xxvic. “Respect and love for those who thrive in narrow places, the in-between spaces of change. Gratitude to those who have made movement their method, upheaval their home. And who, without even a whistle, know when to get in line, when to make a circle, when to spin the ocean. And know it with the drum of their whole bodies. Who have so practiced merengue that they know just when to turn. Whose bomba call and response has become seismic now. Impossible to ignore.”

—Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Undrowned: Black Feminist Lessons from Marine Mammals, 2020

This hyper-glitch opera is a disjointed fable for seven characters where one finds bird-fingers, chalice-hands, and artichokes-grenades. All are welcome to the party to witness a confrontation between the inflated heads of Energetic Pessimist, Let All Canons Fall, and The Narcissist, also known as, respectively, Cornucopia, Battle, and Narcissist. As the personalities of a single individual, distinct people, or characters from society as a whole, these three figures live in precarious balance. If one falls, the other rises, with potentially catastrophic results. In fact, it will happen. There will be hits below the belt, and we’ll have to start all over again. The figure of Aria Monumental sings a requiem for destructive egos. Metronome Timekeeper, the eternally wise whale, watches us from the depths of the ocean, on an entirely different wavelength. Meanwhile, ball chasers make sure everything goes smoothly.

Referencing the codes of opera, ballet, heavy metal, techno, and baguazhang, among others, Howes leads us through several acts, from calm to chaos, until the dust settles. The libretto’s text and indications, presented as surtitles, transform themselves in sync with this epic story. Howes calls on us to celebrate our flaws, frictions, and complexities rather than sweeping them under the carpet. This work (and it most certainly is) requires humility, intention, and depth. And a bit of magic. Soon, you will witness a transformation; incremental of course, but a transformation nonetheless. Repeat.

Credits

• A film by: Emma Waltraud Howes
• Production Manager and Assistant Director: Marie Glassl
• Production Assistance: Elena Popova, Anna van der Veen
• Performer, Co-Composition and Vocals (Aria Monumental): Kinga Ötvös
• Research (Aria Monumental): Jess Gadani
• Performer (Metronome Timekeeper): Jao Moon
• Performer (Scorekeeper I): Joni Barnard
• Performer (Scorekeeper II): Annalise Van Even
• Performer (Battle aka Let All Canons Fall, or Aktualneurosen) : Eli Cohen
• Performer (Cornucopia aka Energetic Pessimist (after Kristeva)) : Chia-Ying Chiang, Sonya Levin
• Performer (Narcissist aka The Narcissist, or Elsa’s Muse): Przemek Kamiński
• Director of Photography: Kleber Nascimento
• Camera Operator: Lena Krenz
• 1st Assistant Camera: Boyko Panayotov
• 2nd Assistant Camera and Data Wrangler: Adela Asavei
• Gaffer: Alexander Kain
• Electricians: Lewin Berninger, Marcel Ruddies
• Grip: Marlon Koppelkamm
• Technician (DMX Operator): Marc A. Bodenbach
• Still Photography: Nicholas Ash
• Sound Recording and Design: Adam Asnan
• Technician (Extinct Audio BM9 microphone): Stewart Tavener
• Composition: Jacob Stoy
• Composition Research: Ethan Braun
• Costume Design (Baroque(n) Tethers): Studio Marta Martino
• Costume Design (Scorekeepers): Don Aretino, Muyao Zhang
• Hair and Makeup Special Effects: Caterina Veronesi
• Hair and Makeup Assistant: Fu Okamura
• Costume Assistance (Metronome Timekeeper): Cristina Nyffeler, Caterina Veronesi
• Costume Assistance (Inflatable sculptures): Rosa Czernin, Ursula E. Klein (Schulteswien)
• Glass Assistance: Rudy Faulkner (Berlin Glas e.V.)
• Graphic Designer: Daniel Neubacher
• Co-production: Ludwig Kameraverleih, SUMOLIGHT
• Project Manager (Ludwig Kameraverleih): Thomas Buchholz
• Lighting: Klaus Hamlescher (SUMOLIGHT)
• Additional Gratitude: Big Image, TLT
• Catering: Farrah Hammadou (TableFarrah)
• Postproduction manager: Philipp Maurice Raube, Die Neue Lux
• Editor: Elisa Purfürst
• Visual Effects: Lars Ledebur
• Post Production House: The Post Republic
• Color grading: Maren Henke, Gregor Pfüller
• Sound mix: Henry Uhl
• Surtitles layout and design: Belén Ríos Falcón, Franziska Morlok (Rimini Berlin)
• English copy editor: Mark Soo
• French translators: Marie Glassl, Charlotte Lalou Rousseau
• French copy editors: Bernard Bohbot, Chloé Gagné Dion

Exhibition History

• The Time it Takes
  2024
  Musee d'art de Joliette
  Joliette, CA

Related Publication

• The Time it Takes
  2024
  Ed.: Charlotte Lalou Rousseau, Guest Curator
  Musée d'art de Joliette
• Scores for Daily Living
  2020
  Ed.: Mark Soo
  K Verlag
• Ankyloglossia (n. tongue-tie) e-book
  2015
  Ed.: Emma Waltraud Howes & Franziska Morlok
  Rimini Berlin
• Ankyloglossia (n.tongue-tie)
  2014
  Ed.: Emma Waltraud Howes & Franziska Morlok
  Co-published by K. Verlag and Künstlerhaus Bethanien GmbH.