Per Formative Poesis

A performative sculpture of language and sound

by Rebecca Novak with Steve Jansen, Randi Long, Sarah Rodriguez, Berenice Pineda Suchilt, and Ronnie Yates

Part theater, part sculptural installation, Per Formative Poiesis combines improvised sound, live script writing, poetry and acting in a theatrical performance addressing questions about the nature of performativity and identity, while recreating on a micro-scale the daily process of synthesizing disparate pieces of information to discover new meanings and connections in order to foster an understanding of self in relation to environment.

Each act begins with synchronized regulation wrestling timers that mark time for both performers and audience. During the course of the performance, actor becomes scriptwriter, philosopher becomes poet, and musician becomes actor while language is abstracted into image and sound.

Poiesis is an ancient Greek verb meaning “to make.” The term is referenced in its most broad context, connoting a shaping of time and space by the performers both individually and together as a group, thus transforming experience and creating the world anew.

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Parliament of Owls, on view through August 15, 2015.

Image: untitled painting by Berenice Pineda Suchilt