Art In Odd Places Festival, NYC oct 25

A story about nature and the city.

When I sent this proposal in to AIOP, I was pretty sure they wouldn't take it so I never worried about the logistics of finding a log in NYC. Or, for that matter, getting there.

Well, I flew into LaGuardia Friday night and drove up to Bear Mountain to see if I could find a log. I stayed up in the hills and in the morning it was off to find a log. I am driving and running around in the hills, searching until I found the perfect log. (a big shout out to the people who maintain trails). After rolling it back to the car and getting it into the car (grunt). Meanwhile, I'm seeing deer, wild turkeys, and bobcats.

I hop back in and turn on the radio and off to the big city, bright lights. An easy drive with a bit of getting lost in NJ and I am on 14th Street looking for parking. 45 minutes later I decide to park in a lot. Dump the log on the sidewalk and drive right in. No one says a word as I take out a piece of rope and a huge pair of tongs. They notice, but are polite or worried I'm insane with a huge pair of tongs.

Now I get pulling. A few blocks and I am on 14th street around 10th Ave. moving east. By the time I get to 5th Ave or so, Paul Benney has joined me (yea!), which is good because I have neglected to eat all day, so I am tired. We get pulling. Paul is an animal. People take pictures. People say, "you getting punished?". People pay no attention whatsoever. All told, very fun. Three people try it. Some guy named Will pulled most of a block. I have to remember to send photos to him…

Well, we got to the eastern end of 14th st. and it was still early, so we went back. Back through the farmers market, past the sort of crazy guy on the phone to his mother, to around 7th Ave. Lunch called. Good Food Café. Lunch won that call.

After eating, we felt good. And finished. The log was left parked next to a bunch of bicycles. A few hours later I wandered back to see it and it was gone. Someone in NY has a nice piece of wood that is very flat on one side.

Ken Performs in the Art in Odd Places festival

Hey fans in New York! OK any everywhere...
I will be in New York on the 25th - umm... pulling a log across Manhattan. on 14th street. I'll start at 10 am so be there or be square. Why you ask? The Art in Odd Places Festival! http://www.artinoddplaces.org/ is putting on a show. Me too. Paul Benney may be pulling also. Paul Fu**ing Benney!! It just doesn't get better than this.

Anyone with access to a log in NYC let me know. This is the sticking point so far... darn those cities.

much love
Ken

FTPG and Matthew Antaky awarded LAD Grant

This is the first round of Lighting Artists in Dance Award Dancer's Group has put out and your very own Fellow Travelers Performance Group has recieived one for a new project Matthew Antaky and Ken James are working on. Intersecting Stories is made to be an installation work which can be installed in a variety of spaces. In order to keep production values high, Matthew and Ken are working on new ways of lighting, including animating lights for video and LED lights. Stay tuned for more on this work as it is generated!

Ken Dances in Italy!

Ken just spent a fine few days shooting a commercial with Project Bandaloop in Cortina Italy. The shoot happened on Cinco Torre, a group of 5 towers on an amazing mountain.

Very bright costumes, amazing food, views and company. a very nice time was had.

West Wave Festival 2008

Hey everyone, we are performing wednesday the 20th and Friday the 22nd at 7 pm at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. See us on the main stage doing... stuff and things! Kimm E Ward and Andrea Weber are coming out of FTPG hibernation for this! Shawn Oda is back and we are introducing Fiona McCann to the FTPG world.

We will be featuring one of Lawrence Labianca's brilliant sculptures also.

Come out and see a whole pile of what the Bay Area has to offer and, of course, Fellow Travelers!

Info: dancersgroup.org
tickets: ybca.org

FTPG updating things

Hello Campers!

It has been a while, but we are still plugging away at the dance thing. In fact, things are going very well. Lets talk about Leo. He walks, he runs, he goes camping in the Sierras! Very proud we are.

Ken received a CA$H for the creation and performance of more body installations - so keep an eye out in the streets. For those who haven't seen them, body installations are labor related (and often nature related). They tend to be simple, and are created to try to get people to see their world a bit differently. In order to see them you have to be in the right place at the right time. They are unannounced and could happen any time.

Ken and Cynthia are co-creating a piece in the West Wave Festival at the Yerba Buena Center in August. August 20 and 22 to be exact. 7 pm. If you come to the 22nd there are rumors of a reception afterwards.

Cynthia and Deborah Slater are still working on the 109th Bead. Douglas Rosenberg will be shooting new footage sometime in the next few months.

Ken and Matthew Antaky have been brainstorming heavily for a new installation trio that can go anywhere. There is much talk of animating the lights onto video projectors.

May news

Hello Campers,

Cynthia's debut of the 109th bead in the Second Sundays series went great, with Leo managing his first performance with grace and aplomb and more than a little bit of foot bouncing.

Following that program, Cynthia flew to Madison Wisconsin with Deborah Slater to work on the video sections of that piece with Douglas Rosenberg.

On top of that, Cynthia is working on her piece for Li Chiao Ping's women's series.

April news

Hello everyone,

We have a few upcoming events for you to look out for:

First Cynthia will be a part of the Second Sundays performance at CounterPulse on Mothers Day (that's May 11th if you don't love your mama). She will be showing part of her new piece 'The Hundred and Ninth Bead'. All new. Go and see it and you can be part of the question and answer period afterwards!

Cynthia and Ken will also be performing in the West Wave Festival this summer at Theater Artaud in August. We will post more on that as it gets closer.

Also for those of you who missed the Dance IS Festival, you can catch Burrow/Pond/Coop on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQis-wjv8sU.

Take care all - more news soon!

Dance IS Festival

Just a quick note that Ken James and Chris Black have a few new pieces they are showing in the Dance IS Festival at the Julia Morgan Theater on March 8th!

8pm. Don't miss it!

FTPG has met its match

As you know from your previous reading, the East Bay Community Fund gave us an $8,000 matching grant in September. Well, thanks to the generosity of all of you, we made our match!!! This means that 'Intersecting Stories' has the money to pay all the artists who are working on the project .

We will keep you posted as to how everything is going and how the piece is shaping up! stay tuned...

Upcoming performances in the Wrecking Ball performance at ODC Theater, Jan. 19th (the last before the theater is rebuilt) and in the Dance IS show on March 8th.