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Machine Project

Machine Project recently invited over 20 artists to create performances that respond to notable architectural sites throughout Los Angeles, collectively creating The Machine Project Field Guide to L.A. Architecture. The project was part of the larger Getty initiative, Pacific Standard Time Presents: Modern Architecture in L.A., which celebrated Southern California's modern architectural heritage through exhibitions and programs at area cultural institutions from April - September 2013. With grant funding from the Getty Foundation, Machine Project asked artists to take on the whole environment of Los Angeles -- the streets, the freeways, swimming pools, anonymous industrial buildings, churches and tract homes -- and create performances shot on video and edited into short experimental films. The following essays, interviews, and videos chronicle this alternative guide to L.A.'s architectural history.

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Still from OdysseyOdyssey
"Odyssey Odyssey" is a performance adapted from a segment in Homer's "The Odyssey," that takes place in a Honda Odyssey driving the freeways of Los Angeles.
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In conjunction with artist Kamau Patton's helicopter performance art, Machine Project compiles a history of the tallest buildings throughout the history of Los Angeles.
Massagem Sonora
At the Korean Friendship Bell in San Pedro artist Carmina Escobar led "Massagem Sonora," a performance exploring the personal geography of the body.
Glass Bang
Asher Hartman's "Glass Bang" is an a experimental musical performance staged in L.A. at an R. M. Schindler-built modernist home on Mulholland Drive in Laurel Canyon.
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Clump is an experiment in group/crowd behavior, a participatory performance based on a simple rule set but without fixed outcome or direction.
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Artist Cliff Hengst embarked from The Beverly Hilton to perform "It's Not Right But It's OK," perhaps the first ever historic autobiographical semi-fictionalized disembodied drag double decker bus tour.
The HafoSafo Chorus
Machine Project leads a singalong underneath the spinning "Happy Foot/Sad Foot" sign on Sunset Blvd.
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"Everyone Will Be Here Now But Me" is an immersive sound installation where the public explores endless hallways, windowless offices, and stairwells of a mixed-use building.
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In "Wash," an audience was encouraged to swim and explore an underwater viewing room over the course of a slowly shifting three-hour pool performance.
Choreographer Jmy James Kidd's group, The Sunland Dancers, performed "Welcome," on Montecito Heights' Flat Top Hill at sunset in June 2013.
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Artbound will be chronicling the collective creation of the Machine Project "Field Guide to L.A. Architecture" by featuring a diverse offering of essays, interviews, and the artists' videos.
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