Cities are Natural

(Composition Three)

In collaboration with Christine Tran (Witches of Bushwick and Discwoman) and Mike Sheffield(She was Freaks), Melissa F. Clarke and Clocktower present an evening of performances and visuals inspired by the city as our natural habitat.

Ending her three month residency with Clocktower at Pioneer Works, Clarke creates an immersive and responsive installation, incorporating data collected during her residency and special laser designs reflecting the local, urban environment. In the main hall of the Pioneer Works building, Clarke and artist Sue Ngo construct paper and wire structures, alongside small clusters of glass illuminated by sound reactive LEDs. Monica Mirabile of Fluct dance company choreographs performers to interact with these structures and ethereal music, engaging the architecture of the building, as well as the audience. These visuals are accompanied by sound acts from UMFANG, Volvox, WETWARE, Drippy Inputs, and Clarke. Throughout the event, Sara Rothberg presents a multichannel 3D animation on a large stretch of wall, that builds off of Clarke’s own video work. Carbon Pictures ends the night bringing the audience and performance into the 3D landscape using networked smartphones and dancers, blurring the line between the audience, performers and the surroundings.

Referencing Archean modes of artistic expression and creation, Cities Are Natural (Composition Three) proposes the idea of a music event as an urban congregation. Techno, industrial, and experimental dance music work in tandem with the visuals to invoke how human’s play, contemplate, and create in their natural habitat.