Izumi Junko and Miyake Tokuro of the Izumi School of Kyogen from Japan demonstrated performance techniques and discussed their careers as the first female performers in this male-dominated field. Daughters of the nineteenth head of the Izumi school of Kyogen, Izumi and Miyake have been pioneers for opening the Kyogen stage to women while strictly following the rules of their art. Izumi Kyoko, the daughter of Izumi Junko (age 6), also appeared on stage wowing the museum visitors.

San Francisco-based poet Zach Houston wrote poems for visitors at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art from June - July 2011. On Friday, July 1, Zach took his poemstore on the road to the Blue Gallery in the Crossroads for First Friday, where he took inspiration from visitors to write poems on his manual typewriter. More information about zachhouston:poemstore, please visit: http://www.nelson-atkins.org/art/exhibitions/poemstore/index.cfm

A collection of horned speakers, made from compressed recycled newsprint and dryer lint, created by sculptor and instrument-maker Ian Schneller and composer/violinist Andrew Bird, are installed in the MCA's atrium to create a unique sound garden. Bird records the initial compositions on-site at the MCA and sends musical information to different groups of horns via multiple loops. He layers and changes the compositions throughout the remainder of the installation off-site via computer technology.

Celebrated master of Balinese shadow puppetry, I Wayan Wija performs Tantri, a collection of animal tales. Wayan Wija has created a new form of shadow puppetry, Wayang Tantri, by creating a set of characters based on the animals and human characters of the ancient Panchatantra tales.

Invited by the Hammer to participate in our Artist Residency Program, VanDerBeek spent several weeks in Los Angeles over the past year. The works included in her Hammer Project have grown out of this residency and offer a particular view into our city. After she finished her installation in the vault gallery at the museum, we spoke with her about this project.

Performance 9: Allora & Calzadilla
December 8, 2010-January 10, 2011
In conjunction with the exhibition On Line: Drawing Through the Twentieth Century
The Museum of Modern Art, November 21, 2010–February 7, 2011

Video produced by Ben Coccio

© 2010 The Museum of Modern Art, New York

What’s the difference between art and entertainment? In this film, artist Kalup Linzy prepares for his debut performance as Kalup & Franco—a performance art music-based collaboration with the actor James Franco—at Rob Pruitt’s 2010 Art Awards at Webster Hall in the East Village. Kalup & Franco are the closing act for a Hollywood-style awards show where celebrity and contemporary art merge in ambiguous ways.

In this video, Suzanne Bocanegra describes how “a tiny little Seurat painting” inspired her to create Little Dot. She envisioned the defined movements of a ballerina’s feet as a parallel to the movement of Seurat’s pulsating dots, leading her to create a piece that combines sculpture, sound, and live performance.