Announcing the release of Billy X Curmano's: Live Art "THE SEARCH" on DVD. Sales and 2 Min. Trailer available online at:
http://www.filmbaby.com/films/5428
My DVD's have usually been released as handmade one-offs with a price tag to match. The Search is a compilation disc with 3 major works - the 2,367.4-mile Mississippi River Swim, 40-day Death Valley Desert Fast and 3-day live burial - replicated in larger quantities to make them more accessible.
A camera exposes the rough edges of "life as art" through extreme performances in the environment while searching for that indefinable quality that separates the masterpiece from everyday art. With a nod to Kandinsky, the DVD is subtitled "The Search for the Spiritual in Art". It is more about art, a vision quest or warrior's journey than religion. It is archived by the Museum of Modern Art Library in NYC and other prestigious collections.
As a bonus, "The Search" replaces the traditional short sound loop on standard menu pages with a complete composition from Threat Level 3's "Orange Alert". Don't worry you can still start whenever you like, but when you pop in a disc and have to wait for folks to settle in - you'll have a relaxing jazz interlude. A short translation of a missive from Mother Earth by The Terralinquistic Institute of Art Works USA follows the final credits. There's an original score throughout and an eco-friendly package design in collaboration with John O'Hara. A huge assortment of volunteer artists, musicians and ambassadors for art and the environment fill out the cast and crew.
The compilation includes:
PERFORMANCE FOR THE DEAD (14 Min.) The artist spent the last 3 days of a 7-day fast buried alive in absolute darkness seeking visions and hints of the other side. What was performed for the dead is left to the imagination, but elaborate trappings for the live audience included a New Orleans style Jazz Funeral.
SWIMMING THE MISSISSIPPI (29 Min.) a 2,367.4-mile Mississippi River swim from its source at Lake Itasca, Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico, a distance of about 30% of the earth's equatorial diameter. The Swim was never intended to be an athletic event, but rather - an intermix of art and life expressing an ecological imperative. It teetered between the Zen of stroke after tedious stroke and near death emergencies to the humor and absurdity of performance sculpture like the "X3C Polluted Water Wear" making a serious statement about water quality. The documentation was awarded the Henry Hampton Award for Excellence in Film & Digital Media.
DEATH VALLEY DESERT CLASSIC (42 Min. 22 Sec.) Still searching, Billy X. abandoned the traditional storyboard and limited recording to just a singular moment from each 24 hours of a 40-day desert fast in the extremes of Death Valley. The 40 some minutes in 40 days premiered in Los Angeles without the benefit of editing. A fasting body and brain, the environment, creatures, visitors - the forces of the valley... and of the spirit - directed the taping to create the third leg of this fine art trilogy.
Contains: Brief Nudity (Don't worry, Not Billy)
How to order:
$25.00 per copy includes shipping and handling
But wait
Double the money
and we'll double the offer
Send $50.00
And we'll send two copies
But that's not all - "Orange Alert" from Threat Level 3 (regularly $15.00) will be included absolutely FREE with double orders.
Send check or money order payable to:
Art Works USA
27979 County Road 17
Winona, MN 55987
(Taxes/shipping etc. included)
THE SEARCH is also available online from:
In Winona, MN - Available at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum and Blue Heron Gallery.
For serious collectors, the first 100 copies have been hand signed and numbered by the artist and are available for $125 each.
Outlaw art: Purchase of this DVD could be a wise decision. Segments were shot clandestinely and without proper authorization. It could one day be pulled from the market and become extremely rare and valuable.
Amused journalists have dubbed him, "The Court Jester of Southeastern Minnesota" with comparisons to P.T. Barnum, Andy Warhol and Marcel Duchamp.