New Work

Below is a description of our newest project.

• The Drowned Man

The Drowned Man will transport viewers into an enchanted landscape inspired by Gabriel García Márquez's extraordinary story titled 'The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World.' In García Márquez's story, an enormous whale-like corpse is washed ashore and is revealed to be a man of spell-binding beauty. His body becomes a reliquary - a repository for the villagers' hopes and dreams. He is varyingly an idol to adore, an altar to decorate, a vessel of authority. They name him, adopt him, and make him kin in the hopes that he might somehow transform their village - which now seems humble and small.

• Work-in-Progress Videos

Watch the Videos: Trailer #1 [2011] | Trailer #2 [2010] | Fantasy #1 [2010] | Fantasy #2 [2010]

• About the Project

A contrapuntal interweaving of images, including projected photography by Sean Kernan and video by Derek Dudek working in concert with Alison Chase's choreography for live and filmed dancers, will draw audiences into this tale's realm of magic realism. Changing perceptions are key to the story and prompt the collaborators to create a world of shifting emotional and visual terrains - from a watery deluge to sandy, barren landscapes, from worshipful adoration to erotic longing - immersing the viewer in a rich play of imagery and passion.

A visual meditation that sits somewhere between dance and performance art, between film and live theater, the work aims to create new aesthetic moments through the seamless interaction of movement, photography and video. Exquisite, powerfully emotive images can be generated through the layering of these elements - a woman can melt into the body of a man, image and performer in embrace; a landscape might be ripped asunder by performers lifting a scrim and fracturing an image. With projectors, scrims, and lighting, we can create on stage, something akin to a living film - a unique immersive visual experience for audience members.

The work will feature an original soundscape by Grammy-award winning composer Paul Sullivan and costumes by Angelina Avallone.

• About the Collaboration

The Handsomest Drowned Man project comes at a time when Chase is looking to augment her richly resonant dance theater with elements from her large-scale performative installations, to forge a new, more immersive stage aesthetic.

The Collaborators all have a history in theater - visual storytelling informs their work - and a dedication to indepth experimentation. They also share a deep interest in magical realism and its exploration of the unreality in reality - particularly the writings of Borges and García Márquez. Kernan's 1999, Secret Books, which transforms open-paged books into striking, photographic reflections on their meaning, is accompanied by Borges' writings.

Chase first collaborated with photographer Sean Kernan in 2007, when Chase was commissioned to create a work for New York City Ballet dancers by Miller Theater/Works & Process at the Guggenheim. Kernan created a backdrop of sharply etched, black-and-white photographs of the dancers for her Sweet Alchemy. In 2009 the two artists began talking about a project that might merge photography, movement and film. Kernan suggested his colleague Dudek as cinematographer.

As the artists were searching to propel the collaboration forward, García Márquez's Handsomest Drowned Man floated to the surface. The story suited their forces; its magical realism was an ideal platform for their fusing of mediums and their shared commitment to an emotive visual poetics. Periods of experimentation in 2010 were capped with a week-long creative residency at Mass MoCa, Sept 15-25, 2010. The residency, which concluded with a work-in-progress public showing for an enthusiastic, capacity audience, confirmed the efficacy of the project. Having culminated a first, exploratory phrase, the collaborators are committed to bringing the project to fruition.

• About the Collaborators

Sean Kernan (Photography) is a widely exhibited photographer. He is the author of The Secret Books, a collection of photographs with writings by Jorge Luis Borges, and Among Trees (2003, published by Artisian Books) as well as Darrell Petit In Stone, images of sculpture with a forward by Cesar Pelli (2010). His many exhibitions include: Whitney Museum (New York), Centre Regional de la Photographie,France; Biblioteca Alexandrina, Egypt; William Benton Museum of Art, Connecticut; Friends of Photography (San Francisco) and in museums and galleries throughout Mexico and Greece. His work has been published in the New York Times Magazine, Smithsonian, New York, Harpers, and in publications in China, Switzerland, Greece, Italy, and Iran. He is represented by Gallery 19/21, in Paris, France and Connecticut, and Photography West in California. Visit Sean Kernan's Web Site

Derek Dudek (Cinematography and Video Editing) creates both moving and still imagery. He has worked as a Director of Photography for MTV, on many Law and Order episodes and on music videos. His film credits include Director of Photography for the independent film 'Welcome to Earth,' which won best science-fiction feature at the Houston International Film Festival. His still photography project, Language of her Body, was printed by Robin Price Publishers, 2003. The book received Richard Hess Spirit of Creativity Award and the Connecticut Art Directors Club Gold Award and. His honors include 2009 and 2010 Telly Awards for video. Visit Derek Dudek's Web Site