The inception of the LOVECITYLOVE and The House Of ia's collaborative performance would have met with the approval of the Salon des Indépendants. The owners of Baby & Company, Jill and Wayne Donnelly, breathe independence with every breath; Company could easily be interchanged with "Community," from their perspective. They influence on a subtle level, and as is with all great leaders, the acting results are bold. Jill struck up a conversion of thoughts with a like-minded group of strong women, and they fell willingly into a collaboration using the store’s home ground as a site for a private performance. As is Jill’s way, she opened the door for liberty of thought and the challenge of current states in society. She recognized the group’s hunger for expression, and what unfolded was a happening in the true sense of Allan Kaprow's definition.
Happenings can be a form of participatory new media art, emphasizing an interaction between the performer and the audience.
The group set up multiple installative efforts in the raw 10,000 square foot space. No external documentation was allowed. This focus was a central tenent that perhaps begged for the viewer to become aware and willing to participate in this constructed reality. The performance contained hand-thrown vessels filled with ephemeral materials by ceramicist and performer Ria Leigh. In addition, one-of-a-kind constructed garments, custom perfumed air, and a series of indecipherable rituals edging on participatory. As is the nature of performance, the documents survive with a life of their own, without negotiation or influence. Perhaps the fitting conclusion is a new manifesto that could be entitled, "The Last Acts of Time," that they have given us to begin writing.
LOVECITYLOVE Instagram | The House Of ia Instagram | Ria Leigh
Words by Brit Parks
Images -Photography Sohail Fazluddin/LOVECITYLOVE/House Of ia/Ria Leigh
Styling Michele Andrews
Digital Art Christian Peterson