MIXOLYDIAN (all things counter)

Single channel video, continuous loop installation

PROJECT DESIGNERS: Daniel Cosentino and Juanita Suarez
SOUND DESIGN: Daniel Cosentino and Juanita Suarez
PERFORMERS: Sheilah Bonilla, Yolexis Gonzalez, Zurisaday Moreno

This collaboration explores the elements of identity and time through extended video portraiture and conversation performance. We began by recording an unscripted conversation between three Latina dance performers, and then gradually applied a visual compositional structure until a formal hybrid of both sound and imagery emerged. The meaning of the performers’ conversation in Spanish remained unknown to the artists, and, reciprocally, the camera observations were withheld from the performers. Previous to this collaboration, Juanita had observed the formal and informal habits of the dancers and desired to concentrate on their experience within American culture. Similarly, Daniel studied the visual structure of portraiture and chose a combination of passive and assertive elements to extend the experience of watching and being watched into the artistic process. In repeated loops, the performers engage the viewer and each other through eye contact, casual conversation and the process of artistic collaboration. The imagery and the sound for Mixolydian were recorded in the dancers’ studio environment under the direction of Juanita during several informal meetings. The Mixolydian installation was then constructed with projection and sound in Daniel’s studio.