Every Word Was Once an Animal
August 16, 2019
510 Oak, Eugene OR 97401
This project preview of “Every Word Was Once an Animal”, a work in progress by interdisciplinary collaborators Carla Bengston, Juliet Palmer, Darion Smith, Jesse Rose Vala, Emilia Martins, and Peter Wetherwax, was followed by a scent tasting, series of improvisational movement exercises, and speculative discussion with attending public.
“Every Word was Once an Animal” merges art, science, dance, music, and olfaction to call attention to the complex social lives and communication strategies of Western fence lizards, and to the differing conditions of perceptual and material possibilities and constraints that shape all language. Inspired by Dr. Emilia Martins’ research on the culturally learned, gestural language of fence lizards, the collaborative project blends artist Carla Bengtson’s playful investigations into the lifeworlds of nonhuman animals, with choreographer Darion Smith’s interest in human body language and movement patterns, composer Juliet Palmer’s investigations into the material possibilities and constraints of human utterance, and video artist Jessie Vala’s poetic renderings of the intimate relationship between landscape and the mythic mind.
The project will make its debut with an immersive museum installation with intermittent performances in the exhibition space at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art in March, 2020, along with a series of public events including dance performances presenting works based on the gestural language of lizards, vocal performances exploring all the sounds the human vocal apparatus can produce, scent sampling and tasting events; and a project catalogue with essays on human-animal relations from the perspectives of the arts, the sciences, and the humanities.
Carla Bengtson’s speculative projects between art and science ask what might be seen and what might be said between species, while revealing how differing bodies and environments shape what we are able to think, do, and say. She is an internationally exhibiting artist and the recipient of numerous awards and residencies, including the Institute of Art and Olfaction, the Ford Family Foundation, the Oregon Arts Commission, the National Endowment for the Arts, and residencies at the 18th St Arts Center, Ucross Foundation, MassMoCA, Djerassi, Signal Fire, Andrews Experimental Forest, and the Tiputini Biodiversity Research Station.
Juliet Palmer is a New Zealand-Canadian composer and the artistic director of Urbanvessel, a platform for interdisciplinary collaboration. Based in Toronto and New Zealand, her work has been featured around the world with performances at New York’s Lincoln Center, London’s Southbank Centre, Soundculture Japan, and the Adelaide Festival, among others. She is currently composing new works for the Detroit Symphony (2019), and a commissioned work for Canada’s Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra with conductor Gemma New (2020)
Dr. Emilia Martins studies how sensory systems impact social behavior in zebrafish and the evolution of lizard communication in Sceloporus lizards. Martins joined Arizona State University in 2017 after serving as a Program Director at the National Science Foundation, and as Professor of Biology at Indiana University. Martins is a Fellow and Past-President of the Animal Behavior Society, and has served as editor of Evolution, Systematic Biology, and American Naturalist, among other journals.
Darion Smith is an internationally performing dancer and choreographer and co-founder of New York based Janusphere Dance Company (JDC). He studied at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow, and at Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen, Germany. In addition to JDC, Smith has performed with Dance Theatre of Harlem, Metropolitan Opera Ballet, Buglisi Dance Theatre, and New York Theater Ballet.
Jessie Rose Vala is a multimedia artist working in ceramics, video, installation, and print. Her work has been exhibited at Truck Gallery (Calgary, Canada), V1 Gallery (Copenhagen, Denmark), Present Company (Brooklyn, NY), and Torrance Art Museum (California. Vala was an artist in residency at Fjuk residency (Husivik, Iceland), Playa at Summer Lake (OR), Jentel (WY), Can Serrat (Spain) amongst others. She has received grants from the Oregon Arts Commision, PICA, and the Ford Family Foundation. Vala is part Ungrund Collective, a collective of female video artists who curate screenings nationally.
Dr. Peter Wetherwax is a pollination biologist in the Institute of Ecology and Evolution in the Biology Department at the University of Oregon, as well as an Associate of the Environmental Studies and Latin American Studies Programs. He has a past life as a professional musician, and is currently collaborating with artists on projects between art and science.
