6. is a durational interdisciplinary piece exploring relationships, community, and improvisational practice. crespo created this piece as part of their 2022 Van Lier Fellowship and premiered it at Roulette Intermedium on November 16, 2022. Featuring: isabel crespo pardo, Loré Yessuff, eden girma, Kwami Winfield, Chris Williams, and Lester St. Louis
6. is a space for these six artists to reach for one another, to know and to be known, to see and to be seen, to ask questions, and to let inspiration seep into the fabric of mundanity, all with the hope of creating a pool of collective knowing. This durational interdisciplinary piece lasts six weeks. During that time, the six artists perform specific tasks aimed at deepening ties between individual participants, while nourishing the group as a whole. The Roulette performance occured during week five of the piece, providing a brief window into their process.
6. joins artists engaged in musical, literary and visual art making. Throughout the six weeks, their conversations were necessary and private, with each utterance and silence delineating the communal space. crespo documented the process by screen-printing the artists’ words, thoughts, and questions posed during the piece and creating a wire sculpture from which to hang them. During the performance, the six artists periodically visit the sculpture, located at the center of their configuration, and retrieve a piece of fabric, screen-printed with ideas shared by one of the artists. They then use this as a point of departure for subsequent improvisation. Disassembling the sculpture alludes to a core idea of the project - that the piece exists within and between the artists themselves.
Crespo deeply admires each of the participating artists, and has carefully composed 6. as an act of care, trust and curiosity.
isabel crespo pardo, composition, facilitation, screen printing, sculpture, poetry, voice, found objects
Loré Yessuff, spoken word, movement
eden girma, voice, electronics
Kwami Winfield, trumpet, electronics, found objects
Chris Williams, trumpet, electronics
Lester St. Louis, cello, electronics, sculpture
