{"id":5570,"date":"2020-08-23T04:08:30","date_gmt":"2020-08-23T10:08:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qualityofmercy.com\/blog\/?p=5570"},"modified":"2025-08-10T23:59:05","modified_gmt":"2025-08-11T05:59:05","slug":"portrait-of-rudy-perez-3-anatomy-of-a-performance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qualityofmercy.com\/blog\/2020\/08\/23\/portrait-of-rudy-perez-3-anatomy-of-a-performance\/","title":{"rendered":"Portrait of Rudy Perez 3: Anatomy of a Performance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What follows is an extension of Part 2<\/a> of my interview with dancer-choreographer Rudy Perez. It’s not an interview but rather the thousand words that are hardly worth a (moving) picture. It’s an anatomy of the performance that first brought Rudy and me and my fellows together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Urban Rite <\/em>(aka Collaboration<\/em>)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Forty years ago today Rudy Perez<\/a>, David Moreno<\/a>, Joseph Shuldiner<\/a>, and I presented Urban Rite<\/em>, a performance at Traction Gallery in the Little Tokyo neighborhood of Los Angeles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David and Joseph were my loftmates in that sprawling space, the former Angeles Desk Company<\/a>. Joseph and David finished a small portion of the open room, dubbed it TRACTIONgallery, and inaugurated it that February of 1980 with a performance by David titled Aqua<\/em> (for which I did sound). The piece interwove mythology, astrology, clairvoyancy, autobiography, propinquity, and mutability into an ocular and sonic spectacle of that which is vital, powerful, yet virtually invisible: H2<\/sub>O. In the climax of the piece David shaved off his beard, which he’d probably sported for ages, and which had figured prominently in the work’s publicity. A year later, Rachel Rosenthal, with whom David had studied\u2014and who was in the audience\u2014lost her own locks<\/a> in He Left Her in Naxos<\/em>, a piece that premiered across the street from us at the satellite gallery of LAICA<\/a> (Los Angeles Institute of Contemporary Art), an ambitious but short-lived arts institution.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"David<\/a>
Obverse of invitation postcard for Aqua<\/strong> by David Moreno, February 1, 1980.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Traction Gallery announced its rather ambitious summer schedule by the flyer below. Collaboration<\/em> was a placeholder for the eventual title Urban Rite<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Traction<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In July, Joseph held an exhibition titled Paper & Felt Pieces<\/em>, which were sculptural and hinted at the constructions he’d produce later.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Joseph<\/a>
Joseph\u2019s trifold invitation welcomed gallery goers the summer of 1980.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I followed up with Aches<\/em>, an evening of sound pieces (on my birthday).<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"David<\/a>
Once upon a time, after a night of carousing, I went home with a guy only to find this postcard in his living room, framed. \u2018\u2018That\u2019s me,\u2019\u2019 I said. \u2018\u2018Yeah,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Urban Rite<\/em> was six days later (on my wife-to-be Andrea Carney<\/a>\u2019s birthday).<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Urban<\/a>
At the time of our issuing the performance announcement, we still hadn\u2019t settled on the title, Urban Rite<\/strong>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

L.A. 200, <\/em>later named\u00a0Images and Delusions of L.A.,<\/em>\u00a0was a bicentennial mail art show at Traction Gallery that opened September 4, with the contribution of, among others, Jerry Dreva<\/a>, whom Joseph had met in a graphic design work-study program conducted by LAICA and federally subsidized by CETA (Comprehensive Employment and Training Act).<\/span>1<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"LA<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Coincidentally, the day after the mail art show opened, Rudy presented another collaboration\u2014with composer Lloyd Rodgers and visual artists Phil Garner and Mark Stock at LAICA’s downtown space.<\/span>2<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Rudy<\/a>
Rudy<\/strong>\u00a0by Mark Stock (1951\u20132014), lithograph, 1984. Stock\u2019s paintings have a bold illustration-like quality, whereas this portrait exhibits the detail of which he was capable.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

And a week later, on September 12, Rudy Perez Dance Theater appeared in Dance Kaleidoscope \u201980 at the John Anson Ford Theater in Hollywood, presenting a new work titled, mm\u2026, New Dance<\/em>, which might have satisfied at least one critic (about which more below).<\/span>3<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I asked Rudy how the three of us at Traction came to work with him on Urban Rite<\/em>. He said he was very interested in the art that was coming out of downtown L.A. and it’s likely he attended David’s Aqua<\/em> and chatted him up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An Anatomy of Collaboration<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

From my initial notes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. \n
      \n
    1. Opening Image: Chairs<\/li>\n
    2. \u2028[Audiot]ape of chairs\u2028<\/li>\n
    3. (Chair piece) = w\/ film?\u2028<\/li>\n
    4. Dancing Ban in China\u2028<\/li>\n
    5. Ritual Piece \u2013 Fetish(es) \u2013 too serious?\u2028<\/li>\n
    6. [American] Indian Dance \u2013 Rudy\u2028<\/li>\n
    7. Wrappings \u2013 Joseph\u2028<\/li>\n
    8. Construction Piece \u2013 David [Moreno]\u2028<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      This was fleshed out in a second set of notes. The titles are as they appear in the event program; notes have been expanded for clarity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      1. \n
          \n
        1. Chairs covered by drop cloth, painter’s artist’s cloth; slides projected on drop cloth; sound effects: construction sounds, chair sounds at end;\u00a0David M w\/ mask gives chairs to audience members\u2028<\/li>\n
        2. Introduction to “Sacred Ground”<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 David Moreno, from a work in progress (sound excerpt from Gamba<\/em><\/a> \u2013 David Hughes<\/span>4<\/sup><\/a><\/span>): Construction Ritual w\/ live mechanical sounds & tape loop [vocal loop from Gamba<\/em>]; in the dark; LIGHTS!!; T\u00a0A\u00a0B L E A U X; T R A N S I T I O N (20\u00a0min.)<\/li>\n
        3. Running Board<\/em> \u2013 Rudy Perez: American Indian<\/a> dance piece\u00a0\u2013 Rudy (1:24) w\/ construction barrier lights (flashing);\u00a012000 Silence \u2192 Airport<\/a> (1:00) \u2192 children’s chant [actually Tibetan Buddhist chanting<\/a> from His Holiness Dardo Trulku Rinpoche and the Gelugpa Order]\u00a0(2:36) \u2192 airport<\/a> (1:25; 4:05 together)<\/span><\/li>\n
        4. Tremors<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 David Hughes: AiR (retitled Tremors<\/em>) \u2013 Sound piece<\/a> (3:00 min.)<\/li>\n
        5. Last Breath<\/em> \u2013 Joseph Shuldiner: W R A P P I N G S (original title) \u2013 Dark \u2013 Silence \u2013 Bamboo chopstick sounds on the ground \u2013 Lights come up \u2013 Feed Plastic \/ Open Door \/ Close Door (20 min.);\u00a0audio consisted of the initial “gong” from Herbert Eimert’s text sound masterwork Epitaph f\u00fcr Aikichi Kuboyama<\/em><\/a> (1957\u20131962); multi-tracked chanting from Tibetan Buddhism Tantras of Gy\u00fct\u00f6: Mahakala<\/em><\/a> and a multi-tracked solo voice from Shomyo-Buddhist Ritual from Japan<\/em><\/a>; final audio posted here<\/a><\/li>\n
        6. Dancing Ban in China<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 Rudy Perez\/David Hughes (Andrea Carney \u2013 speaker): Track 1 Very high-pitched tiny sounds \u00e0 la Mekons<\/a>\u00a0[this could have applied to Tremors<\/em> above], 2 Very soft glass chimes sounds, 3 Wine glass, 4 Loop, 5 Loudspeaker “drums”; final audio posted here<\/a> <\/span>5<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

          I reconnected with David Moreno this month and asked him for any recollections of the performance. His reply:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          I remember such random pieces about Urban Rite<\/em>\u2026 except that I was strongly inspired by the\u00a0cliff dwellers of the Southwest which I had been drawn to even as a kid. This was all before moving to New Mexico. I liked seeing the ancient in the contemporary. There is a tantrik saying that \u201cwhatever is here\u00a0has always been here and what isn\u2019t here will never be here\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

          \n
          \"Urban<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n


          <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          The Eyewitness<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

          Dance critic Martin A. David reviewed Urban Rite<\/em> in the pages of Drama-Logue<\/em>\u00a0three weeks after the performance:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          If, as the pundits of culture are nosing about, the newly hatched \u201980s will resemble, to some extent, the highly heralded \u201960s, the place to see it first is in the arts. It is a bit early to predict, with less than one-tenth of the new decade squeezed from the tube, but modern dance is showing some signs of leaning into the winds of dissent and exploration which blew through that turbulent time.<\/p>\n

          Urban Rite, a collaborative effort by local artists Joseph Shuldiner, David Moreno, David Hughes and Rudy Perez (one of the “names” of the so-called New York dance explosion of the \u201960s), at the Traction Gallery in downtown Los Angeles, was a timid showing of some of those signs.<\/p>\n

          The work, composed of five interflowing segments, would probably more comfortably be labeled “happening” or “performance art” than dance by many people, but the same was true of much of the work shown at the Judson Church or the Bridge Theatre in the \u201960s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Indeed, Urban Rite<\/em> originally was billed as “movement\/performance,” as noted on the flyer above, and as “performance” later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Most successful of the segments was David Moreno’s opening Invocation to “Sacred Grounds.”<\/em> The audience was admitted to a white-walled space which was filled with irregularly shaped constructions of various heights covered with crisp white plastic. Slide projections on the walls and on the shapes showed the skeletal construction process of skyscrapers juxtaposed with images of mountain cliffs and those of simpler constructions by more primitive humans. A hooded, loinclothed figure (Moreno) with two twig-broom rattles guided the audience in wordlessly. He showed us where to sit and then guided several people to unveil the mounds. They were constructed of stacked chairs which were placed according to the ghostly figure’s directions and the audience spread out to sit in the more formal theatre atmosphere.<\/p>\n

          Rudy Perez’\u00a0Running Board<\/em> followed. The work seemed not like a reminder of that earlier dance time, but rather a leftover from it. It opened with a hydraulic lift motoring in somberly, accompanied by three men in construction coveralls and hard hats. The others left and Perez performed alone, running a nervous slalom between three beer cans, playing with a long rope which had a rag doll noosed at the end, and walking the twisted path of the rope. The piece lacked new research and new conclusions, but it was presented as new; as if, not being in New York and not being in the \u201960s, we hadn’t seen it all before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Audiences had<\/em> seen Running Board<\/em> before. It was Rudy’s adaptation of his Running Board for a Narrative<\/em>, which debuted at Marymount Manhattan College in 1973. The next performance took place at CU in Boulder in 1974, a year after I had left there for Los Angeles. Two more iterations were presented in New York in 1974 and 1976 before Rudy relocated to Los Angeles in 1978.<\/span>6<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          The other segments of the ritual, Tremors<\/em>, Last Breath<\/em> and Dancing Ban in China<\/em> suffered generally from a lack of focal clarity and of appropriate energy distribution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          I wish Martin David had suffered us a little more, because neither I nor Rudy have any memory of what either of us did in Tremors<\/em> or Dancing Ban in China<\/em> aside from the audio. Martin David ends, however, with an image from Joseph’s\u00a0Last Breath<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          One moment, in which the performers strung the space with a seemingly endless length of clear polyetheline [sic<\/em>] plastic, was particularly symbolic of the transition taking place in the downtown area around the gallery. Industries are moving out and artists are moving in. (Traction Gallery itself is in a former factory building). [sic<\/em>] The twisted and rejected bits and bolts found in the dumpsters around the remaining factories are quickly salvaged and transformed by the artists. The process is repeating.<\/span>7<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          <\/a>Appendix<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

          In response to Part 2 of our interview, Rudy forwarded this reminiscence from visual artist Jim Morphesis:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Rudy, your appearance on the Rona Barrett show was absolutely wonderful and it was indeed the day that we first met. I remember it well and I have told the story many times over the years. You may not recall this, but that day you were being chauffeured in a limo driven by my then brother-in-law, Tom. You were running late and concerned that you might miss seeing yourself on the RB show, so Tom drove you to our nearby home just in time for your appearance on the show. Tom, his sister Kathy, who was my wife at the time, and myself were excited to meet you and we all had a delightful time together. Now, the story becomes rather bittersweet. Some weeks ago, Tom contracted the virus. There were complications and sadly, he died. I have remained close to both Tom and Kathy over the years. Recently, Kathy and I reminisced about better times when we were together with Tom and, of course, our surprise meeting with the famous Rudy Perez came up and we had a chance to remember and smile. Rudy, I certainly didn\u2019t want to depress you with this story. I just wanted you to know that our first meeting meant more than you could know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Later, as I was preparing this post, I ran across the following exhibition announcement, which I’d forgotten. It was held in early 1982.<\/p>\n\n\n

          \n
          \"Jim<\/a>
          Pictured is No Sanctuary<\/strong> (1981), oil, acrylic, wood, nails, wire, tape, and gold leaf on wood panel, 26.5 x 29 inches.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

          In the Wikipedia entry for Morphesis, author and journalist Peter Clothier summarizes<\/a>: “[Morphesis’s] early work was characterized by its brooding, dramatic strength, its juxtaposition of structural formality with expressive intensity, its crusty, abstract surfaces which always seemed to reveal less than they concealed.” Clothier’s remark appeared in his review “Jim Morphesis at Traction Gallery.”<\/span>8<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Not everyone has the luxury of conversing with an artist<\/a> to discuss what’s revealed and concealed. I’m grateful that Morphesis is open to my comments and questions. As is the case with\u00a0No Sanctuary<\/em>, about which I opined:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n
          \n