Theaterlab Presents:
Time and Evidence : Action Painting Performance
Wednesday, June 22 @ 8pm.
Tickets: $10 – buy HERE
Naoki Iwakawa
action painting performance
N Heroux
electric guitar noise
Dok Gregory
electric guitar noise / electronics
Jay Eckardt
live projections
In Time and Evidence, Naoki Iwakawa is asking the important question “what is a painting?”. His action paint performance exercises the connection of senses in order to examine the essence of a creative source through sound and vision.
Artist Statement:
Time and Evidence / Sight and Hearing
The purpose of this performance is to re-recognize the essence of painting using sound and video, or to redefine painting. In this work, I am for a non-traditional approach to painting. This work pursues a new way of “completion” in painting production. In general, when viewing a painting, the viewer seems to make some judgement about the work based on his or her feelings and feelings at the time, arbitrary delusions, and information that he knew in advance. I would like to ask how vague the invisible emotions and delusions are in us human beings. this, this work will be established as one work for the firs time by projecting images of events that happened on the canvas in the past. In other words, in order to re-examine the vague stereotypes of human beings as mentioned above, to convey more realistic information to the viewer by showing the process and the state of the production of the word in a video. I suspect that it can be done.
In the production of the video, there were several live paintings in my studio. There, improvisational performances and improvisational projections were made as follows : DOK GREGORY : Electric Guitar and Electronics, N HROUX: Electric Guitar, NAOKI IWAKAWA: Electric Bass and Live Painting, JAY ECKARDT: Live Movie Projection. They were recorded by Jay Eckardt each time, edited by Zen Iwakawa and made into a video work. When it is open to the public, those works and paintings will be screened, and images of the past events on the canvas will be recorded and edited. As a result, this work is established.
COVID 19: Boosters and KN95 masks are required to enter the venue. Masks will be also available at the door. The safety of our audience and artist is a priority. Thank you for helping us keep Theaterlab a safe space for everyone.
About the Artists
Naoki Iwakawa is a visual artist and creator of unique action-painting performances that produce expressive, large-scale works. In his work Iwakawa brings to fruition a rare sensibility capable of merging the chaotic and Dionysian quality of experience with the meditative quality of action. Born in Osaka, Japan, he moved to the States in 1991. In 1996, he founded the artistic collective and performance/exhibition space The Cave in Williamsburg, Brooklyn with Shige Moriya and became an artist-in-residence there. His work has been shown at OK Harris, Art Gotham, 450 Broadway Gallery, and Cast Iron Gallery in NYC. He was voted best action painter by The Village Voice. His upcoming show at Theaterlab on June 22, 2022 will show his extensive body of work spanning live action, video and paintings. Naoki is also the master sushi chef at the excellent Japanese restaurant, GEN in Brooklyn. http://www.iwakawanaoki.com
N Heroux is creator of PC-fantasy-grunge entity Hooray For Earth and current Sub Pop recording artist. Noel answers frequent calls from collaborators seeking unique guitar work live and in studio, produces records and enjoys experimentation in paint and photography. www.noelheroux.comÂ
Dok Gregory has been composing, performing and recording experimental/electronic music since 1981. Current projects include Plan 23, Byzantine Art Punk Ensemble, Principle String Quartet and Peter Stampfel’s Atomic Meta Pagans. He has been a member of New York City based audio visual group Amoeba Technology since 1997, toured and performed in festivals throughout the United States, Europe, Russia and South America and had recorded works released in most of the same. Doks’ audio-visual collaborations have been featured in programs at the Forum Des Images in Paris, Basel Art Fair in Switzerland, The Kitchen + Lincoln Center in NYC and elsewhere. He has collaborated extensively with musical partner Peter Principle in Plan 23 and Zero Gravity Thinkers and as a member of Trance Pop Loops, Psychic TV, Apositsia Orchestra, Sewer Rats BK,  Telesmatic Sound Box and Future Dream Transmissions.  He is and has been based in Brooklyn, N.Y. for the past 28 years, and is a member of the 23 Windows Arts Collective.Â
Jay Eckardt is a camera technician in the film industry, for over twenty five years. In his free time, Jay likes to make images for non-commercial work. Collaborating with Naoki for many years, creating live paint.Â