HOW TO, Oh look at me by GeoVanna Gonzalez
Film still from HOW TO: Oh, look at me, 2021 by Juan Luis Matos
HOW TO: Oh, look at me is a film that captures the multi-layered, interdisciplinary performance by GeoVanna Gonzalez, conceived as an activation of her sculptural installation of the same name now on view at Locust Projects. The performance features an original musical score by Batrypowr, involves two dancers, Cheina Ramos and Alondra Balbuena, and two poets, Zaina Alsous and Arsimmer McCoy, who interact with and exist within the structure.
In the film, two dancers mirror each other, executing controlled, restrained movements in canon. They move in and around the structure independently, separately, as if following their own invisible trajectory. The choreography captures the removed feeling of technology and virtual communication, while also incorporating the organic, visceral nature of the human body and face-to-face communication. Throughout the performance, the dancers find moments of encounter: they meet each other’s gaze briefly or reach out to each other longingly before continuing on their course. It is in these momentary, albeit intense, interactions that we are reminded of ourselves through the other. The music is composed of amorphous sounds syncretized to expand and contract until they become individual notes in their simplest form. Simultaneously, the poets recite words they’ve written in response to the installation, an accompaniment to the movements and the music around them.
Through the performance, Gonzalez examines how forms of communication and miscommunication, both in person and mediated, reflect our self-awareness and condition our perception of those around us. The structure is Gonzalez’s visual interpretation of Martin Jackson’s poem, “No Rothko,'' created through a series of errors that developed from a voice to text algorithm. It is these “errors” -- the misunderstandings, the technological glitches, the anomalies of language -- that enable the creation and manifestation of alternative narratives and possibilities for living.
Gonzalez’s performance functions as an added layer of meaning, a translation of a translation. The diversity of mediums simultaneously occurring and occupying creates a living installation where each of the performers is communicating with and in spite of one another. HOW TO: Oh, look at me is a compendium of movements, sounds, voices, a space for otherness. Look at me. Oh, look at me. We have to start now. The last lines of the poem are both an affirmation of existence, as much as a begging call; a plea to be understood, as much as a stance in defiance.
HOW TO: Oh, look at me is commissioned by Locust Projects and made possible, in part, with support from Oolite Arts, Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator (DVCAI), and Pulp Arts. The video is commissioned in partnership with Miami Light Project, Kismet Creative Studio, and Commissioner and premieres on April 15 in SoundScape Park thanks to additional support from the City of Miami Beach Department of Tourism and Culture, Cultural Affairs Program, Cultural Arts Council and the Miami Beach Mayor and City Commissioners.
Special thanks to dancers Cheina Ramos and Alondra Balbuena; poets Zaina Alsous and Arsimmer McCoy; musician Batrypowr; producer Monica Sorelle; and cinematographer Jessica Bennett.