On June 8th my boyfriend and I had the good fortune to stroll through the enchanting, amber-lit grounds of UCLA at dusk. We were there to see Organica, a collaborative, improv-based performance utilizing the “spellbinding versatility” of the organ, as stated on the website. Unfortunately, we were late and so I feel I should make it clear that though I think the performance was of mostly the same variety, we did miss the first half. Therefore, my opinion is based entirely on the second part of the show.
Brain-child of the passionate, talented and enthusiastically humble German organist Christoph Bull, Organica performs sort of like an awkward love note to the intrinsically impressive instrument. Combining improvised, illuminated painting by Venice based artist Norton Wisdom, video art by Benton-C Bainbridge, and additional organ performances by Chelsea Chen and Maxine Thevenot, the show rang with the heartfelt hope of giving organ music either more appreciation or more artistic clout.
Sadly, the improvisational elements did more to distract from the intensity of the music rather than aid in it’s presentation, giving it a bit more of that “awkward art school” vibe then it probably intended. Short of wooing the silver screen for a Dracula movie or haunting the foundations of a Gothic Cathedral with it’s beautiful, complex reverberations, I found that organ music feels oddly misplaced when simply matched with a live painter in a t-shirt and a suspended video screen.
Norton’s paintings were actually incredible, and his talent is unmistakeably odd and fascinating to observe, but the process wasn’t as frenzied or cataclysmic as I kept hoping such dramatic, musical scores would inspire. The end result of some of his darker paintings did surprise me with occasional, moving bouts of clarity when I could see the music represented in his vision, but overall Organica felt like too many small parts trying to make a whole, when the quality and magnificence of the music that came out of such an incredible instrument was already plenty awe-inspiring, plenty majestic, and plenty “whole” on it’s own.
On a larger note, it got me thinking. As with most modern art, improvisational music or anything largely “conceptual,” I find there is a danger of the concept getting in the way of expression. The expression being the truth of the art itself, the source of something that has to be heard. Organica ironically missed letting that organic expression take control, (in other words, the organ music itself) and the resulting concept was unfortunately not quite powerful enough to make up for it. Especially considering you’ve got to fill the space of Royce Hall’s stage.
But when all else failed, simply watching Bull and the other organists play was a unique thrill; coaxing intensities and crashing down on the keys like mad composers. Bull’s sincerity and unique choice of expression in finding these artists with which to collaborate, even if it wasn’t quite my cup of tea, was charming and commendable simply because he made it happen.
And though the highlight of my night had more to do with that stroll through the dark campus trees, I have to say that the encore, when they played the Super Mario Brothers score to a video montage of old Atari games, was fantastically endearing.
UCLA photo by subtleness on flickr.com
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