company in 1988 that specialized in motion graphics for corporate and educational TV. I have been using digital programs for decades as well as traditional media to create work.