Dana Hoey aka threeoaks Muay Thai Video Installation at Mass MoCA

[dtrick924]

Dana Hoey aka threeoaks has a video installation of Muay Thai sparring opening at Mass MoCA this weekend (5/23/2015). It's part of an exhibit called Artists' Choice: An Expanded Field of Photography.

 

"Fighters" is a 4 wall video installation in an 18' foot private room (ring size) within this exhibition at Mass Moca:  http://www.massmoca....ails.php?id=962 .  The piece is a 3 three minute round video starring a former pro Muay Thai fighter against an American kickboxer.  Its choreographed for clarity and simplicity for non-fighters, but only slightly (movements were limited the first two rounds, as was position towards the camera).  

Here are links to a public photo on FB:  

https://www.facebook...type=3&theater 

 

Another photo still of the exhibit:

threeoaks casually mentioned this in the training and work thread and she private messaged me after I asked for more details. I was super excited to find out this museum is close to where I live so I can go see her installation in person.

I asked threeoaks permission to start a thread and also checked with Emma and Sylvie find out their policy on promotion/self promotion of forum members and they both agreed that self promotion is a good thing.

[Micc]

Wow, that's so creative! I really like the idea, I only caught a glipse of the idea off the pictures on Facebook, but it must be really impressive in real!! Great work!

[threeoaks]

dtrick924 you are the best.  I hope you get a chance to get down there - its a really beautiful, user-friendly museum in a huge old factory space.  There are tons of different shows to see.  Thanks for offering to post.  Appreciate it.

 

Wow, that's so creative! I really like the idea, I only caught a glipse of the idea off the pictures on Facebook, but it must be really impressive in real!! Great work!

Micc thanks!  It was desperation cause I was on crutches and could not train!  Dana

[maybethestars]

Congratulations on your installation Dana/threeoaks! It looks awesome from the stills, I wish I could see the installation in person. Its so amazing that you've taken Muay Thai and opened it to the world like this.

[Kevin von Duuglas-Ittu]

dtrick924 you are the best.  I hope you get a chance to get down there - its a really beautiful, user-friendly museum in a huge old factory space.  There are tons of different shows to see.  Thanks for offering to post.  Appreciate it.

 

Dana, can you tell us anything more about the exhibit? Are the projected video samples available online (for our imaginations)? What is it that you are trying to accomplish in that ring space?

[threeoaks]

Hey Kevin thank you for asking.  I have had a bee in my bonnet about female combat since the 90's (women don't how to fight openly - affects salary negotiations - contributes to chronic underpayment..  that line of thinking).  Since I am an artist I make images of things I would like to see (ie; more female fights!).  Took me a while to finally ask real fighters to spar!  Duh!  I will post a video sample eventually to my website - bit behind on that.  As for what should happen in the ring room:  The piece is edited so that the fight moves around you (not at you - its not an attempt to simulate the real experience with a go pro or anything).  If you are watching a long shot on the wall in front of you, close-ups flash at intervals on the walls to your sides, and then sometimes in back of you.  It mirrors the sensory experience of sparring by way of editing (things coming in from your peripheral vision, rhythms set up then broken).  I also cast the very lovely Kru Natalie Fuz of Chok Sabai who you guys know (and who I first found out about by watching Julie Kitchen fights, which led to Sylvie's great interviews with her), to spar against Alex Stagi who is NOT a Muay Thai fighter but instead is all rules American kickboxing.  As such its not really Muay Thai sparring - no elbows for example.  However the interested party may note that Muay Thai is a hell of a lot more effective - Alex is talented and quite at bit younger than Nat, but that long stance... no bueno  (got the crap kicked out of her front leg). It is a southpaw/orthodox sparring session too, and probably most importantly, a butch/femme allegory.  Nat is her own elegant masculine-style woman, while Alex is a super feminine Southern woman in full make-up and a long blond ponytail.  You can see why I enjoy a lot of the topics on 8limbs and this forum as they are at the center of my aesthetic and personal interests!!!  :sorcerer:

[dtrick924]

Here's a brief video clip for the installation from Chok Sabai's facebook page.

 

[threeoaks]

Thank you for spotting that - it's really hard to shoot & Wendy took a perfect video.

[Kevin von Duuglas-Ittu]

Here's a brief video clip for the installation from Chok Sabai's facebook page.

 

Wow, that's an awesome clip! You can feel it.

[Kevin von Duuglas-Ittu]

However the interested party may note that Muay Thai is a hell of a lot more effective - Alex is talented and quite at bit younger than Nat, but that long stance... no bueno  (got the crap kicked out of her front leg). It is a southpaw/orthodox sparring session too, and probably most importantly, a butch/femme allegory.  Nat is her own elegant masculine-style woman, while Alex is a super girly Southern woman in full make-up and a fake blond ponytail. 

 

Butch/femme, and maybe even 2nd wave vs 3rd wave feminism?

What is kind of interesting is, responding very abstractly, the feminine is often seen as the passive space, the empty room/womb (the Khora). You've created such an interesting femin/ist Plato's Cave here, where the female agonist forms are projected as surface around a Khora in which the spectator stands, and in which there are no real objects (but for the observers). What does it mean to have femme/butch, (or even younger/older) striving as the simulacra in this Plato's Cave? Is this the unwritten underpinning of patriarchy or even perception itself? Really fascinating construct!

[threeoaks]

Holy sh*t! Elegant formulation Kevin! Can I quote you? And are you a philosopher? I have an undergraduate degree (& must go teach some theory to grad artists in a few weeks) but find I am far less literate in that regard 20 years on. Appreciate your thoughts very much. A critic friend was saying the room is the ring & the usual object of viewership, the fighters, are in the location of the spectators but.. Spectate not. I prefer your observation that it's a void or cave. Beautiful. Thank you.

[Kevin von Duuglas-Ittu]

Holy sh*t!  And are you a philosopher?

 

Very heavy background in Philosophy. Quote away. I've studied western Philosophy my whole life, it's a lens I see everything through, including my work and Muay Thai. I do think there is something very productive to be had in seeing this along side Plato's Cave allegory, and the Greek (and feminist) concept of Khora.

[threeoaks]

Ok I just posted your comment on my FB wall cause it's a dream to be understood (sometimes but not always happens). Instantly my art historian/critic friend weighed in, loves it. This kind of clarity is really valuable for me in guiding people to understand my intentions. Thank you again.

[threeoaks]

And I have read your posts in 8limbs- are there other texts I can read?

[dtrick924]

Another still.

[Kevin von Duuglas-Ittu]

And I have read your posts in 8limbs- are there other texts I can read?

 

I've never formally published Philosophy or criticism in print, but I wrote a Philo/critical blog for a while called Frame /sing which was loosely devoted to my personal research into the optical practices and ideas of Spinoza, and what impact they may have had on his Philosophy, presented here Spinoza's Foci. But here is a list of maybe my most wide-ranging thoughts and observations. most of them apart from that study of optics and Spinoza: Favorite Posts.

[threeoaks]

Wonderful thank you! Love Spinoza.

[dtrick924]

Finally got to see the installation today. It was awesome to see in person. So much going on it was hard to take it all in. I found that if I stood facing a corner of the room it was like watching a split screen with a closeup/highlight of the fight on one side and the main fight on the other. The soundscape was very minimalist, just the grunts and breathing of the fighters, the sound of gloves hitting flesh, and feet shuffling on canvas. No music or background crowd noise. Natalie Fuz's low kicks sounded especially dramatic, really hard, sharp slaps. 

[threeoaks]

Finally got to see the installation today. It was awesome to see in person. So much going on it was hard to take it all in. I found that if I stood facing a corner of the room it was like watching a split screen with a closeup/highlight of the fight on one side and the main fight on the other. The soundscape was very minimalist, just the grunts and breathing of the fighters, the sound of gloves hitting flesh, and feet shuffling on canvas. No music or background crowd noise. Natalie Fuz's low kicks sounded especially dramatic, really hard, sharp slaps. 

Thank you so much for going!  Yeah I love the sound - Geoffrey Hutchinson did it for me.  He is a sound artist who did this as a job but I asked him to twist it however he liked.  I am glad he went with mostly really sounds though for slo-mo he turned it into that chattering sound (which is better than the low tone that would normally be there). It is not meant to be TOO overwhelming but its edited to work with your peripheral vision kind of like sparring would (set up patterns and break them).  Anyhow so glad you liked it and thank you again!   I'm really touched you went.