Monika Weiss, Metamorphosis, Centre of Polish Sculpture in Orońsko, 2021. Courtesy of the artist, New York.
Metamorphosis (Performance in the Park) is a 30-minute vocal composition and movement performance written and choreographed by renowned Polish artist and sound composer Monika Weiss.
Metamorphosis (Performance in the Park) is inspired by the moment in which mythological nymph Daphne self-transforms into a tree to escape a violent attack. Vocalists and dance performers are interspersed on the trail near Weiss’ sculpture, becoming, in the artist’s words “almost like the trees. While composing this work, I imagined how it would sound if my own skin became a tree bark, and my voice morphed into the whispers of leaves.”
Vocalists: Kelly Beekman, Katie Beyers, Nanse Fischer, Rachel Jones, Heather Kays, Jack McFarling, Dean Moran, Ingrid Piazza, Alex Weckiewicz, Brea Youngblood
Movement performers: Eva Aguero, Violet Brand, Tahia Farhin Haque, Jungsoo Kim, Lourdes del Mar Santiago Lebrón, Rose Liu, Tess Losada-Tindall, Erin McLaughlin, Susan Pasek, Bei Qi
Curated by: Dana Turkovic, Curator, Laumeier Sculpture Park
The composition premiered in 2021 at the Centre of Polish Sculpture in Orońsko, National Heritage Institution of Poland. The concert/performance on Oct. 10 takes place in proximity to Weiss’ Metamorphosis (Sound Sculpture).
CAMPFIRE CHAT follows / 6 p.m. / Estate House Lawn, Laumeier Sculpture Park / Free / RSVP requested
Immediately following her performance, please join artist Monika Weiss and art therapist Tamara Eberle for a conversation centered around how artists address trauma in their work. Eberle was Laumeier’s 2022 Community Artist in Residence.
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To experience the work in its totality please arrive before 4:45 (at least 15 minutes before the concert/performance begins) to allow for a walk from the park entrance to the performance location.
2024 Exhibitions are supported by Whitaker Foundation, Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation, Ken and Nancy Kranzberg, Joan and Mitchell Markow and Two Sister’s Foundation, Emily Rauh Pulitzer, and Mary Ann and Andy Srenco.
Monika Weiss and the Visiting Artist in Residence Program are supported by Windgate Foundation. Weiss is the 2024 Kranzberg Exhibition Artist. This fund, generously provided by Ken and Nancy Kranzberg, supports the presentation of new work by one or more St. Louis area artists per year. The Visiting Artist in Residence Program is sponsored by 21c Museum Hotel St. Louis. The artist received additional support from Polish Cultural Institute New York.