Thank you, Thank you, Thank you

Thank you to all of the artists who participated in the Live Art show on Saturday at the Center of the Universe. It was a fun time. Drew Pollock and I discovered some very interesting opinions and theories around the sculpture. Zachariah Julian's art was constantly drawing the gaze of passersby. The poets, Rich Boucher and Zach Kluckman, were fantastic. The surprise guest artists were also a real treat! Thank you to all of the people who attended the event as well. I think a good time was had by all despite the cold wind.
Thank you.
Keep a look out for a play this spring at the Center of the Universe.

Performance this Saturday

Circus a Success!

Thank you to everyone who came out to see Circa 1751 perform on Halloween. It was great fun!
Circa 1751 dazzled the crowd with feats on the lyra (aerial hoop) with highly stylized and spooky movement. Live music and a little audience participation created a lovely show.
I want to thank Circa 1751 for puttin together a super cool show!
I also wanted to thank all the people who helped with some last minute set-up.
In addition, Richard Hess gratefully lent us the rig for the lyra. Without that, there would not have been a performance.
Thank you all for making Halloween a little different this year!

Halloween Circus Event!

Want to do something a little different this Halloween afternoon? Come to the Center of the Universe to see Circa 1751 perform spooky and scary acrobatic feats! Circa 1751 is a group of performers who explore circus techniques. They will be exhibiting skills in hand-to-hand acrobatics and the lyra (a hoop suspended in the air). The performance will begin at 4 pm on Friday October 31st. As usual, it is a free event open to the community. Get a little taste of the circus to get in the spirit. Come check out Circa 1751!

Open Mic a Success!!

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Open Mic last wednesday. It was a fantastic time! Everone seemed to have fun. We had quite a few jam out sessions. New and original music was created. We also had a few poets show up to share their original works.
Special thanks to Rachael Shapiro for helping to host the event! She did an excellent job involving the audience and passersby.
Thank you to Dharma! They were fantastic. It was great to see a group of people enjoying music so much.
I need to give huge thanks to Chris Walsh for allowing me to borrow the PA system. It was a huge help. It couldn't have happened the same way with out that support.
Also Thanks to Deidre Hirschfeld for providing Video recording capabilities and helping to clean up.
Richard Hess provided the means to get the equipment to the Center of the Universe.

There were several people who wanted an open mic to happen more often. This might be something to look into for the future....

Special guest for Open Mic

At the Open Mic on Wednesday, community choral group Blue Dharma will be performing! Please come support a local group who had a start at the Center of the Universe...

Acoustic Open Mic

The Center of the Universe has a natural proclivity for an interesting acoustic experience. Next Wednesday (October 15th) musicians are asked to gather at the Center of the Universe sculpture to explore the acoustic possibilities of the structure. Kira will be hosting the open mic with Rachel Shapiro. Other performers are welcome to attend and share their sound experience. If you want to secure a spot, please contact Kira: yourcenteroftheuniverse@gmal.com or 505.715.2460.
The actual time of performance is flexible. It should start around 4 pm and continue as long as people are hanging out and enjoying music.

Thank you stories!!

Thank you to everyone who contributed stories about the Center of the Universe! I will start work immediately to create a piece for performance. The date of the performance will be announced later this week. If there are still stories....you might be able to convince me to let you sneak it in....
Thank you!

Also, there will be pictures from the drawing on the Center of the Universe. These ideas will also be incorporated into the performance.

STORIES WANTED

Drawing on the Center of the Universe

The next event will take place this friday, September 26th from 9am until approximately 6 pm.
The Center of the Universe will be coverec with butcher paper for all to share their memories and associations with the sculpture or simply a personal center of the universe. All materials will be provided. This event is for all ages. The question on the paper will ask "What is your center of the Universe?". Come by to share your experiences; they might be included in a performance later in the fall!

Lady Justice

On Thursday September 11th at 8 pm, the first event for Operation: Center of the Universe was underway. A slide show projection of Lady Justice in various poses lit up the north side of the Center of the Universe. Beneath the colorful show was a still image projected from old school projectors: two Lady Justices overlapping one another presented in a format which emulated the concrete on which they appeared.
Although rainy weather threatened all day, the skies were clear enough for the designated hour of projection. As classes let out and people walked and biked around the duck pond, many paused with curious expressions to find images on the Center of the Universe. There was no large crowd or bright signs. It was meant for people simply passing. Several cyclists paused to look at the sculpture from various angles.
Overall, I think it was very successful!
There will be more events coming up next week.

I would like to thank several people for their contributions to help set up this first event:
Elizabeth Dwyer, Photographer and Videographer
Morgan Fife, Model and event assistant
John Sandlin, Props Master
Michael Blaisdell, Technical Consultant and Event Supervisor
Courtney Bell, Projector Provider
Sylvia Padilla, Aubani Krob, and Laura Hosek, Event Assistants
Arvonn Tully, Technical Support
Richard Hess, Safety Equipment

First Event, This Thursday!

This Thursday, September 11th, will mark the first event for Operation:Center of the Universe.
From 8 p.m. to approximately 9 p.m. (Mountain Time) images will be projected onto the north side of the Center of the Universe sculpture. There will be a repeating slide show, so spectators can show up at any time and stay as long as they like.

In the Beginning...

Welcome to Operation: Center of the Universe!
This is a project sponsored by a grant from Partnership Learning for Arts and Community Engagement (PLACE). Throughout the coming fall, winter and spring various events will take place at the Center of the Universe sculpture. The sculpture is located on the University of New Mexico campus just south of the duck pond and just west of Ortega hall. This work was created by Bruce Nauman and erected in 1988.
It has been a site of controversy over the years. It is a large concrete structure composed of a central column which extends equally into the sky and the ground and four hall ways converging at the central column. A passerby can walk through the sculpture. In the center of the sculpture is a plaque placed over a grate commemorating the title, author and year of completion. There are four sodium lights at the end of each hallway which are always on.
This sculpture has inspired me, Kira Hirschfeld, to research its origins and possibilities. I am a senior at the University of New Mexico and am working with PLACE to bring focus to a very prominent piece of public art which is the part of many daily lives. Through this project I hope to bring attention to a fascinating piece of art through involvement within the Albuquerque community.
More information on PLACE at http://place.unm.edu
Pictures will be posted soon.
Announcements will also be posted regarding future events and creative endeavors.