Porch

“Porch”

(10', 2006)

Film by Bill Morrison

Music by Julia Wolfe

Libretto by Deborah Artman

from the multimedia performance

"Shelter"

Michael Gordon, David Lang, Julia Wolfe, composers

Deborah Artman, libretto

Film by Bill Morrison

Projections by Laurie Olinder

Performed by Ensemble Muzikfabrik

and Trio Medieval

Directed by Bob McGrath

BAM Next Wave Festival

BAM Harvey Theater

Brooklyn, NY

November 2005 (US premiere)

Summer evenings and lemonade

A time when the whole town knew each other and said "hello"

First came screens against the bugs

Then came glass against the chill

Then came walls against the winter

The street became so loud with cars and trucks

Passersby diminished

Inside there is air-conditioning and TV

In “Porch”, home movies archived at the Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archive were edited to Julia Wolfe’s score and Deborah Artman’s libretto.

In Ms. Artman’s libretto, a family’s front porch evolves into another interior room of their house, in turn reflecting their relationship to a changing community. Morrison’s film traces several families over a number of decades, depicting an innocence that was lost and reclaimed.

Ms. Wolfe’s haunting score is performed by Ensemble Signal, and conducted by Brad Lubman.