CONFETTI FALLS FROM THE CEILING
MV Carbon / Jonathan Ehrenberg / Shelley Hirsch + Zeljko McMullen + Camilla Padgitt-Coles / Sacha Ingber / Sarah Lasley / Janine Polak / Sara SternMarch 11 - April 9, 2022
Opening: Saturday, March 12, 6-8pm
Sara Stern, Fold Here (1, 2, 3), 2022, stop motion with sound, 11 sec.
Just after dusk, two performers dressed in black approach the gallery from either side carrying formidable flashlights.
A small marching brass band arrives.
bum ba da da dum bum bum!
The performers illuminate the sidewalk cellar doors, which begin to vibrate.
bum ba da da dum bum bum!
The right metal door opens mid-way and quickly shuts. Then the left, then the right, then the left, then the right.
bum ba da da dum bum bum!
Stillness for a beat.
bum ba da da dum bum bum!
The left door shudders. Fog drifts out, which the performers illuminate in green and pink hues using colored gels they procure from their pockets.
bum ba da da dum bum bum!
A giant crab pincer emerges from the fog, then a crab eye, which scans the crowd that has gathered.
bum ba da da dum bum bum!
The crab disappears. The doors shut.
Silence for a beat.
bum ba da da dum bum bum!
The doors bang open. The crab scuttles up and out of the cellar, hugging the building, spotlit by both flashlights.
bum ba da da dum bum bum!
The crab makes a run for the East River.
bum ba da da dum bum bum!
The band follows.
bum ba da da dum bum bum!
The audience remains at the gallery, and the music fades.
bum ba da da dum bum bum!
bum ba da da dum bum bum!
Applause.
- Sara Stern, “The Stellar Cellar Escape,” from Confetti falls from the ceiling, 2020 – (2022)
A small marching brass band arrives.
bum ba da da dum bum bum!
The performers illuminate the sidewalk cellar doors, which begin to vibrate.
bum ba da da dum bum bum!
The right metal door opens mid-way and quickly shuts. Then the left, then the right, then the left, then the right.
bum ba da da dum bum bum!
Stillness for a beat.
bum ba da da dum bum bum!
The left door shudders. Fog drifts out, which the performers illuminate in green and pink hues using colored gels they procure from their pockets.
bum ba da da dum bum bum!
A giant crab pincer emerges from the fog, then a crab eye, which scans the crowd that has gathered.
bum ba da da dum bum bum!
The crab disappears. The doors shut.
Silence for a beat.
bum ba da da dum bum bum!
The doors bang open. The crab scuttles up and out of the cellar, hugging the building, spotlit by both flashlights.
bum ba da da dum bum bum!
The crab makes a run for the East River.
bum ba da da dum bum bum!
The band follows.
bum ba da da dum bum bum!
The audience remains at the gallery, and the music fades.
bum ba da da dum bum bum!
bum ba da da dum bum bum!
Applause.
- Sara Stern, “The Stellar Cellar Escape,” from Confetti falls from the ceiling, 2020 – (2022)
