A visual interview ' with Found's Tommy Perman
From tunnel parties to jailhouse rocking, Scotland is a great place to experience explosive new crossover forms of music A and art. Laura Cameron Lewis of Edinburgh theatre/performance group Highway Diner, investigates a new wave of multi-disciplinary
work going on today.
l-.\change spent their titne at art school lighting against the l'eeling that anything outside the spectrum ol‘ their tutot“s espertise w as irreleyant or more precisely. ungradahle.‘
(‘omprising an illustrator. a sculptor. an es-painter. and a l'an/ine editor. rebellious dance/punk group Shitdisco. playing The .-\rches in October as part of .\'.lll:“s latest tour. l‘ormed l'rom a multi- artl'orm proposal l'or (‘ahin lischange. 'liltc) tlc‘st‘l'llic their present ttl'llsllL‘ output as 'dancing music‘. Whether \ isual and musical l‘orms are interehangeahle. band member Darren (’ullum's \iew is that 'dil'l'erent media are tools rather than genres l have to choose to represent its an ttt'lislf
(ilasgow theatre group Twelve Stars ha\e shilted in the opposite direction. l'rom music into perl‘ormance art. (ierard .\lclnulty and ('arolyn Allen. former members ol' liactory Records hand The Wake. are core members ol' the company and have herl'ormed at The .-\rches. (‘C‘A and 'l‘ramway. 'l‘heir upcoming prodttction 1):) / .llt'tm Anything To You (H .-lm I .lusl l’ussing By." is a theatre/music perl‘ormance with The l’aslcls. being developed at the Arts l’ractice stttdio in (ilasgow beliore translcrring to the 'l‘raverse in November. (‘ross—artl'orm fertilisation is very important to the group. as writer/direclor .\lclnu|ty explains: ‘ll‘ there's such a thing as new theatre. or il‘ there‘s e\ er going to be. I think it's very important to pay attention to advances elsewhere. in other areas ol‘ creativity. Not just to rel'er to them but to he changed by themf
linvironmental arts group EmergeD. curated by Kirsten Lloyd. have taken charge of the programme at the ’l‘raverse throughout October. bringing together Scottish artists from different disciplines in formal organisation. A recent limergel) event saw up-and-coming noise-makers Wounded Knee. l'surper. Hockeyl'rilla and Kylie Minoise install themselves within a giant sculpture by artist Scott Laverie at the Scottish Storytelling Centre. Expect the Traverse programme to be absolutely nothing like that at all. However.
the quartet of
lidinburgh noisesmiths will be taking centre stage at INFEST. a new development in The Arches‘ annual lnstal l'estiVal which showcases the best ol- emerfigent Scottish perltirmance/art/ntiise in a fieriesol’ potentially riotoUs late night slots.
:\lso in October. the ConFAB group ol' poets will perl'orm llidden (‘ity 2. a site- specilic poetry. mttsic and performance night around some ol' (ilasgow‘s underused spaces. l’erl‘ormance poet Rachel .lury. who came tip with the idea. suggests that the current glut ol‘ cross- tit‘tlot‘tii work may have something to do with changes in our national attitude. "l‘here‘s a l'reedom to creating in Scotland that is supported by an openness and willingness . . . It‘s an interesting time to he living in Scotland -— as the identity is changing since devolution. in very good ways on the whole.~
('ross-artl'orm work pushes the edge of
critical and cultural debate. articulating issues and possibilities that are current and up to date. in a way that established artl‘orms can take years to catch up with. litigaging with audiences in an immediate. and l'un environment. they remind us that art ispbuut life. Having a l'l'tttwarming'.’ Ma‘ke a memorable impression on your new neighbours and hOok Shitdisco to play live in your living room. Fancy seeing a hand‘.’ Why not don some cardboard and charge at your mates in time to the music at Boxwars at the (‘athouse or the l‘orest (tire-2 You‘_l be pl'tH‘tikL‘tl. you‘ll think. and hel . . . you might eV'en have a bloody ‘good time while you're at it. ‘
Shitdisco, Arches, Glasgow, 5 Oct; EmergeD curate T erse Cu'bed Visual Art; Travege, Edinburgh, from 29 Oct; Do I Mean Anything To You Or Am I Just Passing By?,‘1raverse,'-‘." -' Edinburgh, 21 Nov; Hidden City 2, Glasgow, 8 Oct, 05; Fifteen Minut‘ Diner, Traverse, Nov; Box Wars, Cathous‘e, ' Glasgow, 23 Sep.
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5) Who are you inspired by?
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