Shana Moulton's Portable Performance | "New York Close Up" | Art21

Is being a performance artist just another job? In this film, artist Shana Moulton rehearses and performs "Whispering Pines 7" in the exhibition "Acting Out" at the Bronx River Art Center. In her 14th floor studio at the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Workspace, an artist residency program of repurposed offices located in the heart of Wall Street, Moulton gathers up the essential tools of her trade — costume, wig, makeup, DVD — and takes the long uptown subway trip to the Mott Haven section of the Bronx. Her first look at the venue, Moulton uses her limited rehearsal time to scale the video projection and adapt her movements to the confines of the space. The performance showcases, in a condensed and portable form, hallmarks of Moulton's recent work: playfully interacting with fantastical digital animations, unexpected changes in emotional tone, and performing in character as Cynthia — the central protagonist of the ongoing "Whispering Pines" series. Reflecting on the evening's performance, Moulton considers her aesthetic ambitions, audience expectations, and the pragmatics of being an artist in New York.

Shana Moulton (b. 1976, Oakhurst, California, USA) lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

CREDITS | "New York Close Up" Created & Produced by: Wesley Miller & Nick Ravich. Editor: Mary Ann Toman. Cinematography: Andrew David Watson. Sound: Nicholas Lindner & Nick Ravich. Associate Producer: Ian Forster. Production Assistant: Paulina V. Ahlstrom, Don Edler & Maren Miller. Design: Open. Artwork: Shana Moulton. Thanks: Bronx River Art Center, Sean Carroll, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Marisa Olsen, Erin Riley-Lopez & Chad Stayrook. An Art21 Workshop Production. © Art21, Inc. 2011. All rights reserved.

"New York Close Up" is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Additional support provided by The 1896 Studios & Stages.

For more info: art21.org/​newyorkcloseup

How did that look?

Pretty good?

Did it seem like I was scrolling my IPad or IPhone?

So that's the sort of part I need to coordinate

before I go - is getting that timing right.

With obviously not your fingers but you whole body.

Right. Yeah. Right

This is my wig bag - all wigs.

Well, and some bags.

Okay - wig, book light, I think that's it.

Oh, I have a list.

I got it!

So I hadn't been performing so much before I came

to New York and then I also didn't have a studio then,

I was so broke when I moved here.

So, I decided to try to build the set with stuff

that I could animate on my computer.

So that was like the first time I made this decision

to scale down and make this portable performance.

Um, it's usually like me running around on the

subway or maybe a car service if I'm feeling

really glamorous -

with all my props, you know, on my arms

and setting up half an hour before

the performance starts.

With these performances I don't really know

exactly how big this projection will be,

you know, in relationship to my body.

You know, if I'm like, taller than this projection

then that's not really going to work.

The worst is like if I get there and I can't

test, you know, the DVD in the projection.

And I hate that feeling

of not being totally prepared.

Yeah?

Yeah.

Cool!

You know, at an opening, the attention span is

you know, at a certain level and something

a lot longer than ten minutes is just like too long

or - I mean especially for my work - it's not about -

it's not really about that kind of challenge.

How's the makeup looking?

Gettin' there.

Okay.

Sometimes people don't realize that I'm

in a costume - they just think I'm the wacky woman

skulking in the back!

Are you starting?

Yeah.

Oh, okay.

I wanted - I didn't realize you were out here.

Oh, I'll be right behind you.

Okay.

Leading up to the performance is totally

nerve-wracking but once I've started I love it.

I'm like having a great time.

I eat pink!

[Applause]

Yeah, it was a nice response, wasn't it?

Yeah, yeah, it was happy.

I mean people tend to respond positively,

you know, for most performance -

so, I don't know if I can really go off that as,

you know, a gauge for how successful it really was

but, I felt all right about it, ya know?

You know, it's a job.

As long as I'm prepared it works out fine.