View of AMEND. Photography by Tag Christof, 2020.
An exhibition and series of four performances by multi-disciplinary artist Chris Emile, AMEND explores Black male identity through movement, cinema, sculpture and sound. Emile employs archival & contemporary found footage with artifactual set design to re-render the modern architectural marvel that is the Schindler House into a sacred, private place: a home amenable for Black dealing and healing. An intergenerational cast of three dancers acting as one man, move the audience through the house and through time working their way through the question: who, if not me, decides what a Black man is? This performance series continues from its original dates in March 2020, which were postponed due to the coronavirus. Performances occur at 2 pm, 3 pm, 4 pm.
A Note on Safety: All visitors will be required to wear a mask. Visitation will occur on an RSVP-basis, with 10 audience members attending each performance. Visitors will view the performance from outside, observing social distancing measures.
Artists
chris emile
Based in Los Angeles, Chris Emile is an active director, choreographer, educator, and performer. He received his formal dance education from Lula Washington, Karen McDonald, the Ailey School, and holds a BFA in Dance from the Alonzo King LINES Ballet/Dominican University BFA program as a member of the inaugural class. As a dancer, Chris has performed with Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Morphoses, Luna Negra Dance Theater, and BODYTRAFFIC performing the works of master choreographers such as Nacho Duato, Idan Sharabi, Stijn Celis, Barak Marshall, and Gustavo Ramirez Sansano.
Chris’s choreographic work has been commissioned by the San Francisco Symphony, Solange Knowles, Sao Paolo Opera, Anderson Paak, Moses Sumney, Opera Omaha, the University of Southern California, the Institute of Contemporary Art, and LA Opera for the Pulitzer Prize winning opera p r i s m where he also assistant directed. He has been a guest lecturer at the California Institute of the Arts, UCLA, AMDA, Loyola Marymount University, Boston Conservatory, Pomona College, and UC Irvine. As the co-founder/curator of the movement based project No)one. Art House, he has also programmed site specific performances, films, educational workshops, and movement based installations with institutions such as Hauser & Wirth, the Getty Museum, MOCA, Refinery 29, St. Germain, Art + Practice, the Broad Museum, the 14th Factory, and the California African American Museum, among others.
This program is presented with the support of an arts grant from the City of West Hollywood.