(NORTH ADAMS, Mass.) – In smoke-filled rooms along rue Pierre Fontaine in the 1920s, Andre Breton and his co-conspirators developed a corpus of mind-bending games to supplement their new philosophy of surrealism. Musician/performer Roger Clark Miller (Mission of Burma, Alloy Orchestra) brings these riotous games to Club B-10 at MASS MoCA on Saturday, February 22, at 8pm. The MASS MoCA audience should come prepared to play.
The Surrealist movement and games such as the Exquisite Corpse – an exercise in which working together, but unaware of other participants’ contributions, players create a story, or drawing – enchanted Miller during his 1970s college days as a musical composition student. “A great virtue of these games is that they are not at all competitive. A person who is an experienced artist may interact with a more naive drawer to produce a brilliant composition. It’s all about the collective work,” he says.
Artistic skill is not required, Miller assures participants. “It’s completely unimportant… The point is the collective vibe. I love seeing things being created, and it’s guaranteed that at the end of the night you’ll have a bunch of things that never would have existed by planning them.” After explaining the games, Miller strolls the room, making sure players follow the simple yet sometimes oddly confusing rules. He also acts as DJ, creating a surreal soundtrack for the evening’s festivities.
“This will be one of those ‘only at MASS MoCA’ nights that reverberates for a long time down the road,” says Jodi Joseph, MASS MoCA’s director of communications.
A full bar, and dinner and snacks from Lickety Split, are available before and during the show. Tickets are $20 reserved, $12 advance, $16 day of and $10 for students. Members receive a 10% discount. Tickets are available through the MASS MoCA box office, located on Marshall Street in North Adams, from 11am to 5pm (open every day except Tuesdays). Tickets can also be charged by phone by calling 413.662.2111 x1 during box office hours or purchased online at MASS MoCA.
MASS MoCA is one of the world’s liveliest (and largest) centers for making and enjoying the best new art of our time, across all media: music, art, dance, theater, film, and video. Hundreds of works of visual and performing art have been created on its 19th-century factory campus during fabrication and rehearsal residencies in North Adams, making MASS MoCA among the most productive sites in the country for the creation and presentation of new art. More platform than box, MASS MoCA strives to bring to its audiences art and shared learning experiences that are fresh, engaging, and transformative.
MASS MoCA’s galleries are open 11am to 5pm every day except Tuesdays. In July and August, MASS MoCA’s galleries are open 10am to 6pm every day. Gallery hours are often extended on evenings featuring performing arts events. Gallery admission is $15 for adults, $10 for students, $5 for children 6 to16, and free for children 5 and under. Members are admitted free year-round. For additional information, call 413.662.2111 x1 or visit MASS MoCA.