Something That Happened Only Once

Something That Happened Only Once is panoramic work recorded in Coyocan Plaza, Mexico City. The work blends the actions of actors and non-actors in the natural setting on a busy Saturday afternoon. The work is created through layers of photography, songs, and found sounds. Deb Olin Unferth's lyrics are adapted to music by the Dutch singer Jodi Gilbert who is joined in the performance by Dutch saxophonist, Michael Moore. Unlike many panoramas, this one is not static. The piece follows a female protagonist, a male counterpart, and other characters in a manner that suggests narrative but never becomes it. Instead it’s an expression of temperament or a consciousness – a searching, a longing, a loneliness.

COLLABORATING ARTISTS

Deb Olin Unferth's fiction has appeared in Harper's, Conjunctions, Fence, NOON, McSweeney's, the Pushcart Prize anthologies, and elsewhere. Her first book is forthcoming from McSweeney's in summer 2007.

Jodi Gilbert (Singer-composer: Something That Happened Only Once) is a Dutch singer-composer who has performed with  Meredith Monk,  Misha Mengelberg,  Michael Moore, Roscoe Mitchell among others, and has several cds out with her bands Rasp/Hasp, The Voice is the Matter, and Spoon 3.

Michael Moore (Musician; Something That Happened Only Once) is a jazz musician who leads the Dutch-based ensemble Available Jelly and who has released over 32 CDs and records.

• 20mins animated panoramic for single and duel monitor projection/installation with audio ©2007.

• For public screenings and VHS purchase copies please write to:   info   "at"   naturalwords.org.