For those on the lookout for a slice of bohemia in Boston, this Friday night ushers in an eclectic cross-genre artistic event, called "Past Forward: Where film, music + fine art meet." Organizers promise everything you could want in a post-art, neo-music, cross-pollinated event: ambiguous themes, hard-to-define musical work, and intellectually rigorous play with puppets.

This Friday’s gathering will be the third Past Forward event held at Oni Gallery, a four-year-old arts collective that moved in March from Kingston Street to Washington Street in Chinatown after being displaced by a luxury office building.

The event will bring together the likes of filmmaker and puppeteer Genevieve Anderson and the experimental-music group Mahogany. For those who prefer multiple sensory stimulation, the gallery will also feature its current visual-art offering, a sort of multimedia robotic exhibit called "Electroland." The third-time event (past evenings have attracted more than 100 people) is supported by a grant from the Boston Cultural Agenda Fund, and was coordinated by local animated filmmaker Ellie Lee (see "Breeding Ground," News and Features, November 22).

Anderson will kick off the evening by screening a couple of her 15-minute films, which Lee describes as a "hybrid of animation and puppet live action." Anderson will also bring some of her puppets and marionettes to the screenings to demonstrate her moves.

Following that, attendees will have a chance to see some of the old masters who have influenced the young Los Angeles–based Anderson, including Laurel & Hardy and contemporary animators the Brothers Quay. Later in the evening, Mahogany, a six-year-old Brooklyn-based electronic and acoustic musical group, will take the stage. The group defy description, but Lee gave it a stab anyway, saying they combine the aesthetic of Debussy with Ligetti, using guitar, cello, drums, and electronic music. "They say it’s quadraphonic sound, whatever that means," she adds.

For those who’d like to add the sense of taste to the stimulation of their hearing, sight, and touch, Lee promises grub. "The last time [the collective] made six homemade pieces," she says enticingly. "There was sweet-potato pie. There was popcorn, there were beverages." She continues: "It’s really an intimate, homey feel. I think there will be cookies and brownies and appetizers. I don’t know what’s on the menu this time. Oh, and last time they had novelty ice creams — those push pops."

Sold.

Past Forward will take place Friday, December 7, at the Oni Gallery, 684 Washington Street at Kneeland Street, Chinatown, starting at 8 p.m. A $5 donation is suggested. Beginning in February, Past Forward will take place monthly. Call (617) 542-6983.

Issue Date: December 6 - 13, 2001

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