Wednesday, March 04, 2009
The Engine Collision Festival launched itself onto the festival scene this past week, assembling an amazing collective of avant-garde filmmakers, musicians, poets, writers, and pretty much every form of artist you can think of exhibiting their work at Studio 1636 in Hollywood. Its centerpiece is The Engine (pictured above), a massive mechanical moving arm of metallurgy and multimedia, that both acts as a projection canvas and an architectural piece of art. You've probably seen it at Coachella or any number of film and art festivals but to study it up close should excite many an art geek. It's beyond impressive, to say the least, right down to its ornate hinges and fabricated decay. But that's just the beginning.
After getting a taste of the festival on its sold-out opening night, we decided to stop by again last night for the premiere of Maudegone, a new experimental project by actress/musician Shannyn Sossamon. Since her quiet departure from Warpaint, we've been curious to see what she's been up to and these series of strange and beautiful musical vignettes (featuring Isidora Goreshter, Hunter Hamilton, and Sossamon) more than quelled our curiosity. One particular piece entitled "I Wish That," featuring Sossamon with sister Jennifer Lindberg and the lovely Jennifer Furches, reminded us how good of a drummer that lady is. We actually still think her choices for more seductive hip-hop drum patterns with nuanced dynamics suited Warpaint more, but what do we know. In any case, look for future showings of this project in the near future.
Other highlights included a screening of the Oscar-nominated short film Auf Der Strecke, a reading from of D.R. Haney's Banned for Life, brilliant installation work from Kofie One and Sonik Mercury, and of course great performances by Warpaint, Brother Reade, and Mid-Air.
It's one of those events where smarter more literate people might use that overused phrase "a feast for the senses" to describe it. But this festival lacks any such pretense. Actually, as far as we could tell, this group of DIY'ers, spearheaded by Burke Roberts and his Bizzurke Army Underground Film Militia, seemed quite humble about the whole great event. Quite remarkable for the amount of work involved.
Surely, The Engine maybe the festival's centerpiece. But "The Collision" of art, people, and everything in between maybe its masterpiece.
The Engine Collision Festival continues through Sunday (3/8). Purchase tickets here. Photos from last night's event here.
Photo above courtesy of The Engine Theater.
Maudegone - "LoveLoveLove"
Maudegone - "Santa"
Maudegone - "A Ballet"
