Artist Conversation | Ocean Body
Get to know the people and stories behind the art in this backstage look at the multi-sensory experience Ocean Body.
Join us for an evening of illuminating conversation as composer-vocalists Helga Davis and Shara Nova, along with director Mark DeChiazza, join the Momentary’s Programmer of Theater and Dance Cynthia Post Hunt for an exploration of the themes and stories behind Ocean Body. We’ll discuss how the work’s themes of collaboration, isolation, and friendship come together to create a one-of-a-kind cinematic experience, on view at the Momentary August 13—22.
Free, registration required. Register online or by calling Guest Services at 479.657.2335.
Haven’t seen Ocean Body? Reserve your free ticket here!
Per CDC’s updated guidelines, we are now requiring all visitors ages 2 and up and staff to wear a face covering indoors and for outdoor programs except while eating or drinking. Masks will be available upon entry for those who do not have one.
ABOUT OCEAN BODY
Ocean Body is a multi-screen film and music installation directed and designed by Mark DeChiazza and collaboratively created with composer-vocalists Helga Davis and Shara Nova who embody a sculpture built for two by Annica Cuppetelli.
Ocean Body examines the decade-long close friendship between Davis and Nova and seeks a necessary bridge for the division that exists not only in our society, but in ourselves.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Shara Nova
Shara Nova was born in Eldorado, Arkansas and is the founder of the chamber pop band My Brightest Diamond, whose latest album was released in November 2018. She has composed works for yMusic, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, Young New Yorkers’ Chorus, Brooklyn Rider, Nadia Sirota, and Roomful of Teeth, among others. Her orchestrations have been performed by the North Carolina Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, American Composers Orchestra, and the BBC Concert orchestra. Her baroque chamber opera You Us We All premiered in the US at BAM Next Wave Festival in 2015 and came to CPA in the 2015/16 season. Nova is a Kresge Fellow, Knights Grant recipient, and a United States Artists fellow.
Helga Davis
Helga Davis is a vocalist and performance artist with feet planted on the most prestigious international stages and with firm roots in her local community. Davis was principal actor in the 25th-anniversary international revival of Robert Wilson and Philip Glass’s seminal opera Einstein on the Beach. She is artist in residence at National Sawdust and Joe’s Pub, host of the eponymous podcast HELGA on WQXR, winner of the 2019 Greenfield Prize in composition, a 2019 Alpert Award finalist, and the 2018-21 visiting curator for the performing arts at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
Mark DeChiazza
Mark DeChiazza is a director whose multifaceted practice encompasses filmmaking, choreography, scenic and media design, and installation. His work has been presented in national and international venues including Brooklyn Academy of Music, Lincoln Center, John F. Kennedy Center of the Arts, Guthrie Theater, Singapore International Festival of Arts, Les Subsistances, Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art, and many more. He first collaborated with Shara Nova in 2019, when they co-created the massive outdoor music-performance work Look Around, celebrating Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s 125th anniversary season, featuring over 600 performers from over 30 local groups.
