Numerology.
2+0+1+4=7
The Future.

WOAH bids adieu to MMXIII with a chronological recap of our most whoa-provoking audiovisual moments.  In light of resolutions to cross more trajectories and open more art houses– with 2014 set as a ‘7 Universal Year,’ with the number 7 alluding to greater intellectual and spiritual awakening – there’s hope for much more whoa to come in the new year.  Here’s to the 7 experiences likely to linger with us well beyond MMXIII …

>>LA ART BOOK FAIR presented by Printed Matter at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA.  Printed Matter presented the first-ever LA ART BOOK FAIR in February, housing over 200 international presses, booksellers, antiquarians, artists, and independent publishers for the three-day archival symposium.   Free to the public, the annual LA ART BOOK FAIR features artists’ books, catalogs, monographs, periodicals, and zines from around the globe and is companion to the NY ART BOOK FAIR, held every Fall in NYC.  Attendance all-day, every day is recommended for the LA ART BOOK FAIR 2014 just around the corner: January 31- February 2, 2014 // laartbookfair.net

>>HAPTIC & HOLISTIC STRATA by Hiroaki Umeda at Redcat.  The sold-out  HAPTIC & HOLISTIC STRATA at Redcat in February marked Tokyo-based multi-disciplinary artist Hiroaki Umeda‘s US debut.   A compelling vision of dance as multi-sensory visual installation, Umeda’s tight choreography moved synchronously to strobic projections and sonic glitches.  Within flashing patterns, scrolling videos, and explosive light particles, Umeda’s enveloping world of sound, light and movement somehow sublimated looping vertigo into transcendental equilibrium.

>>PURO DESEO by Luciana Achugar and Michael Mahalchick at Showbox L.A. Brooklyn-based choreographer Luciana Achugar performed alongside frequent collaborator Michael Mahalchick for the LA premiere of the Bessie Award-winning PURO DESEO at Showbox L.A. in March.  Evoking the occult and supernatural through sound, movement, and a moody eye for the preternatural, Achugar and Mahalchick seamlessly webbed the cavernous black-boxed theatre into an eerie, infinite– and at times nightmarish– vortex of apparitions.  For the first minutes of the performance, the viewer sat blinded in darkness (unexpected, this roughly five minutes felt like eternity), with nothing but faint sounds of bells shifting footless through space… casting the spell for the visceral and durational experience that followed.

>>WASH presented by Machine Projects As part of the Field Guide to LA Architecture series running contingent to The Getty’s PST Presents: Modern Architecture in L.A., Machine Project presented WASH, a site-specific, interactive sound installation in an indoor swimming pool.  Speakers installed above and above water channeled live and recorded sounds from Ing (John Wood and Max Markowitz), with frequencies and harmonies changing based on the viewer’s vantage point. Layers of feedback were continually added to the composition as the installation evolved throughout the afternoon.  Inviting the audience to swim through the aquatic soundscape or observe from an underground ‘viewing room’ the piece offered room for both collective and personal mediation.  Weightlessly floating and diving through underwater arpeggios, WASH, was almost as ‘immersive’ as possible.

>>THE GREY ONES by WIFE at the Downtown Independent.  WIFE is the performance trio born of LA artists Jasmine Albuquerque, Kristen Leahy, and Nina McNeely.  Premiering at TEDxSoCal, and later airing on The Creator’s Project, THE GREY ONES, juxtaposes live projection mapping with synchronized choreography to create a narrative on the evolution of time.  With an original score by Amon Tobin, THE GREY ONES evokes myth, matter, and decay; employing alternate medias to illuminate mystical phenomena and uncover collective truths.  Amazing to be apart of the team responsible for bringing this to the Downtown Independent  in August.  Presented by Phyllis Navidad, INSTALL:WeHo, MKL Gallery, FruitFlyLife, and WOAH.

>>Goblin: Giallo Live at the Egyptian Theatre. 40 years in the making, Halloween 2013 marked the Italian legends LA debut at the inaugural Beyond Fest.  Goblin’s live set drew from the foreboding, whispering melodies of their acclaimed horror and giallo soundtracks.  With founding members, Massimo Morante and Claudio Simonetti center stage; Suspiria 35mm on the–big–screen; and hosted at the landmark Egyptian Theatre– notorious as the site of Hollywood’s first movie premiere– this was an appropriately hyped event honoring the Maserati of film composers.  Presented by American Cinematheque and Amity, the month-long fest featured screenings, premieres, and music events especially suited to bate and satisfy the tastes of horror, fantasy, and sci-fi fans and nerds everywhere.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/playlists/3311700″ params=”color=ff6600&auto_play=false&show_artwork=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]>>NUIT NOIRE V presented by Mount Analog A quarterly soiree presented by Highland Park record haven Mount Analog, NUIT NOIRE V welcomed Minimal Wave Founder Veronica Vasicka, duo Beau Wanzer (Mutant Beat Dance) and Elon Katz (White Car) as Streetwalker, Karl O’Connor (Regis) and Juan Mendez (Silent Servant)’s first-last-and-always performance as Sandra Plays Electronics, and the US debut of In Aeternam Vale.  At the risk of sounding like a groupie (because for IAV, I proudly am), I stuttered out ‘thank you’s’ and seized the opportunity for a hug-in-passing from the humbled, single-braided, Laurent Prot.  The magician behind a truly insane labyrinth of sounds, Prot first appeared as IAV in 1983 France.  NUIT NOIRE VI hits the LA underground February 14, make it your valentine and reserve tickets at climbmountanalog.com.