Friday, February 20, 2009

Scott Turner Schofield on House of Mind



Hey again y'all,

I write you from the couch in Pat Graney's House of Mind, which is also running here at DiverseWorks. I feel so at home...

If you haven't seen House of Mind, it is an arresting work of art. You walk in to (award winning choreographer) Pat Graney's mind, in the shape of a home constructed just for the space here at DiverseWorks. I call the piece "arresting" because every time I walk through its space on the way to the theater, I am stopped by the feeling of home that runs so thick through the place. It could be my home, but I know it is not my mind or my memories. I want to stay in the beautiful lighting, lounge on the comfy couch, listen to childhood memories and look up the skirts (remember going department store shopping with mom...?) I love how art finds the most basic sites of connection inside every viewer.

Pat Graney is also directly responsible for my show, Becoming a Man in 127 EASY Steps. I met Pat in 2005 at the National Performance Network Annual Meeting. She offered to mentor me for three years, to show me the ropes of being and becoming a professional artist with a lifelong career. I only hope to emulate Pat's process and success. The Pat Graney Company spearheaded the effort to commission Becoming a Man in 127 EASY Steps, bringing in Sixto from DiverseWorks and Melissa from 7 Stages to support it, too.

It feels so very right to give my show its Texas premier here among Pat's things. I hope you will come through Pat's House of Mind to my Fort of Gender this Friday and Saturday. All you need to bring is yourself, Pat and I will do the rest.

Hope to see you!
Scott Turner Schofield

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Scott Turner Schofield
www.undergroundtransit.com

1 comment:

xeuxie said...

I procrastinated and I missed Pat Graney's exhibition. I heard her on Living Art on KPFT and I immediately related to what her exhibition was about and what she was trying to convey and dealing with in terms of her mother's Alzheimer's, especially so since the ages of our mothers and ourselves are almost exactly the same. I found out recently that my mother has the early stages of Alzheimer's, and when I listed to Pat speak, I was extremely moved and knew exactly what she was speaking of. Shame on me for waiting too long.