In February of 2015, the SMU Meadows School of the Arts announced the Detroit-based artist collective Complex Movements as a recipient of their annual arts prize, which includes a residency and a $25,000 stipend. Starting tomorrow evening, Complex Movements will present 10 performances of Beware of The Dandelions at the Tower Building of Fair Park in Dallas. As of this morning, four of these performances were sold out. Tickets are free, but must be reserved. The group has been working with Ignite/Arts Dallas as well as many artists, activists, and community members in Dallas to bring this engagement to life.
Originally inspired by a talk by Detroit activist Grace Lee Boggs (who died last month at the age of 100), Beware of the Dandelions is performed for groups of 35 people at a time inside a 400-square-foot polyhedron dome-like pod structure that serves as an immersive performance art space. From their web site:
Complex Movements’ current project Beware of the Dandelions is a mobile art installation that functions as a performance, workshop space, and visual arts exhibition. The piece intersects disciplines including: community organizing, design, hip-hop and electronic music, architecture, and theater…The performance and generative design are projected onto the surface of the pod to create an immersive visual and sound experience that incorporates science fiction, projections, songs, and interactive game elements.
Even the group’s explanation of the project (in the 7-minute video below) at the 2013 Creative Capital Artist Retreat does not clear up what this will be, but it sounds pretty intriguing.