Shark, camera, action!

Weronika Trojanska

28.03.2014

recensie

Issue nr

‘Absurdity heightens rigour’ is probably the most often-cited statement of Glenn Lewis, a central figure of the sixties and seventies Vancouver art scene. Lewis (aka Flakey Rose Hip) is an artist of many faces: sophisticated potter, the lover of gardens’ architecture, cook, Paul Cezanne’s double, street cleaner, director and participant of synchronized swimming performances.

In winter 1970 he initiated the mail-art exchange group New York Corres Sponge Dance School of Vancouver (NYCSDSOV), in response to the Roy Johnson’s New York Correspondence School. Its decentralized formula and open membership brought together both local and international artist, such as Robert Filliou and Yvonne Rainer. They camouflage their meetings as performances at the Old Crystal Pool in Vancouver, recognizable by their rubber shark-fin caps, designed by artist Kate Craig. As they swam, the shark fins protrude from the surface of the water, suggesting in a playful way the danger and, at the same time, a metaphor for the subliminal, revealing upon what exists underneath.

40 years later, Glenn Lewis was invited by Kunstverein Amsterdam, in conjunction with his solo show, to work with local swimmers (artists together with professional synchronized swimmers) to create a new shark fin “ornamental swim” performance. Its final result was presented during the Spring Performance Festival 2014 (collaborative event of Kunstverein and Galerie Juliette Jongma) on March 20th at Mirandabad in Amsterdam.

Spectators that came in the late evening hours to the swimming pool experienced the show almost straight from the Hollywood musicals. Dim light, music with a spirit of movies from forties and fifties, vintage photographs of water ballets projected on the screen create the cinematic scenery. The shark-swimmers performed routines inspired by choreography of actress and champion swimmer – Esther Williams. At the edge of the pool Glenn in a black bathrobe was reading.

‘My mind is a sponge gathering historical data’, says the first line of the text. Although the choreography was created especially for this event and the script adapted particularly for Amsterdam, there was no escaping the historical connotations. Far from being an attempt of reconstruction, the Dutch episode is homage to the activities of NYCSDSOV. The script consists entirely of quotations from various sources and in this light the performance itself could be seen as a citation of their previous actions.

It’s like a travel through time. Putting together the joy of swimming, Dutch infrastructure, Esther Williams, Oranje’s scandal at the 1974 World Cup and Hollywood stories, Lewis creates a blend that seems as absurd as a “Sponge cake”, mentioned in the text as well. But surprisingly it all made sense and created a coherent whole. Particularly interesting when thinking of Amsterdam as a city situated below sea level and built on the water.

The performance was not only a tribute to NYCSDSOV but to art in general, “a reminder of a potentially viable means for artists today to meet and collaborate”, said the press release. Synchronization, indeed, is an art of becoming harmony with one another.

After all, “ornamental” swimming in its practice and intentions often has been considered by its lovers as a “work of art in the water”. Geometric constellations and breathtaking acrobatics garnered audience’s cheer, which encouraged the swimmers and gave the event the feel of a sports competition.

No wonder then, that, in the seventies after first series of performances of the Sponge Dance Swimmers, Glenn Lewis was hailed, by the Esquire-magazine, as an “Esther Williams of Art”. And even today, at the age of 78 he is jumping into the pool to perform together with the swimmers the final figure, to the tune of Sinatra’s singing In a spin, crazy about the spin I’m in.