Artists are always looking to new media, especially new technology, to find inspiration for their works. It’s almost inevitable, though, that the new-fangled medium winds up being informed by very old school methods and concepts. So it is that Fort Worth composer Austin Patton and members of Contemporary Dance/Fort Worth (pictured left) began working on the modern dance piece Some Assembly Required with internet phenomena like crowd-funding and Facebook as their muses. They solicited input from the general public both inside and outside the Fort –– specifically, they wanted folks to donate objects that make interesting sounds as well as little bits of choreography and movement that, once approved, would be added to the public performance. Some Assembly Required happens 1 & 3pm Sat July 12 and 3pm Sun July 13 in the grand lobby of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth (3200 Darnell St). It’s free. And wouldn’t you know it, the inspiration that wound up emerging in the work and, in a way, overshadowing the whole community cyberspace aspect of the show was… Stone Soup, one of the oldest and most loved tales of collaborative creation around. (The more things change… ) Now complete the community aspect of the artists’ process by bringing your butt to actually see one of the performances this weekend.
