Working to a theme: Cut Me Up magazine

As part of Kolaj Fest in June, I was honored to be invited to participate in a panel discussion about Cut Me Up magazine. The conversation was planned to honor the 5th anniversary of this unique publication.

Cut Me Up features work by artists who are challenged to reuse portions of imagery taken from previous issues of the magazine, combined with their own materials, to respond to a specific call/theme. Each issue is juried — I’m happy that my collages have been included in several issues.

The magazine’s website now has a great recap of the conversation with input and quotes from everyone on the panel.

“Cut Me Up: Issue 1 came into my possession during the first KolajFest. I rarely work collaboratively but this seemed like the kind of collaboration that I would be interested in and make time for.…

It’s a good read, accompanied by artworks and photos of the event. Check it out here.

Kudos to Andrea Burgay, the genius and energy behind the publication, for organizing the session. (We could easily have talked for much longer, had time allowed!)

Below is my collage, “Fore/Back: Ground,” which was selected for publication in Cut Me Up Issue 3: Tabula Rasa (July 1, 2019) — along with small images of the transition process across several issues demonstrating how elements are re-used by different artists. (Kind of like a visual version of that old game of “Telephone!”)

Left to right: “Untitled 18,” Andrea Burgay, Issue 1; “Notice. Novice,” Kristy Hughes, Issue 2; “Fore/Background,” Janice McDonald, Issue 3.

Left to right: “Notice. Novice,” Kristy Hughes, Issue 2; “Fore/Background,” Janice McDonald, Issue 3; “Bad Connection,“ Laurent Seljan, Issue 4.

Collage as ballet performance backdrop

It was exciting to see my collage, "Budding," projected on the set during Patricia Renzetti's "Reflections" ballet, part of the recent "Eternal Dialogues" multimedia choreography and dance project. "Reflections" features three vignettes that begin in sequence and eventually occur simultaneously, conceptually examining the different stages of life through the mirrors in a dance studio and in the mirrors we use to view ourselves and others. At left is a series of photos that may give you a sense of how the piece evolves over time (click to enlarge).The choreography includes a young ballet student practicing at the barre, a man and woman rehearsing a pas de deux, and a tai chi master practicing his movements. Patricia described her piece as "representing three stages of life, modeled after the Tai Chi movements of passing on." It was lovely.The dancers, from Ballet Ariel, were: Drew Zhu, Amber Harris, Peter Strand, and Elvira Stewart.The meditative Arvo Part composition, "Speigel im Speigel," which literally means "mirror in the mirror," was beautifully performed by musicians on the stage, Kirsten Farnsworth and Steve Gravagne. The collage was projected just over their heads.The collage was a warm counterpoint to the cool stage lighting... it looks rather different in the photos than it did to my eye as a viewer... but these images indicate the scale and hopefully convey the effect. To see the original artwork, please refer to my earlier post, "Collage and choreography collaboration."What fun to have my bio in a printed program for a change, rather than on a little label on the wall at an exhibition. Loved seeing the collage imagery BIG!Thanks to Patricia for conceiving of this collaboration, those working behind the scenes with computer/projection magic to make this happen, and to Rachel D. Graham of RDG Photography for the photo record.