-
Shaun Leonardo's work is part of the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston's RadicalPresence: Black Performance in Contemporary Art exhibition.Photo by Ana Devora -
Musiqa will premiere Leonardo's The Arena, a piece that fuses improvisatorypercussion with Greco-Roman wrestling.Photo by Ana Devora -
Leonardo decided that to properly critique his subjects he had to do it from theinside out.Photo by Ana Devora -
As became fascinated with hero figures, sports personalities and virilearchetypes, he resolved to approach his study from an experiential point ofview.Photo by Ana Devora -
The Arena will premiered at the Progressive Amateur Boxing Association incollaboration with Project Row Houses.Photo by Anthony Brandt
-
The Arena, a vision of New York-based performance artist Shaun El C. Leonardo,who's also a painter and sculptor, was performed twice in a Musiqa Loft Concertat the Progressive Amateur Boxing Association Saturday.Photo by Max Fields -
Shaun Leonardo has been deconstructing hyper-masculine stereotypes by engagingin red-blooded activities and surveying pop culture hero paradigms.Photo by Max Fields -
The initial 6-foot body slam that pounded floor conveyed that this was atangible, painful grapple.Photo by Max Fields -
There wasn't a winner nor a loser, but two hard-bodied men who tested eachother's physical strength.Photo by Max Fields -
Through Mexican wrestling, bull fighting, boxing and visual arts , Leonardowants to expound a different point of view for what it means to be a patriarchaccording to shifting 21st century ideals.Photo by Max Fields -
Leonardo, aka "El Conquistador," and his opponent "Firebird" Jorge Santidescended the back stairs and greeted 60 spectators, some of whom were dressedin creative black tie.Photo by Max Fields
-
For Musiqa's 2012-13 season, the five-member artistic board continues to striveto challenge the idea of a typical concertin integrating different art forms tomake each concert a compelling whole. Lighting design in this photo by JeremyChoate. -
Sebastian Currier is Musiqa's visiting composer for the season.Photo by © Jeffrey Herman -
Poet Sarah Manguso writes about an intergalactic love affair. Her text is set tomusic by Sebastian Currier in Deep Sky Objects.Photo by Andy Ryan
-
Musiqa Houston has just landed it's fifth consecutive National Endowment for theArts' Art Works Grant for Musiqa's interactive education programs, Around theWorld and Musiqa Remix. -
Musiqa is known as a presenter of newly composed art music. Programs centeraround its Houston-based artistic board including (pictured from left) KarimAl-Zand, Rob Smith Anthony Brandt, Pierre Jalbert and Marcus Karl Maroney.Photo by Mark Dean
-
Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal in CantatPhoto by © Robert Etcheverry -
Shaun El C. Leonardo, The Arena, 2012, performance, PABA, Houston, courtesy theartist and Praxis International ArtPhoto by Max Fields -
Tony Feher looks on as Kristen Frankiewicz interacts with his DiverseWorksinstallation Free Fall.Photo by Sarah Cook -
The Bridge Club, The Voyage Out II, 2012, archival digital print edition ofthree, 24 by 36 inches. The Bridge Club's show Still, running at Art Palaceuntil Feb. 16, offered an even more elusive physical experience.Photo courtesy of The Bridge Club -
Still from American Falls (2000-2012) by Phil Solomon. It required a full 51minutes of the viewer's attention, and the captivated columnist stayed theentire time.Photo courtesy of the artist
-
The opening concert of Musiqa's 2012-13 season moved toward a more integrative,holistic approach to how, why and when music is presented. -
American composer Sebastian Currier was mused by 19th century song cycles andwished to admix a slice of 21st century zeitgeist for his Deep-Sky Objects.Photo by © Jeffrey Herman
-
A reading by writer Sarah Manguso in the first half of the concert allowedinsight into how meaning is layered when text it is set to music. When Americancomposer Sebastian Currier crafted Deep-Sky Objects, a suite of 10 movementscommissioned by Musiqa, it was in collaboration with Manguso.Photo by Andy Ryan
-
Currier's Divided and Scatter-brained, movements from his QuartetSet, inspiredTina Bohnstedt to choreograph a work for Houston Ballet II. The second worldpremiere of the evening translated the titles of the movements in addition tothe gestures implied by Currier's music.
-
Jane Alexander, Frontier with Ghost, 2007Photo courtesy of Contemporary Arts Museum Houston -
Stacey Steer's Night HunterPhoto courtesy of Night House Hunter -
Still from Marina Abramovic: The Artist is PresentPhoto courtesy of Music Box Films -
Dario Robleto, Defiant Gardens, (detail), Courtesy of Inman Gallery andCollection of the Mint Museum, Charlotte, N.C.Photo by Robert Wedemeyer -
Maureen Nelson and Lisa Burrell, violin, Rene Salazar, viola, and RichardBelcher, cello, performing as part of Musiqa's Surveys Loft Concert in the midstof Jane Alexander: Surveys (from the Cape of Good Hope) at the CAMHPhoto by Jonathan Mitchell
