Art; from Jhim Wayne cut outs t deac
3 bird
POETS from Page 7
All of the artists wen at one time
members of the shortlived Coali
tion of Regional Artists, which
began last summer. The group worked
together on "Birds: From Heaven or
Near It," a few exhibits, and some film
projects.
CORA dissolved in the fall and
donated leftover funds and such to
other art organizations. Shanks and
Lewis cite the amount of work, mone
tary difficulties and the lack of volun
teer time as reasons for disbanding
CORA.
"Most of us wanted to do more
things on our own. Why not make profit
for an artist instead of an organiza
tion?" Lewis said.
The form of "Birds," which was per
formed last June at the 11th Street
Gallery, was developed by the artists
just sitting around a tape recorder talk
ing. The group hit on birds for some
reason and discovered that each one of
them had an anecdote or an idea on the
subject. During the most informal part
of the performance the artists just
relate personal experiences with birds.
"One of us had been to a wedding
where the bride's family was very
wealthy. They had purchased hundreds
of white birds and contained them
under a sheet next to the ceiling above
the altar. The birds were supposed to
be released when the couple were
finally married," Lewis said.
"The area next to the ceiling got very
warm and when the sheet was pulled
away hundreds of dead, heat-stricken
birds fell onto the couple."
While the bartender at the Drum
stick read C.S. Lewis' "Perelan
dria," Mark Harper and his per
formance group "God" are playing to a
nearly empty house.
The show begins with the showing of
a film called "Waves" by Patrick Car
rey. While the images of waves, sand
and sea creatures rattle through a 16
mm projector onto a white sheet, Harper
hands out balloons and introduces his
mother, who is wearing roller skates, to
the audience.
Using the rock V roll format that
made Laurie Anderson one of the most
popular performance artists, Harper
incorporates film, evangelical scream
ing poetry, tape loops, the shrill cries of
dolls, belly dancing lessons, lots of odd
percussion, a lifesize cut-out of John
Wayne and a catchy bunch of original
songs into his performance.
This particular night, Harper puts
his hands through the Wayne cut out
and plays guitar while singing "Honky
Tonk Woman" through a mouth hole.
The attitude of the audience is one
of stunned appreciation. The bartender
continues to read "Perelandria."
On the other end of the spectrum
there is John Moran, whose main
interest is opera.
Moran's work room reflects the nature
of his work. His obsessions with reli
gious iconography, gothicism, mysti
cism and modern art are all apparent in
the "decor." Crucifixes adorn the walls,
an expensive synthesizer stands in the
center of the room and Moran hunches
over a parchment-colored staff sheet
meticulously drawing note after note
Thursday, February 6, 1986
like a monk illuminating script.
A child prodigy trumpet player, the
20-year-old Moran learned keyboard,
the main instrument he uses when
composing, by ear.
Moran has written one full-scale
opera called "Changing of the Season,"
which was performed at the Nebraska
Directors Theater last semester. The
opera begins with sparse piano arran
gements reminiscent of George Win
ston and, at times, Keith Jarrett, adds
Moran's Bowie-esque vocals and cul
minates in experimental chamber
music.
Moran is currently working on a 4
hour opera with parts arranged for a
CO piece orchestra.
"I'm not creating one aspect, but t he
total environment, an entire world,"
Moran said. "If you can interpret the
ideathrough one medium, why not 10?"
Dreams are an important part of
Moran's work. He constantly ref
ers to the unconscious and his
personal visions of hell in his work and
general conversation.
"You've got to get out of the uncon
scious' way, you can't try to identify
with it, or make friends with it," Moran
said.
"The unconscious doesn't give a
fuck about you."
Last fall at a benefit at the Zoo Bar,
Moran opened for Cockey Monroe. He
calls his poetry reading that night
"completely confrontation." The aud
ience taunted and jeered while Moran
raved like a possessed evangelist.
"Buddha, if you're so perfect, why
can't you control your own weight prob
lem!" he hollers.
"I'm going unconscious!" he screams
again and again.
The audience hollers and screams
back. There is laughter from the back
of the loom.
In his studio, Moran smokes the
dregs from his pipe while he listens to a
tape of the performance. The more the
crowd tries to ignore him, the more he
confronts them.
"All work is self-flagellation," he
says.
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