 | The Bridge Club is a collaborative art and performance group consisting of artists Christine Owen, Julie Wills, Annie Strader, and Emily Bivens. Performances have taken place in both traditional and nontraditional venues, incorporating and responding to sites such as a city bus, a public library, an abandoned house, and a laundromat, in addition to the traditional gallery space. Each performance is conceived in specific relation to its site and audience. The ideas embedded in these performances directly parallel the investigations occurring in each member's individual studio works, to broadly and specifically include notions of femininity, gender roles, family dynamics, intimacy, privacy, and social narrative. Costuming, props, and responsive action contribute to The Bridge Club's collective persona. Each member wears wigs, shoes, gloves, and a variety of garments that relate directly to the site and concept of a specific performance. The costuming and other aesthetic choices, such as sound and environment, create a historical ambiguity of era that addresses change and continuity of gender and interpersonal histories. Performances are not scripted per se, and contain no dialogue, but are rather structured as an aesthetic and conceptual conversation. Each member's actions are in response to concept, space, sound, interaction, and visual appeal. | |
Christine Owen | ||