The big night is drawing near! Find all the details you need to plan your nocturnal itinerary for Northern Lights.mn‘s upcoming “nuit blanche” and the night-long assortment of projects, art installations, and performances across the Twin Cities June 4 & 5 on the website for the Northern Spark Festival. In the meantime, read on for more about some of the night’s offerings: Barbara Claussen’s phone booth monoliths on the move, BodyCartography invites you aboard the HOUSEBOAT, Peter McLarnan would like to offer you a bit of cheese and sweet dreams, and Chris Kallmeyer’s preparing to herald the onset of night with a big horn section.
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Artist: Barbara Claussen
Project: Modern Monoliths migrating
Project description: Modern Monoliths migrating emerges out of an investigation of the sociological and technological shifts in the borders between public and private space. In this piece the phone booth, originally designed for private conversation in a public place, acts as a repository for speech between parties in a dominant/subversive relationship. This speech shifts the function of the booth from the modern monolith in decline to a space that sets up a dialogue between types of power wielded by the various parties in the hierarchy. Modern Monoliths migrating will be placed at the convergence of several types of power : the natural power of the river, the political and cultural power of the city, and the site of a power plant generating electricity since 1882.
Night Owl or Early Bird? Early bird
All-nighter survival kit secret weapon? Trail mix
What were you doing last time you were up at 3 a.m.? Making art
Meal best served at 2 a.m.? Something light – Edy’s frozen coconut bars
What are your go-to cures for insomnia? Reading a dull book
If you could choose anyone to stay up all night talking with, who would it be? Armin Strohmeyer
Soundtrack for a midnight ramble?
http://youtu.be/ckLPAZM7b30
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Artist: Peter McLarnan
Project: Dreaming a la Carte: Take-out for the Subconscious
Project description: A 2005 study by the British Dairy Board investigated the relationship between the ingestion of cheese before bed and the sleep patterns of the study’s participants. The research unexpectedly discovered that various cheeses produced uniformly similar dreamscapes in a diverse group of participants. These findings have been used to create a menu of dreams, allowing visitors to the Black Dog Cafe to order the type of dream they’d like to have when their night is done. By ingesting a dream catalyst in the form of a small sample from a select variety of cheeses, participants are able to extend the Northern Spark Festival into the personal and mysterious realm of the subconscious.
Night Owl or Early Bird? Night owl
All-nighter survival kit secret weapon? 10-hour energy drink and shoes a half a size too small
What were you doing last time you were up at 3 a.m.? Waiting on an Amtrak platform in Detroit lakes, MN.
Favorite after-hours breakfast joint? I used to work at the after-bar grill at Santana’s on University Ave. They have a pretty decent burger, and are usually open until 3 or 4 a.m.. Otherwise, I’ll take a frozen pizza from Cub, and splurge on arugula.
What are your go-to cures for insomnia? Talk radio podcasts from NPR.
If you could choose anyone to stay up all night talking with, who would it be? Klaus Kinski
Soundtrack for a midnight ramble?
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Artists: The BodyCartography Project (respondents: Olive Bieringa and Otto Ramstad)
Project: HOUSEBOAT
Editor’s note, June 3: I received an email from Otto Ramstad since this was posted, and he says HOUSEBOAT “has been cancelled due to strong river flow and wind making it impossible to drive to boat up to Minneapolis. Next year hopefully…”
Project description: The BodyCartography Project invites you on a low-rent cruise. Step into a houseboat bobbing on the black water of the Mississippi. Plunging downriver, what seems like social hour gets progressively charged by the intensity of this immersive performance. Featuring the original Holiday House cast: Minneapolis dance stars Kristin Van Loon, Karen Sherman, Morgan Thorson, Otto Ramstad, Bryce Beverlin II and special guests Justin Jones, HeatdeatH’s Tim Glenn and Andrew Broder. (Directed by Olive Bieringa and Otto Ramstad)
Night Owl or Early Bird? Neither…Otto and I like to sleep a lot, but now that we have a new baby, it’s not really an option.
All-nighter survival kit secret weapon? Olive: Diapers; Otto: Black tea, courage, and a life jacket to dance for eight hours
What were you doing last time you were up at 3 a.m.? Olive: Breastfeeding; Otto: Changing diapers
What meal is best served at 2 a.m.? Olive: Cereal and bananas in bed; Otto: Yogurt and tea in the kitchen
What are your go-to cures for insomnia? Olive: Eating a banana and cuddling with family; Otto: Tea and yogurt while reading the New Yorker, then back to bed with earplugs, eye mask and Rescue Remedy Sleep spray.
If you could choose anyone to stay up all night talking with, who would it be? Uma Rabbit, Steve Paxton, Meg Stuart, Benoit Lachambre, Andy Kaufman; Otto: Olive Bieringa, Olive: Otto Ramstad
Soundtrack for a midnight ramble?
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Artist: Chris Kallmeyer
Project: for dawn or dusk // homeward
Project description: for dawn or dusk // homeward is a 10-15 minute sound work for 100+ local musicians playing brass, percussion, woodwinds and tiny whistles. The site specific performance will take place on the Stone Arch Bridge, stretching across the Mississippi playing overlapping melodies derived from the route of the river. The piece follows the route of the river south past St. Louis, Memphis, New Orleans and into the Gulf of Mexico. Community involvement is integral in this piece. I am interested in how we can create a forum of equal participation and creative input, much like the brass bands in Europe and community bands that used to populate the United States. In this spirit, local amateurs have worked side by side with professions, as well as community leaders who ran rehearsals.
Night Owl or Early Bird? I often end up hanging out late with friends, but honestly I’m an early bird! I love getting up early in the morning for a pot of coffee, watering our vegetables, and having a quiet walk around my neighborhood.
All-nighter survival kit secret weapon? A good friend! If I had my pick, I’d bring my partner Katie Tate.
What were you doing last time you were up at 3 a.m.? I think that last time I was up that late was for a concert I played with DeVotchKa! (We played at the Music Box in Hollywood this past February). Afterwards, I hung out with my buddy Shawn and the rest of the band and their friends till way late. (Shawn is the drummer/trumpeter in the group.) That was an excellent time — it takes a pretty awesome reason to keep me up till 3 a.m.
Favorite after-hours breakfast joint? Taco Trucks: I love my La Estrella. I can eat taco trucks anytime.
What’s your favorite after-hours breakfast joint? Hard Times Cafe in West Bank
What are your go-to cures for insomnia? Moby Dick and single malt scotch.
If you could choose anyone to stay up all night talking with, who would it be? My peers here in Los Angeles. They are absolutely brilliant and endlessly interesting. We often talk and brainstorm projects at late hours over hoppy California IPA. If I get to pick from those who have passed on, I’d choose my old mentor (and aesthetic philosopher) Alan Paskow. I often think about what it would be like to have another chance to share ideas with him late into the early hours.
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