Dedication

Franz Schnaas not only contributed to Shotgun Review, he wholehearted advocated for expanding visual arts criticism in the Bay Area. He and I spoke at length over what that might look like and what potential the site held.  Franz passed away on September 24th, and while I am saddened to lose his presence and his voice, it is heartening to know his ideas and his enthusiasm are embedded in the DNA of Art Practical. I would like to dedicate the premiere issue to Franz Schnaas.  Reprinted here is an excerpt from his first contribution to Shotgun Review, Marc Arthur’s performance in "I Am Kurious Orange" curated by Anne Colvin at David Cunningham Projects in April. – PM

"Arthur's performance works spread like weeds and crab grass over space and time. At Tingle Tangle, Arthur's act was not 'scheduled' on stage like the rest of the performances, but it unfurled like disparate intermezzos, in spontaneous bursts, spreading amidst the crowd.

Similarly, a few months later in 2008, at another of Anne Colvin's art salon/bar happenings at New Langton Arts, Arthur's participation burst into a sudden start. There, an unannounced lights-out provided an imminent re-contextualization of the performance space, ripping the performers away from their casual mingling with the art crowd. In the next instant, narrative infiltrated amongst the inadvertent spectators. There was neither intent nor space to erect the proverbial barrier between act and audience. Arthur's troupe spontaneously and phenomenologically carved a performing space/stage, defined only by the human wall that conformed along each act, synchronous to the narrative's spontaneous development.

Thanks in part to the gallery setting of "I am Kurious Orange's" rehearsal/performance of April 30, 2009, a more contained and controlled environment for Arthur's work allowed for 'planted' symbols, adding cohesiveness to the multi-part narrative mode, revealing meaning and intentionality, and yielding more signal and less noise."