Body, Mind, Soul

My book is available for e-purchase covering the most significant trends in Performance and Video Art of the late 20th Century. Please go to my website for ordering information. www.doctorheatherwood.com.

Cindy Sherman at the Met

It's a great time to take a trip to New York. Cindy Sherman's work appears in two shows this month: one at the Met and the other at MOMA. "The Pictures Generation" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art features several of Sherman's famed Untitled Film Stills as well as earlier time-based studies created for Metro Pictures. The show also includes the work of Barbara Kruger and Richard Prince, colleagues in the quest to indict the image.

Sherman's piece, Untitled #43, is featured separately at the exhibition "Into the Sunset: Photography's Image of the American West" at the Museum of Modern Art. The images found here date back to photography's inception in the 1850s with works by Richard Avedon, whose controversial 1978 commission for the Amon Carter Museum portrayed some of the storied characters on the fringes of westward migration: truckers, coal miners, drifters, and other marginalized Americans.

MALI-ATX

The MALI Women's Film and Performance Arts Festival in Austin last weekend featured some awesome national talent with proceeds going to three great causes: women in media arts, breast cancer research, and at-risk teens. Friday night at the Long Center for Performing Arts the audience heard the vocal stylings of Vancouver-native Elaine Ryan en route to Montreal to join the musical community there. Her new album Trial by Fire features some of the most soulful ballads this side of the Rio Grande.

The Media Arts & Literacy Institute event lasted throughout the weekend with an outdoor, Saturday showcase of spoken word, music, and poetry. Pandora Scooter brought her personal and political poems from New York, providing a comedic and serious interpretation of the modern challenges of on-line dating. Amber Darland from Washington channelled a little Indigo Girls with her brand of awesome musicianship and Tiffany Christopher showed her compelling stage presence with her bluesy vocals, her humor, and her charm.

Finally, Joanna Barbera, from New York, San Francisco, and now Austin brought something very unique to the stage, performing some amazing tunes from her recent release carnival beginning. Her vocal capabilities showed great dimension as she channelled Cat Power and Tori Amos on stage with Kyle, her back-up bassist. Barbera's funky country tune "Goin Down" was a crowd favorite, showing the depth of this artist's talent, twisting her city roots and sophisticated flair. You can find her cd here at: http://cdbaby.com/cd/joannabarbera.

Art at 500X

The amazing multi-media artist/opera singer/award-winning poet/indigenous musical instrument maker, Lisa Huffaker, is at it again. Three of her abstract paintings appear at 500X's Annual Community Exhibition until the end of May. Check them out whenever you get a chance. They truly brighten the space and provide a superb slice of color for the summer.

Patrice Pike @ Jack's

Patrice Pike and her tight band rocked the house under the tent at Jack's Backyard Friday. Pike sang a number of original songs, including Chico, Count on You, and Unraveling. Bass player Glenn MacGregor was tres magnifique and Matthew Johnson did a stellar job backing Pike up on vocals and lead guitar.

This super-talented artist is quite a performer as she heated up the night with her sensual energy and bluesy vocal repertoire. As Rolling Stone magazine commented, Pike is "Tina Turner, Bessie Smith, Janis Joplin, and Robert Plant all wrapped up in a tiny but explosive package."

You can catch Pike headlining the MALI Women's Film & Performing Arts Festival in Austin at the end of the month. For information, go to her website at http://www.patricepike.com/ or to http://www.blowinupaspot.com/Tickets.html. Pike's music is also available online at http://www.reverbnation.com/patricepikeband.