After Nauman: Performance Press

Justin Morrison goes ‘After Nauman'

Local artist teams up with Space Time to debut dance and film experience at Sandbox

Rachel Michelle Fernandes April 25, 2018

In Bruce Nauman’s groundbreaking two short films from 1967-68, Dance or Exercise on the Perimeter of a Square (Square Dance), and Walking in an Exaggerated Manner Around the Perimeter of a Square, the artist films himself performing in the most minimal of senses. As the titles of both pieces accurately describe, Nauman, who is not a trained dancer, executes a series of repetitive actions within a tight set of boundaries. By giving himself a narrow range of rules, Nauman calls into question the role of an artist’s body as material and demonstrates how the movements of that body can serve as gestures, not unlike brush strokes.

The works are striking and a huge contribution to the canon of contemporary art. However, they are rarely screened.

“We're kind of asking a question like, what's after this?” says artist, dancer and choreographer Justin Morrison. Along with 15 performers and in collaboration with the group Space Time, Morrison is presenting a two-hour durational installation they are calling After Nauman. It incorporates the two Nauman films (which are to be projected in a loop) and opens Sunday, April 29 at a new space called the Sandbox (325 15th St.) at 7 p.m.

“Here are these super minimalist, physical explorations by a dude,” notes Morrison. “What happens when the dancer's body takes hold of it? What happens when a female body or a queer body takes hold of it? And how do we move from this kind of really discreet, rather dry formalism into something that's more about appetites and desire and about communal or interdependent actions?”

For Morrison, in addition to taking on canonical masculine figures like Nauman, the appetite for the communal seems to be voracious. The San Diego native returned in 2016 after spending time in New York, San Francisco, Amsterdam and Seoul, and has been actively working to expand and strengthen the creative scene in San Diego ever since. As a resident of the live/work community Space 4 Art in the East Village, Morrison not only shares his space with his partner Victor Adrian De La Fuente (who’s also collaborating on After Nauman), he’s also constantly putting out the call for artists by opening up the communal spaces within Space 4 Art for weekly gatherings. Morrison hopes these actions bring about some of the creative connectivity that he’s seen in other cities.

“The status quo here doesn't satisfy me,” Morrison explains. “I have to have more. I want people coming through all the time. I want interesting conversations. There's not very much incentive for artists to stick around if we don't have some regularity to our interactions.”

Performers:

nic casado 

Victor De La Fuente is a visual artist and performer from Calexico, CA. His current work integrates video and performative sculpture to create personas influenced by queer identity and mexican american culture. viktordelafuente.com

Marcos Duran is a graduate student at UC San Diego pursuing an MFA in Dance Making and Performance after 9 years of performing and making work in NYC. His San Diego credits include Jean Issac's SDDT, Malashock Dance, and most recently Yolande Snaith at UCSD. He holds a BFA in Dance from UC Santa Barbara. marcosduranmoves.com

 Chloë Freeman is a dancer and a pianist. This summer Chloe will begin her certification in Somatics and Social Justice in Philadelphia. instagram.com/chenoa93

Katy Gilmore is a video and dance artist, whose work takes the form of installation, live video projection, and improvisatory dance works. katy-gilmore.com

Krista Kaye graduated from San Diego State University with a BFA in Dance in 2016 and continues to work in the San Diego region. Her ongoing interest in collaborative making and improvisation as choreography guide her research and creative work. kristakaye.com

 Ariadna Sáenz Marín is an Artist (musician / dancer / painter) and Neuroscientist from Spain. Her interests focus on the intersection between Art and Science, in particular how specific spatio-temporal brain waves are associated with distinct emotional states and motor behaviors through Sound and Movement. ariadna-saenz.com

Anna Brown Massey is a dance artist and NACHMO co-founder. She is a lecturer at San Diego State University in movement and theory practices, and received her MFA in Dance from the Ohio State University. annabrownmassey.com

 Justin Morrison is a dancer, teacher and performance maker presently serving as Lecturer in Dance at San Diego State University. He is a resident of Space4Art, an artist run live/work space. To find out how to contribute to sustainable housing and work space for artists visit sdspace4art.org and justinmorrison.net

 Naomi O'Connor is a San Diego-based artist whose current work explores how variables such as learned gender, body-focused repetitive behaviors, and US workplace expectations shape acquaintance with one's own physicality and movement possibilities. She employs a sociological lens that is difficult for her to take off. naomioconnor.webstarts.com

 Aubrhe Yruretagoyena is a mixed-media dance artist currently living and making in San Diego, CA. She’s a good girl, loves her mama, loves Jesus and America too.