In Response to Friday Night's Holy Fool

Friday evening I attended three wonderful art openings here in Duluth. Sandwiched between these events I was able to take in a very special collaborative event called holy fool at the Sacred Heart Music Center. Show notes describe it this way: 

"This show explores the intersection of stories / languages / materials and gesture. Wire, wood, pine pitch, horse hair, vellum, light, graphite, iron, thread, word, electrons and code, puncturing, tearing, creasing, stitching, scrawling, staining, illuminating... immersing in the infinite line... diving into the wreck."

The program began at 7:00 p.m. with a time set aside to explore the installations. The collaborators were Kathy McTavish, Sheila Packa, Cathy Podeszwa, Cecilia Ramon, Carla Stetson and Molly Tillotson. At 7:15 lights went dark and a bright light behind a screen illuminated McTavish seated on the stage, bow in hand, cello at the ready.

What follows are my own notes scribbled during this experience. 

holy fool

Kathy McTavish begins the trance sound, her cello grazing the arches and alcoves of Sacred Heart’s sanctuary. Then Sheila Packa, standing in the shadows at the podium, begins. “To the wind… Dear wind.” Kathy’s haunting undercurrent continues. “Crows rise in glossy coats… The wind, the water, the aurora borealis..." The streams of imagery flow.

They share the space, poetry and cello, words and music… until the words let go, and there is only…

I am reminded of Gorecki’s Third Symphony.
I am reminded of a thousand sorrows.
I am reminded of a tree.
I am reminded of a shift in the shadows of consciousness.
I am reminded of anguish and frustration and grief.
I am reminded of the perfection of beauty.

I am transported by roiling breakers to a far off place where memories are stirred, but there are no words. Is it a call? A howl?

It is something somewhere deep, something longing for resolution.

She plays like a blind person whose heightened senses reveal nuanced appreciation for the chords and discords delivered by her dexterous fingers, swaying at times under her own spell.

At times she is bowed down as if by the weight of it all, but much of the time she holds her head high, affirming her strength. The music levitates us, and we drift away.

The applause is loud, warm and extensive.


You can see / hear a brief excerpt of this performance at YouTube.

Holy fool was funded by the Jerome Foundation. This activity was also funded in part by the Minnesota State Arts Board through the arts and cultural heritage fund as appropriated by the Minnesota Legislature with money from the Legacy Amendment vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008.

holy fool

Friday, November 9, will be another busy night in the Duluth arts scene with a very exciting lineup of shows. I already mentioned Russell V. Gran's Curmudgeon show at Washington Galleries, starting at 6:00. Ochre Ghost on Second Avenue East is featuring Lindsay Rhyner's Fun Fur and Holiday Garbage art opening from 7:00 till 11:00 p.m. And the Prøve Collective will have its November art opening as well, also from 7:00 till 11:00, the theme being Light.

For me, the centerpiece of all these shows for me will be holy fool, a live performance and multimedia installation by Kathy McTavish and Sheila Packa at Sacred Heart Music Center on Fourth Street. Holy fool is the culmination of a year-long project by cellist, composer and transmedia artist, Kathy McTavish in conjunction with a team of collaborators to produce a multi-sensory, immersive reflection on our times.

The full cast also features Cathy Podeszwa (illumination), Cecilia Ramon (the infinite line), Molly Tillotson (iron bells), and Carla Stetson (the map / the sky).

I’ve become increasingly fascinated with the creative work of Kathy McTavish, especially since her Phantom Galleries Superior event in 2011 and her Birdland exhibition at the Duluth Art Institute. Last night I spoke with McTavish briefly about the origin of the name what it was like assembling the team for this project.

“I am interested in the fool as archetype,” she said. “We live life foolishly in some ways,” which is both a good and bad thing. At the center of holy fool is “the tension between rage regarding where we’re at as a species and a prayer of blessing to the world.”

Her partner in much of her work is Sheila Packa, Duluth’s gifted Poet Laureate who grew up in a Finnish-speaking family in Biwabik on the Range. Holy fool synthesizes many of the projects that the two have developed for gallery events over the course of the past year, being the culmination of this past year’s creative efforts and explorations. Holy fool layers stories on top of stories, visual elements and sound elements with many intersections that serve to form a gestalt.

In listening to McTavish talk about the work, I get the sense that they are striving to produce something as culturally significant as Ginsberg's Howl .

Another player in Friday’s show is Cecelia Ramon of Argentina. “I love her work, her sculptures.” Said McTavish. “It changes you to see someone else’s insights as they approach things.”

Tickets are available for $10 through the Sacred Heart Music Center. Event begins at 7:00 through 9:00 p.m. 

The holy fool project is funded by the Jerome Foundation. This activity is also funded, in part, by the Minnesota State Arts Board through the arts and cultural heritage fund as appropriated by the Minnesota State Legislature with money from the Legacy Amendment vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008.

A short event trailer can be accessed at Vimeo .
There is also a holy fool Facebook event page .

To learn more about the art of Kathy McTavish, visit: www.cellodreams.com