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Lisa Anita Wegner

“I make stuff and sometimes write about it”

Tag Archives: haus of dada

May 15, 2023 Mysterious gifts in the mail

I love a social experiment.

In 2019 Scott White and I created Intangible Adorations: Experience The Icon. Read about it here on Broadway World.

I also created LAW Thought Certificates A CBC comedy blog reposted by story about selling these certificates and some people we angry with me that I made so much money so easily. The more ridiculous I make my experiments, and the more I say they are fictitious, the more people seem to believe me. I sent local artists who inspire me Unlimited LAW Thought Certificates, to think about me gratis as much as they wanted.

Artist Would Rather Give Ownership of Her Work to Those Who Inspire, Than Those Who Can Pay.

An undocumented international pandemic offshoot project was Did you get an ADORATION in the MAIL? Starting in 2020 I sent anonymous artistic packages to thirty artists that inspire me. Hand written letters, collages, small gifts from my practise and red herring messages. I love paper-based mail and I love a good mystery.

At the beginning of pandemic I received a wonderful plug in massager with a cryptic message and no return address. Recently I received a Pink Panther T Shirt and a silver cross necklace. I wear them both and think often of who might have sent them. I also got a year long paper magazine subscription of Toronto Fashion sent to Haus of Dada. I actually really enjoy this for collaging.

I am full of appreciation as all of the gifts are things I would not have bought for myself but am enjoying.

Yours ’till the USA drinks Canada Dry!

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July 25, 2022 Seeking Cotton Candy Administrator

A Resplendent Magician Trips Through the Orthodox Celebration in Robes

An Intergalactic Candy Corn Administrator Activates A Community of Glorious Freedom 

A Tenacious Contortionist Touches and Climbs Through The Zealot’s Conviction 

Is it you?

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July 13, 2022 Stretching Through Dimensions Like Lions Tied by Spheres

WE are driven to push forwards, innovate, change, contribute to a questioning of old, outworn modes and to bring in new perspectives on the higher levels of consciousness – faze out the systems of separation and work to introduce new, inclusive ways of operating in unity. 

As spirit we know that there are no true boundaries between human beings, there is no separation. We all come from the same source, and we have incarnated as any imaginable variation of human being throughout our long existence – we have all been black and white at different times, we have all been women and men – and spirit wants us to remember this. From their perspective war and conflict on earth is due to the illusion of separation – based in the idea of one group of human beings as essentially different from or superior to another. In spirit we are all the same. 

Two perfect pieces of the most beautiful creation ever seen – the whole, you together in harmony like up and down, back and front, sky and earth, fire and water. 

Stretching through dimensions to each other like lions tied by spheres from star to star. Animalistic yet angel-winged. We come together. Brutal/soft. Hard flying. Comedowns nowhere. We stay up, fly together. 

Time means nothing in spirit but I’ve never been the patient type. I am a man/I am a woman/I am spirit/I am time/I am an eternally fading/exploding star. She is herself yet she is me. I am her yet I am myself. We are ancient yet children. Thousands of lives. Always each other. 

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July 4, 2021 there you are

your face is there like a fever dream

in the background 

like you’ve always been there and all ways will be.

I saw you looking for me

On the other side of tomorrow there is no need to worry

WE will decorate for the holidays

Coffee and candies in the bathtub

artful living

and the feeling of home

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March 29, 2019 Spoonie in The Haus

I haven’t written much lately, mostly because I’ve been in an Ehlers-Danlos Sydrome flare up that is using all my physical emotional and spiritual energy for the basics of living. The spoon theory is that folx with certain illness have a finite amount of spoonfuls of energy in a day. I feel like right now I might have ten spoonfuls in a day. One is used for getting up, three to shower, two to dress and two preparing a beverage. Then I have two left for the day. And that is a hard boundary. There are no reserves at all.  Most days that means forfeiting the shower or the fresh clothes so I can type some information or do a few minutes of creative work. Or if I am able to eat solid food, to prepare some cereal or toast. My executive functioning is very low so I can’t execute things with any steps. I get lost in the steps and often get overwhelmed which leads to system panic or overload which includes being unable to stand with incredible nausea. This state of being is so challenging: I am often struggling for breath, my large muscles will start to spasm, my throat seizes up and then I can’t quite remember who I am or what I am doing.   I basically sit or lie and wait for friends to come in and help out. Luckily I can still make stuff. Gifs instead of short films, or photos instead of videos.

 

I started teaching my Performance Art Salon via video conferencing and shooting from the floor. Anything to keep creative work flowing with the very limited amount of bandwidth available. I have been able to leave the house about twice a month with the help of a buddy.  I look forward to this changing soon.

 

This flare up will flare down and I will have more spoons and energy available. I just wanted to say there is a Spoonie at the Haus of Dada. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoon_theory

 

 

Lisa is pictured posing with bracing, compression and other items that help in a flare-up.

 

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September 1, 2016 Canadian Performer Refuses To Show Face

In Toronto Canada, an arrogant performance artist declares themself amazing while refusing to show any facial expression.

Photo by Ashley Hurlock for Akhilanda Collaborative
Photo by Haus of Dada
Photo by Angela Chao
Photo by Haus of Dada
Photo by audience member at Black Cat Artspace
Photos by Angela Chao
Photo by Haus of Dada
Photo by Haus of Dada
Photo by Steve Weiss
Photo by Anandam Dance Theatre for Body Break
 

When we reached out to the haus of dada for comment we received the following message in German via telegraph from curator Fritz Snitz. “The Ubermarionette only does private performances for close friends, artists and cherished audience members and is not interested in speaking with you peoples.” -Ritzy Fritzy

Artist Would Rather Give Ownership of Her Work to Those Who Inspire, Than Those Who Can Pay.

Performance Artist’s Perceived Gender Affects Audience Reaction 

 

 

 

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September 29, 2015 BEING: inside the glacier. Performing GLACIOLOGY with Anandam Dance Theatre

After having the pleasure of working with choreographer Brandy Leary on my performance piece, Sex & Candy Floorshow, I was intrigued when I heard about her 2015 Nuit Blanche piece ,GLACIOLOGY. It is part of curator Christine Shaw’s exhibition Work of Wind along the Toronto Waterfront. Glaciology is a human glacier made of 50 human bodies that slowly sweeps across the Toronto waterfront from dusk until dawn.
My art practice has always been relatively solitary, and for the past three years I have performed solo for Nuit Blanche. I was very much drawn to a different way of working and the opportunity to collaborate with a large group.
At first rehearsal, I was hoping that I was physically strong enough for this project. With the dancers, acrobats and circus performers warming up, I felt unsure. As soon as Brandy started the rehearsal with a performer massage, it felt right. Her meditative style “state work” is very much up my alley. My daily practice involves body work and meditating and I felt Brandy’s concepts for the Glacier made perfect sense. My body knew what to do.
I realized that this piece of 50 bodies was actually about doing nothing. It’s about relaxing and physically giving in to the glacier as a whole. It’s about radical physical listening and gracious waiting with your whole body.
I wasn’t sure about potentially being underneath a pile of people. I dislike crowds, and thought it might be too much for me. What was a surprise was that the glacier felt like being embraced. It was a benevolent place to be. If a foot or elbow was coming toward your head, someone would guide it away. I found the physical safety of the glacier was remarkable. I also found the feeling of being protected intoxicating. In rehearsals, when I was out of the glacier watching, all I wanted was back into the warm safety of the group.
Being in the glacier is one of the peak emotional experiences I’ve had in a performing situation, and we’re still only in rehearsal. I’ve been swept up in the movement of this physical entity of 50 bodies, and it is transformative. The first time I got flipped across the top of the group, I felt such joy. Many of the performers talked about how being in the glacier bends time. An hour in the glacier feels like about 10 minutes, and I am craving the longer sessions that we have scheduled for the actual Nuit Blanche performance. I am trying to figure out how to get this kind of emotional physical work into my daily practisc.
As with any public performance, I look forward to the plethora of images that will be collected throughout the night. Please tag your images #glaciology2015
I will write more about this experience after the festival.
2015 ADT Season FB Banners DRAFT A2
Cheers
Lisa Anita Wegner
Filmmaker Performer Curator Programmer
Here is the free link to download the soundtrack for an immersive experience next weekend: http://jamesbunton.bandcamp.com/album/glaciology-i-v
About GLACIOLOGY:
A glacier composed of 50 human bodies slowly sweeps the city for 12 continuous hours as part of curator Christine Shaw’s exhibition The Work of Wind. Anandam’s Glaciology examines the permanent effects of human and ecological disruptions in the converging wakes of colonialism, globalisation, wars and unsustainable economies by overlapping and contrasting these images with the indelible power of glacial movements across landscapes.

Using the movement of glaciers across landscapes as an entry point, this piece explores states of density, collaboration, collapse, overpopulation, relocation, disruption, environmental tipping points, disappeared people, mass graves, icebergs, and melting ice caps.  Glaciology combines site specific performance with human sculpture and choreographic installation to create a surreal, constantly shifting image of bodies as landscape and simultaneously as capsules of history and memory; both human and geological.

http://www.scotiabanknuitblanche.ca/project.html?project_id=1568

Choreography: Brandy Leary

Sonic Designer/Composition: James Bunton

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April 16, 2015 An Open Letter to Lady Gaga: from my haus to yours

Lisa Anita Wegner

Lisa Anita Wegner

Dear Gaga,

My name is Lisa and I am a filmmaker, performance artist, curator, storyteller, light bender and space/time traveller. You inspire me tremendously, and I am writing to express my appreciation for what you have sparked in my work, beginning with Queen of the Parade, my first large-scale performance/fashion/video installation and the work that put me on the map as an artist. 

Rise and Fall of The Queen of Jupiter 2016

Rise and Fall of The Queen of Jupiter 2016

 

In 2008, I had hit hard times – I lost my film production company, all my savings, my heart and my mind. I collapsed getting to the Cannes Film Festival in 2008 and spent the next two years largely unable to function. In the Trauma Therapy Department of Women’s College Hospital, I found art therapy. I started a daily art-making practice that saved my life. I had gone offline and expressing myself in art and video was my lifeline, my communication with the outside world.

I remember the exact moment the idea for Queen of the Parade was born: I was walking my dogs and listening to “Marry The Night” after I had been binging on the BBC Series My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding. (I am obsessed with the gloriousness of Gypsy Fashion.)

That night, hearing your lyrics, “I won’t give up on my life/I’m a soldier to my own emptiness/I’m a winner,”  affected me profoundly, and set something inside me aflame. In a flash, I pictured myself as an enormous woman in a huge dress with a video screen on the front, with your song resounding in my head. I rushed home and wrote everything down in a crazy, inspired burst. This was the first step toward the 26-foot installation that was part of Toronto’s Nuit Blanche in 2013; during the event itself, I listened to “Marry The Night” on repeat with ear buds while I was twenty feet in the air.


This led to my first commission by Partners in Art, who commissioned a gallery-sized 10-foot Queen. This was a terrific experience that enabled to connect more directly with the audience, and I didn’t want the performance to ever end. 

 


Something was awakened in me and this led to a whole body of work of experimenting on and off the space/ time continuum and speeding up and stretching out moments. I could finally breathe; I felt like I had come alive.


My new performing persona Think(k) Blank Human was born the following Nuit Blanche in Toronto as part of my installation TRIANGLE. I found comfort in her skin, and really came out of myself as a performer.

In 2016, I will be creating The Fall and Rise of The Queen of Jupiter, which feels like the natural progression of my work. This time, I will be kicking off my high heels and putting on Thin(k) Blank Human’s space boots, and I shall rise from a pile of fabric into a 40 foot Alien Queen. Instead of strutting, I will run and dance.

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This performance piece will run 33 minutes and I would love permission to use extended versions of “Marry The Night,” “ARTPOP” and “Applause” as the soundtrack for the ascension. 

I am approaching Thelma Madine, the Gypsy dressmaker from the series, to design the Queen of Jupiter’s Gown, and I would love to have  permission to use those three songs.

This is my story of re-invention, and I feel like this is the first piece I’m presenting that is truly me. I’ve been searching for authenticity through artifice and I finally have landed on something. I feel extremely compelled toward this project. For women who have crashed and burned and for those of us who have gotten up, I feel it is our job to inspire others to get up and stand as tall as we can. You preach this every day, and this is one of the many reasons for my unbridled admiration.

Please let me know your thoughts me using your music for The Fall and Rise of The Queen of Jupiter in 2016.

An ocean of appreciation from my Haus to yours,
Lisa 

Mighty Brave + Haus of Dada, Toronto
bosslady@mightybraveproductions.com

p.s. Thin(k) Blank Human did many a cover of Marry the Night, she was so inspired.

 

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November 13, 2014 (We Could Belong Together: Looking for) Tiny Art and A Tall Thin Man.

Call for Submissions: GALLERY1313 (http://g1313.org)

Lisa Anita Wegner, who has always loved unexpected sizing, is looking for extremely small art of any medium for TINY: a group exhibit which will on display for a month entirely in the Windowbox at 1313 Queen Street West. Please submit a jpeg with dimensions or the existing or proposed pieces.

Call for Performance Artists HAUS OF DADA: (www.mightybraveproductions.com)

Looking for a tall (6’2”+) slim male performer to perform with Thin Blank Human. Send us a picture, your height and performing experience.
http://lisaismightybrave.com/2014/10/31/performance-artists-perceived-gender-affects-audience-reaction/

Please contact Matthew or Patrick at hausofdadatoronto@gmail.com with TINY or THIN BLANK HUMAN as the subject line.

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October 31, 2014 Performance Artist’s Perceived Gender Affects Audience Reaction 

Since Nuit Blanche on October 4th 2014, artist Lisa Anita Wegner has been performing as Thin Blank Human with her face and body completely covered in a white spandex suit. She talks about the surprising experiences of her audience interactions these last weeks as she talks to Fritz Snitz.

In the weeks leading up to Lisa’s third and last Nuit Blanche installation TRIANGLE: Ascension into Another Golden Age, Lisa discovered bending light with mirror film, a practise she calls Light Painting. Her mind was blown open so wide from this discovery she never recovered. In the days leading up to the event Lisa was not able to decide on an outfit for Mama Dada/ Space Guide. Several days before Nuit Blanche it all came together when Lisa found a white spandex morph suit and she never looked back.The Thin Blank Human came to life.10484925_10154646615130521_7406620484583067895_o
Q: On the eve of your Performance/ Projection/ Sculpture installation TRIANGLE: Ascension into Another Golden Age you were interviewed by local news and walked once to The Black Cat as The Think Blank Human, with only a headset and GoPro camera her your head. Tell us about that.
 A: My outfit really wasn’t coming together, and when I saw the morph suit I felt like I’d found it and I decided to put my original Space Guide outfit on a mannequin and be The Space Guide’s Soul. This also felt right for the light painting that I was excited to do. I decided I was the spirit of Mama Dada who travels through space and time. In the suit I felt comfortable and free, the only thing is I really can’t see. I had an interview with local news and I wore just the suit, the headphones and a GO Pro on my head. 
 
I noticed during that quick interview that people stepped and leaned away from me when I approached and talked to them. And stared ay me with with open mouths. Someone on Dundas Street said “that’s a dude” as I passed. I walked once to The Black Cat from Haus of Dada and got similar reactions. The wind was cold on my body and I had an impulse to put a dress over the white morph suit for my own warmth and comfort. Without testing it in advance I put a Mama Dada dress over my suit and went back out. 
 
I spent the  rest of the night in a performing in a white morph suit and a dress and more obviously a woman I got friendly reactions and TRIANGLE: Ascension into Another Golden Age was a a wild success. That night Thin Blank Human was born.
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Q: And then you performed a Strip Tease called Nothing To See Here. 
 A: Yes later in October I performed Nothing To See Here at The Canadian Alternative Arts Collective (of which I am proud to be a new member) and here is where the gender issue started to become interesting. That night I didn’t speak. I gestured to the writing on the back of my Flight Suit and then would do various strip tease dances out of the suit. 
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At first an older man said ‘You are spectacular, can I ask if you are a man or a woman?” I answered “I am a woman” and he said “really?” and stared at me longer. I said “yes my name is Lisa” and he seemed not to believe me. During this packed event I stripped out of the flight suit many times. A second man came over and said to me “If you don’t stop that, I’m going to punch you in the face.” I was surprised  and responded playfully but didn’t stop. Third guy said “I don’t want to see a man strip. Stop it it’s fucking disturbing.” I said out loud “I am a woman.”  I overheard another man say “that is not a woman, no woman would dance like that.” I also heard “no woman would wear that.”
 
Interesting. First of all who cares? These guys care. I was immediately reminded of friend and artist Steven Joseph, who was my MUSE for TRIANGLE, he is a male who is given a hard time on a regular basis by males who get angry with him for looking like a beautiful woman.  Screen Shot 2014-09-10 at 10.36.04 AM
 
These small examples led me to believe that I want to further experiment with gender and the morph suit. So my female body shape and female voice do not trump the idea that I’m a man.  – October 27 2014.

Fritz Snitz is arranging for Lisa to perform NOTHING TO SEE HERE in New York City in 2015 following a series of performances in downtown Toronto. Tonight for Halloween Haus of Dada presents a Screening/ Performance/ Installation FREE SURGERY on All Hallows Eve where Lisa will be performing as The Faceless Dr. Wegner. 

More about Thin Blank Human Artist Would Rather Give Ownership of Her Work to Those Who Inspire, Than Those Who Can Pay.

More: Performance Artist Charging Art Collectors To Think About Her

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October 13, 2014 Artist Would Rather Give Ownership of Her Work to Those Who Inspire, Than Those Who Can Pay.

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Artist Lisa Anita Wegner has had a wave of unexpected financial success when Haus of Dada started offering LAW Thought Certificates for sale. Originally priced at a mere $200 to think about Lisa, when they were announced as available the price shot up to sell at over a thousand times their original value.

An anonymous German collector was thrilled that he holds the first gallery sanctified thought, purchased at $300,000 CDN. He owns the thought of Lisa Anita Wegner in her signature white suit for 2014. “Many others are allowed to think it, but I own it- I paid for it” the collector boasts.

“We don’t want Lisa saturating people’s minds, we want them wanting more. So we will stop the sales next week and then “Memories of LAW” ownership certificates can only be viewed be during upcoming March 9th performance at the Museum of Modern Art or next season as a guest performance at the Art Gallery of Ontatrio” says her manager who goes by his street name Wheels. 10632756_10154674563975521_2249571178938028204_n

Unexpectedly the first week of October, Haus of Dada stopped the sale of these thought certificates and Lisa insisted the 3.3 Million CDN be divided amongst local charities.

“All this wealth flashed around felt creepy,” admitted Lisa, who will now be giving these valuable Thought Certificates to people who have directly inspired her. “If these folks want to cash them in, that is up to them. It is a gift.”

willisBruce Willis poses with a rare shot of a LAW Thought Certificate. “I’ll never let this piece go.” Declares Willis

 

So artists, art patrons, curators and media are all waiting to see who is chosen to receive  these valuable pieces of paper.  “Finances will have nothing to do with it. They go to those who have given me something much more valuable than money. Inspiration and human connection.” says Lisa with a big smile.

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October 13, 2014 Fritz Snitz for Haus of Dada

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July 20, 2014 Whole Milk and Cocaine: Making Spectacle of Stardust at The Black Cat

During the makeup test for my upcoming performance/ live art making/ projection show STARDUST: Life on Jupiter? makeup artist Wanda MacRae and I created a universe we both wanted to play in.  We talked about the elements that we had in place and with that created a very simple performance based around the haircut, makeup and styling which transforms me into David Bowie’s character Ziggy Stardust in 3.5 hours, covered by entertainment reporter Katie Uhlmann, three go pro cameras and two art video interns that are “Stardust Technicians”.
Soundtrack by Wanda MacRae based on our mutual love of Bowie, Gaga, Boy George and a few other inspirations. My projected Stardust Video Studies will loop on the back wall of the gallery for the entire event.
I enter the gallery at 7pm with my wet hair in a towel, wearing a white lab coat. While my hair is pre dyed under the towel and my eyebrows are pre waxed and drawn on, I look essentially like myself. Wanda, the makeup artist is the “STARDUST Surgeon” as she is responsible for my transformation of my head. Wanda and I met performing with Erotic Nightmare a Rocky Horror Picture Show cast (I was Brad she was Janet) so we inserting a Rocky Horror feel. Our all female surgical crew will be dressed fashionably yet medically and have Wanda’s implements on silver trays. Both STARDUST Technicians are art video interns, they will have matching Canon Cameras and their second job is to record the event as creatively as they see fit. They will have the Stardust Lightning bolt on their faces.
I will sit in a hairdressers chair in the window of the Black Cat Gallery and absorb the feeling of the transformation while Wanda works. Once my hair is cut and styled I will put on one blue contact lens and partially dress under the lab coat, for the makeup portion.
lifeonjupiter?final
To build toward the ending, the white face powder will be brought out on a mirror by one STARDUST Technician while the second technician brings be a carton of whole milk. During the time Bowie was Stardust he imbibed only cocaine and whole milk. My white powder is face powder but that doesn’t mean we can’t cut it with a credit card. And I will be handed the whole milk, a treat for me once I’m STARDUST complete. I’m hoping Maha Richi, a stylist I’ve known since high school who is dressing me will be able to be there to put jacket/  the final touches on me for the cameras.
The STARDUST Technicians will countdown and pop glitter canons to signify the transformation is complete. I will mingle for the rest of the evening enjoying my milk after my Stardust Surgery.
Off all the wonderful work I have had the privilege of doing in recent years, this is what I’m most excited for. To see how it feels and how the world treats me when I have an orange mullet and no eyebrows.
The rest of the week I’ll be pulling my art practise from The Haus of Dada into The Black Cat gallery 2-6pm. Also by appointment in the evenings. I invite to come watch, play, interact, co- create or just look through the window while I play, shoot, edit, score and project as I work.

Wanda and I doing makeup test.

Wanda and I doing makeup test.

Closing party I’ll be Ten Foot Tall Queen of Stardust, with glorious rainbow gown by Vanessa Lee Wishart and video legs by Forever Epic Films.

Sneak peek at Vanessa Lee Wishart’s glorious rainbow gown for closing party

Thanks everyone who has helped me bring this to life.
Cheers and as always thanks to David Bowie himself, the quintessential artist mentor.
xo Lisa Anita Wegner

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May 15, 2014 Life on Jupiter? Me & Ziggy

I tell people all the time that I meditate but so far I’ve laid pretty low about my meditation buddy Ziggy Stardust.  It sheds light on my fascination, for those interested in such shedding.

Lately in my meditations when I look in a mirror I see a mashup of myself as/and Ziggy Stardust. It feels like the most natural thing in the world to have him lounging emanating pure pleasure and joy. This is in a meditation space where usually there is blank slate. I have a wild imagination but have tamed it diligently over the years- I’m pretty good at clearing my mind and creating a blank scene.  When outside chatter quiets and I’m able to hear myself Stardust is there I let him sit. Sometimes he offers a comment but often is silent looking at me knowingly.
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I’ve been compelled into creative action by this character more than an I ever expected.  I dig Bowie but it’s his 1973 spaceman rock god that has my imagination hostage recently. I started to get a sense that somehow I was seeing an unexplored aspect of myself.  I became compelled to try him on for size.
At Andrew Williamson’s gallery The Black Cat on July 31st 2014  I will perform a live transformation. Wanda MacRae hair and makeup artist will make the magic while I experience it. She will dye, cut and make me up replicating the Life on Mars video. Ouchy eyebrow removal also onsite. Of all the awesome  upcoming work, I am the most excited about his.
After we have some matching footage of the LOM video I’m going to figure out the next step. The rest of the week I’m editing live and filming in the gallery basically moving my art practise into a public space. Want to know how I make what I do, here’s your chance.  I just now realized I want to set up a go pro all week. I also have a second Stardust transformation happening on a lovely fellow in my life who looks like Bowie thus we will shoot Stardust on Stardust, the crescendo of the ultimate creative wank. Incidentally one of my dogs looks like the canine from Diamond Dogs album over so some half dog half human action is terrifyingly in order.
In 1973, the year that I was born David Bowie lived as Stardust for one year. I love that he knew the perfect length for an alien rockstar to live and killed him off in his prime. So somehow in 73 that poked into my imagination’s DNA.  I  have no idea where this is going to go, but I can’t wait to see the world treats me sporting the Stardust.

I declare myself officially part of the huge pool of artists inspired by the space man himself. Thanks Zig. Thanks Bowie. I am so excited to see where this door takes me and I’ll see you on the other side.
Now back to prepping video content for a group show UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT and then dodging raindrops with the diamond dogs.
LalalalaLisa
LAW of Transformation:
Stardust:
Life on Jupiter
the law of ziggy

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January 23, 2014 Ultimate Creative Freedom: The Birth of A Dada Nation

I have found such ultimate freedom and creativity in rewriting my history. Having Tobias Funke murder the real me is opening up the universe. My art flows through Mama Dada and I can’t wait to see what kind of child she raises. I now envision a Dada Nation, a place that my family builds where no linear timeline exists and all the rules are broken.

Mama Dada was an old child and every day she is getting younger. Papa Dada is so in love with her.

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January 13, 2014 the day before + my dada parents = met

in-the-moment story creation is the most fun thing i can imagine. i am totally hooked. i lose myself completely in all parts of the process. with an idea of the direction i’m going based on intuition, images and feelings. i find half in the moment of shooting and half during picture and sound editing. i usually see a couple of steps ahead but those can change based on what i find in the moment. while i tend to have a clear idea of what i am looking for, i surprise myself with sometime finding more authentic, unexpected or wilder than i imagined. like mama dada having two heads on occasion.

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i see clearly what i am shooting tomorrow, therefore, i know i’m on the right track. i am actually compelled to start shooting right now fifteen after midnight, but slow is my new fast. enjoy the time to play create and i a learning to take a breath in between.

your ’till the usa drinks canada dry
lisa anita wegner

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January 10, 2014 Papa Dada: Rewriting Haus History Lab Experiment Day 1

I have a vision of creating myself as a whole family. Father, mother, self, sister, brother, child. I saw it as a silent black and white film series telling the fictional history of the Haus of Dada. The beginning is the meeting of Mama and Papa Dada. Mama Dada is an artist and Papa is a romantic fool who does everything Mama’s love. He is in love with the reflection of himself in her.


Slow is the new fast, so I decided to break this down to tiny pieces. Today I found a look and the beginning of Papa. He turned out silly and vain feeling like the bastard child of The Burger King and Dali. I think I’m onto something. Papa’s musical uncle is Klaus Nomi.

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With this act, I activate the history of the Haus and so Papa Dada is born. Happy Birthday Papa I look forward to meeting you soon again.

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January 9, 2014 Haus of Dada Laboratory Experiments 2014

Art Right Now
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Current Projects and Collaborations:
  • Haus of Dada Happening Series: unadvertised pop-up projections installations
  • Sleight of Gesture, interactive digital magic show in collaboration with Vincent John Vincent of GestureTek
  • LAW of TRANSFORMATION: research. Video series with live gallery transformation by hair and makeup artist Wanda MacRae.
  • You are Mother Nature. A performance art and interactive projection showMoment Factory Me: Dada Dreams Laboratory video series
  • Ongoing body of pixel paintings
  • Daily video experiments
  • Ongoing body of collages with found objects
  • Ongoing series of self portraits: moving + still
  • Flash Mob concept creation and execution
In development:
  • My Favourite Mistake: White Tragedy Feature Film
  • Welcome to Your Guidance System: Inner.Space
  • Neverwet on White: You are The Artist
  • A collaboration with Istavan Cantor

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January 3, 2014 They’ve forgiven my mistakes: If you listen carefully, there is music in the silence

I had my first projection happening on New Years Day. It was -19 degrees outside and I had a flu that had knocked me almost senseless. I had set up and tested the equipment the day before when I had my wits about me, so I decided to go ahead with it as planned. And I’m very glad I did.

I had my first projection happening at haus of dada on New Years Day 2014. I showed rear projections out the large front windows at the Haus of Dada, to surprise some passerby. It was -19 degrees outside and I had a flu that had knocked me almost senseless. I had setup and tested the equipment in advance so I decided to go ahead with it as planned. I’m very glad that I did. 
 
 
I cancelled my camera person because I thought I might be contagious. I was woozy on cold and flu medication and had to set my alarm for ten to 7pm to turn on the set up. When I tested it I didn’t watch all the way through there are some pieces with words and when they came up in the program I realized I didn’t flip to rear projection so it was really a show for me, lying on the couch in the main room. Sweating, coughing and buzzed on flu meds.
 
I was intending to have a few folks inside the main room to watch with me, but I was in so shape to receive anyone, so locked the outside door. I set up a camera in the locked porch. I forgot that camera batteries don’t do well in a deep freeze.
 
So I watched the program from inside, in silence (nauseous headache required silence) and I appreciated again how my video work is like my visual diary. The vids I showed were all made in the last six months and it was a walk down memory lane for me. I am happily reminded my art is really for me.
 
Watching the smaller screen with the sped up process videos of me working was interesting. When I’m actually working I go out of myself and lose time and space. Watching me making stuff is surreal: I know it’s me but I don’t have a specific memory of it.
 
There was deep freeze and black ice on the sidewalks. I left one window without a screen so I could look out. One person, possibly still drunk for new years eve, yelled that they could watch my videos forever. I was the most interested in the walk by traffic and their response to an unexpected light show. I will definitely be doing an ongoing of series of these unexpected unadvertised happenings.
 
Two days later I woke up at 6am. I still feel gross but I can’t sleep and decided to write this. I am happy.
 
 
 
It happened
I saw
Redemption
LAW
 
 
 

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December 28, 2013 venus is in the haus

welcome to my haus

countdown:

6 peanut butter balls left in the whole tin

5 days to the haus of dada happening

4 cookies fit in my mouth at once

3 rear projection screens fitted, cut and edged

2 video playlist curated, created, tested and ready to screen

1 new idea, set-up, experience and the documentation of it

0 things left to do

333

perhaps an ongoing series of happenings?

333

3 screens, roscoe half white

i’m heading outside for a spin around the ‘hood with the canine component

venus is in the haus, of dada

❤

 

 

 

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December 16, 2013 Outside the Haus: New Year’s Day Dada Happening

Two experiences brought this idea together:
 
On Hallowe’en I put up some Roscoe Tough White Diffusion in the front Window of the Haus of Dada. It makes a terrific crisp rear projection both inside and out. I played clips of black and white monster movies and the scariest scenes from The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Even before the sun set it was nicely visible from the street and I was surprised that even on such a rainy night people stopped and watched for longer than I expected. Some came back several times and some sent other family members.
 
On Nuit Blanche I did a performance projection installation where I was a 25 foot Queen at the corner of Queen Street West and University Ave. It was interesting to have huge walking by audience and again I was surprised how long people stood watched and interacted with me.
 
So I had an idea for a Happening. I think that is a perfect term for what I have in mind. On New Years Day from 7pm to 11pm I will project a selection of my Moment Study Videos out the large front window of The Haus of Dada.
 
I made an invite on Facebook, for some folks who have expressed an interested in seeing my video studies projected. But I’m not sending out invitations like a usual event, I am more interested in the experience of the passerby. I will set up a GoPro camera to catch the silhouettes of viewers.
 
I am keen to see what happens.
Image
 

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May 29, 2011 Selection 2011: No Festival Required

Sunday, June 26, 1 pm (doors open at 12:30pm)
Whiteman Hall, Phoenix Art Museum
 1625 North Central Avenue, Phoenix AZ 85004

Free Admission! Ask for movie pass at front desk

Short films by local, national and international filmmakers combine for the annual eclectic selection curated by Steve Weiss, executive director of No Festival Required Independent Cinema.

Note: This is the last screening by No Festival Required Independent Cinema at Phoenix Art Museum. Join us to celebrate, since 2004, truly independent film programming at PAM, and learn about other new opportunities to see No Festival Required presentations!

Mature content. Runtime: 75 minutes

Filmmakers Selection 2011
Bartek Kulas (Poland), Yuri Makino/Cindy Stillwell (Tucson Arizona/Bozeman Montana), Bob Miller (New York), Mathieu Rigot (France),
Lisa Anita Wegner (Toronto CA), Steve Weiss (Phoenix Arizona), Dragana Zarevska (Macedonia)

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