Here are the posters that I did:

check this out:

thanks to Chris Moore and Mike (the SFU web master) for making it happen.

Today Ron, Sam and I went to check out Ironworks Studios and Video In, both in Vancouver. We talked to the coordinators and got a chance to look around, take some measurements and some pictures. Here is a little summary:

Ironworks Studio
Floor Plan
Pictures
1. Located at the corner of Main and Alexander in a really old building (and by that I mean really old!)
2. It has a really high ceiling, hence making it difficult for lighting the rooms.
3. There are 3 major rooms available. Rooms B and C are an add-on option for renting A because where the entrance is located. The rate for those rooms is $100 per room.
4. All rooms have very large windows, but she said that they could be covered by black materials.
5. Room A has a small stage too.
6. There are two washrooms but not kitchen.
7. Their insurance will not cover our equipment and we need our own licence to serve alcohol.
8. Once the studio has been rented, we would have from 6 PM to 12 AM for our event. That includes the clean up. Each extra hour is $30 extra.
9. If we decide to serve alcohol then the rent would be $650. If they serve alcohol the rent is $450 and they will keep the profit.

Video In
1. Close to Main St. skytrain station and there is free street parking after 6 PM.
2. There is a lighting grid availble.
3. There is one large room: 41x45 with at least two power sockets on each wall and no windows.
4. There is a washroom and a kitchen.
5. There is no insurance and we can not serve alcohol.
6. The place is open 24 hours a day, but if we were to rent after 6 PM it would cost extra since there will be a person staying there to monitor the place.
7. We are allowed to use their cheap sound system and they have one projector that we could use.
8. Their fee goes by the hour. Since we are students they will charge us $10 an hour for their normal hours (before 6 PM) and $25/hr for after 6 PM.
9. They are booked pretty much every Friday and Saturday of April, but there are some Sundays and Thursdays available.

I just got this email from Video In:

I too experienced the SFU theatre production of Burnt Tongue along side Stan and Sam. Before the show even started, Stan and I were discussing our general dislike for live theatre. We both felt that the over-acted sort of fake nature of it was not all that appealing to us. Most of the exposure I have to live theatre is at a very amateur level, such as that found in high school plays. Therefore, I have never really been too impressed by it. I have always thought that it takes a certain kind of person to really get into theatre, many characteristics in which I do not exhibit. For one, you must be very willing to participate in the production itself as audience interaction plays a huge role. If you are not all that energetic and overly outgoing then it can be kind of demanding. This is the type of atmosphere I expected from this particular play so we decided to sit further back in the theatre to take a more observational position. Right of the bat you could see the diversity of the audience in this aspect. Many people packed the front few rows while others tended to drift outwards beyond the aisles and further up. The play started without much delay and with no introduction. The star (and only talent) in the play entered from the same doors as the rest of the audience and worked her way down to the stage. The play itself was moderately entertaining with some strong and weak points but the interaction with the audience was truly engaging. The dynamics of this interaction was most interesting and very humorous. Only willing participants were repeatedly involved and fueled the progression of the second half of the play. Over all, I was fairly impressed by the production which allowed all types of people to enjoy it. If you really wanted to, you could be a very active participant but you could also sit back and simply enjoy the show if that suited you better.

Last week I also went to the SFU Theater to see Burnt Tongue. This is a clown piece, created and performed by Shannan Calcutt. Burnt Tongue is the first piece of the Izzy Trilogy. In this episode we are introduced to Izzy, an anxious, chronic dater , whose efforts at love and relationships appear doomed. She has met a man on the internet and decided this is it, this is the guy. She arrives to meet him wearing a wedding dress, yet insists she's not a planner. I personally think that she did a great job. The beauty of her work was in its simplicity. For the most part she was the one who ran the show, except the couple of occasional audience members that she picked and brought to the stage. Live theater is something that that doesn’t interest me much. In fact I can’t even remember the last time I went to see a live performance. But overall I enjoyed this show mostly because it made me laugh.

Thanks to Beth I got in touch with Astrid who is one of the coordinators at Ironworks Studio. It seems that the rent for the main space (2500 sq ft) is $450 per day. I am hoping that we work out a special arrangement with them so that we would get the place for a lot cheaper or even free...

This week I visited the SFU Art Gallery for the Aganetha Dyck exhibition. The title of the show is “An Inter Species Communication Attempt”. Her main focus is the collaboration with bees and has been doing so ever since 1991. She accomplishes this by placing articles/objects into apiary and having the bees create wax and honeycomb creating encrusted sculptures.

In a face to face talk with Aganetha Dyck, I revealed a bit more about the art she has created.

- begin -

Aganetha: …
Ron: So how long does it take for one of these sculptures to be created?
Aganetha: Over ten years, but I work on multiple objects at a time.
Ron: How much control do you have over the bees while they are making these?
Aganetha: Not much at all, I have little intervention with the bees. I help to start the piece and the bees set it in motion. I sometimes move the objects or do some fine work, but it is mostly the bees doing the artistic work.
Ron: What have you been experimenting with lately?
Aganetha: I’ve been trying to combine digital technology into my work, using computers and such.
Ron: How do you use them?
Aganetha: Well actually my son is into computers a lot, and I’ve been working with him on imaging art. For example we would place objects and bees on top of a scanner and have the image scanned in timed intervals. The result is a beautiful image captured by the scanner of the bees at work and in motion.
Ron: Have you found success in this new approach of yours?
Aganetha: I have, and I am realizing the different mediums that you can work with. Bees are just wonderful, they are hard workers and their work has always fascinated/impressed me.
Ron: What do you want to show from these pieces?
Aganetha: I want to explore the world of bees, what they do, and how they communicate with the nature and their surroundings. That is why I like to call this exhibit: “Inter Species Communication Attempt”.
Ron: …

- end of conversation -

I later took pictures of the exhibit to show the type of work on display. She explained that a lot of her other artwork are being displayed in Winnipeg and Toronto.

Now I will talk a bit about the setup for this show. The Art Gallery was closed for 4 days for the setup of this exhibition. The total setup time for this exhibit was around 15-18 hours. Task included: Repainting and touch up of the walls, cleaning the glass for the 2D art display case, lighting and power setup, table setup, exhibit arrangement for the 3D art, labels and description, guestbook, flyers and posters. There are also other internal tasks that need to be accomplished including: Insurance for the artwork, research on the artist (Cultural significance), preparing for opening night and advertising for the show. Preparations and Groundwork for the internal tasks were made months before the opening of the show.

Because this artist is in the Canadian Art committee and has a license to exhibit her work, she doesn’t have to pay to exhibit her work. SFU is actually paying her $16,000 dollars to have her work displayed in the SFU Art Gallery for 2 weeks.

During the setup stage, the curator assists in the placement and setup of the show; the artist will give comments and suggestions throughout the process. The curator usually knows where to put the artwork, at what level, how close to one another, how the lighting will affect the work and how to group the pieces. I learned that in order to be a successful curator, a lot of preparation and planning must be in order. Knowing the artist’s pass and present work is also very important as there will be people asking questions about the exhibit throughout the show. Doing research on the artist is also important so you know what to write for the description and labels for the show. Constant communication with the artist is also important so that the intended message will be evident within/during the exhibition.

Well I just came back from seeing “Izzy” the clown up at the SFU Theater. The premise of the performance is that Izzy the clown (played by Shannan Calutt) is waiting to meet her blind date that she met on the Internet. At first the stage is empty and all you see are a clock on a stand and a park bench. Then Izzy came in from the theater doors and makes her way down to the stage. At this point the performance has already started. Right from the beginning the audience begins to laugh. And after one stops laughing she is still able to keep you smiling at the same time. Izzy also includes the audience in the performance as well. Asking the audience questions and even asked for some participation. It was a very interesting and entertaining performance. Her emotions would go from happy to sad and back and forth. It was well done and I enjoyed the show.

We received a total of five feedback comments for the name and since it has been ten days... the name of the event is now officially inter play.
Thanks to all those people who voted.

Well Stan and I had a meeting with Rusty today and he is very willing to help us with our production. So stay tuned for more updates.

I just recieved a response back from Video In too! Here is what I got:

Interesting! Certainly something that we would have to consider at this point...

Some bad news and some good news (good news for next year's class anyway!)...
The bad news is that Surrey Art Gallery emailed me back and you guessed it..! They are all booked. In fact they do their booking a year in advance. But on the other hand they are expressing their interest in working with SFU Surrey for the next year's show. Here is the email I received: