“The Lynching of An Artist” Şükran Moral
Right now in Turkey things are happening. Right now, enough is enough. Protests in Istanbul have quickly morphed into full-blown civil unrest throughout the country. Sadly, the tyranny of an unjust and uncaring government is not unique to its citizens. In the last week, a relatively small protest by 300 or so female environmentalists has […]
Wafaa Bilal #Technoviking
Wafaa Bilal’s #Technoviking is a giant inflatable head with a spiral goatee that is based on a popular meme first published to the internet video site YouTube in 2006. The original video featured a shirtless man reprimanding an over zealous dancer during a German street festival in 2000. The video quickly spawned a number of […]
Mothergirl “Don’t Sleep, There’s A War Going On”
There are a lot of duos at Rapid Pulse. In the first three days of the activity, we’ve already experienced the work of three sets of duos. In total, there are 6 pairs of duos performing at the festival this year. It’s almost a theme. But who doesn’t love a duo? There is something about […]
“Ecce Homo” Carlos Salazar Lermont
Day 6 stinks. Literally. At the artist talk given by Zierle and Carter, the audience is assaulted with the smell of burning toast. Outside, volunteers are systematically burning dozens of loaves of bread in preparation for the headgear the artists will wear during their two-day durational action, but the smell invades the HUB. It’s hard […]
Miller & Shellabarger
The day has a chill in the air, unusual for the month of June in Chicago. With the sky’s threat to rain, Miller & Shellabarger set up in the windows of Rapid Pulse’s Hub. The 2 bearded men place 2 wooden chairs at opposite ends of the raised storefront window where they will engage in […]
The Burlesque Butcher
Cleaver-wielding beauty Anna Felicity Friedman AKA the Burlesque Butcher provided a rousing kick-off to this week at the Rapid Pulse International Performance Art Festival with a provocative performance on Monday afternoon. Friedman’s process began with a thorough cleaning of the two parallel, street facing windows in front of the Defibrillator gallery. Drop cloths were placed, […]
Two Blue Pills, a Clock and a Glass of Water…
waited patiently by the foot of her bed. At noon, artist Elana Katz entered the performance space of Defibrillator wearing a perfectly pressed pair of white pajamas and proceeded to take the two blue sleep-inducing pills. For the duration of the eight-hour piece “They Said It Was Dry”, Katz remained bedridden, a prisoner to white […]
Arianna Ferrari “H-Transmitter” Opens Channel for Connection
Italian Sound Artist Turned Instrument at Rapid Pulse Festival Arianna Ferrari, Italy, sits, limbs bent and forward, with her face toward the audience. From her abdomen draws ten electronic objects, transistor radios, turned on. The radios stick to her rib cage, held together with tightly bound tape. The sound omitted from the radios contact and […]
Jess Dobkin Free Childcare Provided
The Hub (located at 1535 Division) is the central gathering place for artists and volunteers during this year’s Rapid Pulse International Performance Art Festival. On Saturday and Sunday afternoon, however, artists and children alike could be seen occupying the storefront site. In the performance project Free Childcare Provided, artist Jess Dobkin (Canada) transformed the Hub […]