This Saturday, April 20th, Rothko Chapel will operate on adjusted hours. The Chapel is open from 11am-12:15pm for our Earth Day program all are welcome. From 12:15pm-1:15pm, the Chapel will close for breakdown of the program. The Chapel will reopen for general visitation from 1:15pm-6pm.
January 24, 2018
“Breath,” a site-specific work, created by the Transitory Sound and Movement Collective for the Rothko Chapel
Special event slated for Tuesday, Feb. 20
HOUSTON – Jan. 24, 2018 – The Rothko Chapel will soon be transformed into a stage for the totally unique performance piece, “Breath,” created by the Transitory Sound and Movement Collective.
"We never perform our pieces more than one time,” artistic director Lynn Lane said. “And at this point we don’t create multiple evening events. This keeps the work fresh and spontaneously in the moment.”
Each time the collective of musicians, sound artists, dancers, vocalists and visual artists comes together, it’s to create a one-time only experience.
At 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 20, the group will perform “Breath,” a site-specific piece exploring the dynamics and subtleties of what life is at its essence, at the Chapel, located at 3900 Yupon. A public reception on the plaza will follow the performance.
The pay-what-you-can event has a suggested value of $20.
Lane said that a large ensemble of highly accomplished creatives will collaborate in the performance, including movement artists Jennifer Mabus and Erica Gionfriddo. Sound artists will include Julia Fox (soprano), Ingrid Gerling, Nathan Watts, Thomas Frey, Caitlin Merhtens and Brandon Bell. Lane will also perform in the piece. Costumes are by Cherie Acosta.
Peg Nosek will have a central role and is the inspiration for "Breath"
“Our work is an experiential conversation between sound and movement,” Lane said. “It’s structured improvisation, and there’s a lot going into the piece. We leave a lot of room for spontaneity with our composition and choreography.”
This piece is partially rooted Lane’s Quakerism. “We sit in silence during our practice in Quaker Meeting,” he said. “So much of our practice in and out of meeting is about consideration.”
The same thoughtful and patient consideration of existence is at the core of “Breath.”
"Each artist will equally be involved in an unspoken sonic/movement conversation around this idea of what the essence of life truly is,” Lane said. “There’s a lot of stillness and a lot of subtlety to this piece.”
Ashley Clemmer, the Rothko Chapel’s director of programs and community engagement, said that this program by Transitory Sound and Movement Collective is being presented as part of the “Concerts in the Chapel” series.
She said that this upcoming concert will provide attendees with a different kind of sound experience that is improvisational in approach and conceptually rooted in the spirit of the Chapel.
“The Chapel is a spiritually oriented sacred art space where people come to meditate, to breath and to think about their existence in the universe,” Clemmer said. “I think Transitory Sound and Movement Collective will be using sound and movement to provoke similar questions and reflections on life.”
Lane, whose creative life has included being a photographer, documentarian, designer, visual and sound artist, said that by forming the collective, he was able to bring together various art forms for a powerful performance.
For more information about the Transitory Sound and Movement Collective, visit www.tsmcollective.com.
For more information about the Rothko Chapel and a full calendar of upcoming programs, workshops and events, visit rothkochapel.org or call 713-524-9839.