Breakwall by Megan Pitcher at ArtPrize

I strive to write about a variety of different artists and creative work on this blog, so I was excited to hear about Megan Pitcher and her project called Breakwall which is set to be presented at ArtPrize in Grand Rapids, Michigan. ArtPrize Seven occurs between September 23 and October 11, 2015 in downtown Grand Rapids. If you are in the area, you can see Breakwall at the Site:lab (Res345) venue. This link from the ArtPrize website has more information.

Breakwall is a dance piece that involves unique sound work/design as well. When dancers move through the sonic environment that Megan has created, it activates the sounds of waves. Her work has a strong basis in ideas of identity formation, and her choreography reflects an acute awareness of the ways that, in her words, "the small actions we do all the time define who we are." This awareness of the everyday also extends to exploring everyday images and how these familiar images as well as actions shape cultural expectations.

In short, Breakwall gives us a space to contemplate questions of the individual vs. confining social structures--and the ways that we can redefine conventional notions of female/feminine through our awareness, artwork, and individual actions.

Megan has created the hashtag #breakwallbodies which she encourages people to use whenever they make choices "to stand for women against the tides of cultural criticism."

I really like the notion of the tides/waves as metaphor here, and I'm looking forward to exploring more of Megan Pitcher's work. Check out the Breakwall page on her website as a starting point. You can also find her on Facebook and Twitter.