This was about honoring all kinds of people. It was about the different facets. People got to look in and see the humanity. It gets you right at your soul.
In 2006, musician Antony Hergarty and his band Antony and the Johnsons joined with video artist/director Charles Atlas to take their collaborative music/art performance ‘Turning’ to several major cities in Europe. Together, they documented the tour with Turning, a “subtle journey into the feminine universe with Antony‘s music floating into your ears and Charles’ pictures in your eyes.” Both the performances and the songs examine and challenge traditional perception of gender identity, while the film not only captures those performances and the artists who made it possible, but also attempts to at least moderately explain its purpose.
The show is comprised of two interconnected parts – one, a concert led by Antony (and his highly unique vocalizations and warbling voice) and two, a visual art piece arranged by Atlas, consisting of a rotation of solitary models turning on a revolving platform as their image is projected on a screen with various effects. The songs are hauntingly beautiful and full of emotion, while the models are equally captivating in static poses, some dressed in elaborate costumes while others don fancy evening wear or even topless. The camera captures them in moody lighting and close-up, often morphing dual images together with time delay or distorting color and clarity to create an ever-evolving tableau of intimate portraits.
The film also travels backstage, as concert docs often due, and introduces each of the thirteen models that grace the stage. They come from a variety of backgrounds and locales, but linked together through the show’s overarching theme of gender identity and sexual orientation. In the dressing rooms and hallways, in rehearsal, and traveling from city to city, we see the girls interact with one another and form a tight knit bond full of camaraderie and support.
Just before they go onstage for their turn, we meet each model – some lesbian, some transgender, others androgynous – individually and informally as they explain where they came from, their struggles with gender/sexuality, and often, the problems that arose from it. One explains how she thought she was the only girl who liked other girls, how another had wished she had a penis when she was younger. Two of the older women reveal the most interesting stories – one a Japanese-born clothing designer who witnessed many of her friends die during the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s, another is a retired Ph.D. professor of mathematics at NYU enjoying the freedom of a new life.
On the other hand, the film does not properly introduce or interview either main artistic force behind the show – Antony is only seen singing or giving last minute instructions/pep talks to the models and Atlas is only show on the fringes, redirecting a camera or light. Though not the point of the show or the film, I was still left curious about their thoughts and motivations behind the production. It moves along at a casual pace, but the film is short, punctuated by a repetitive back-and-forth of talking head interviews and music performances. And let’s face it, if you do not like the unique music stylings of Antony and The Johnsons, then the film will be hard to sit through waiting for the next interview.
The shows are intimate and full of abstract art, concentrating solely on the images and music. On the other hand, the film takes a more simplistic and straight-forward look at the production, concentrating on the models and their stories. Together they combine to create a dreamlike film that reveals how the subjects are faced with and deal with tough and emotional issues concerning identity.
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Turning opens Friday, January 11 at Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center and will screen at 9:15 p.m. nightly.
So come out to the Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center (1618 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd. New Orleans) this weekend and take advantage of this unique film-going experience and all the Zeitgeist Arts Center has to offer. And by doing so, help support one the premier alternative arts center in the South. You can also visit the Zeitgeist Multi-disciplinary Arts Center’s website here.
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