The unbearable absence of landscape

I remember when OKC’s Plaza District was yarn bombed a few years back. Such audacious playfulness was hard to ignore, let alone forget. More recently, I’ve been sweetly surprised to see the art form popping up around Guthrie Green. Oklahoma’s largest knit bombing project to date began last fall and is scheduled for installation around Thanksgiving. The Unbearable Absence of Landscape, a statewide knitting collaboration, will ultimately swallow the façade of 108 Contemporary to show how the site might look if it was just as nature intended. Emily Oldham, executive director of 108 Contemporary, approached OKC-based artist Romy Owens to lead the project shortly after Owens finished a knit room installation last year at AHHA. 

Knitting circles across Oklahoma are sending in blue and green squares for the project, and Owens welcomes anyone with a knitting needle to contribute. Owens said it’s an honor to be connected with so many knitting circles, which she described as “a sacred space where people come together and share what’s going on in their lives.” 

The power of the knitting circle is definitely gaining relevance here in Tulsa. Students from Tulsa School of Arts and Sciences are contributing to the project, as are some participants of Women in Recovery. 108 Contemporary hosts a knitting circle every third Saturday from noon to 2:30 p.m. 

The Unbearable Absence of Landscape has already reached 25 percent of its goal, and Owens said the large-scale project will likely gain nationwide attention—a potential bright spot amidst our state’s dismal recognition in other spheres. 

To learn more, visit 108contemporary.org.

The beauty of Brief Kingdom, the much-anticipated recent work of Tulsa Modern Movement (TuMM), is that it didn’t start and end with its April shows. The performances and community outreach associated with Brief Kingdom were funded by a Kickstarter campaign, and the central message of the project is connection. Based on the story of the princess and the frog, the work studies the imperfect but vital role of interaction in personal transformation. 

TuMM Dance Theatre’s expansive network of artists collaborate to create modern pieces for audiences from all walks of life. The process for Brief Kingdom began as a partnership between Artistic Director and Choreographer Alicia Chesser and poet/translator Amy Paige. The two met while attending The University of Tulsa, and when they reconnected many years later, a marriage between their talents came naturally. Paige wrote a poem based on the fairytale of the princess and the frog, fleshing out flat characters into complex, rich protagonists. Inspired by the poem, Chesser began working with the incredibly intuitive dancers of TuMM to bring the imagery to life. They called upon local artist and sound engineer Scott Bell to create a musical experience that encircled the piece and further articulated the choreography to the audience. Local artist Michael Christopher created the simple, elegant set at FabLab. 

The Brief Kingdom outreach project will address the need for dance as a community art by engaging educators, parents, artists and others about using movement as a tool in multifaceted learning. The project challenges participants to tap into their creative potential and expand their developmental processes across disciplines.

“Every person can connect to that expressive potential in their body,” Chesser said.

TuMM’s other educational project, RIDE (Rigorous Instruction and Dance Education), serves second and third grade students at Emerson Elementary. A weekly program, RIDE teaches dance techniques to students with demonstrated interest and ability.

For more information, visit tummdance.org.