Michael Workman

Description

Michael Workman is a choreographer, language, visual and movement artist, dance and performance artist, writer, reporter, and sociocultural critic. In addition to his work at the Chicago Tribune, Guardian US, Newcity magazine, WBEZ Chicago Public Radio and elsewhere, Workman is also Director of Bridge, an artistic collective and 501 (c) (3) publishing and programming organization (bridge-chicago.org). His choreographic writing has been included in Propositional Attitudes, an "anthology of recent performance scores, directions and instructions" published by Golden Spike Press, and his Perfect Worlds: Artistic Forms & Social Imaginaries Vol. 1, the first in a 3-volume series, was released by StepSister Press in October 2018 with a day-long program of performances at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. Most recently, two of his scores were accepted for publication in a special edition of the Notre Dame Review focusing on the work of participants in the &NOW Festival of Innovative Writing.

Work Sample

https://youtu.be/cd5frbrYkWA

Concrete / Fabulisms, presented at Site / less on Nov. 17, 2019. Performance by Michael Workman, with Andrea Cerniglia and Dropshift Dancers Christina Chammas and Alli Claiborne Naranjo. Architectural Installation by David Sundry and videography by Andrew Henke.

A commission by Michael Workman for SPACES Cleveland's SPACEstation program, June 12 - July 12, 2020 (https://www.spacescle.org/exhibitions/2020/06/12/crisis-resources).

PERFORMANCE STATEMENT: CRISIS RESOURCES / #Crisisresources
In today’s atomized society, riven by white supremacy and with a seemingly endless appetite for reliance on notions of rugged individualism that have taken us beyond mere agonism, the American body politic has reached a point of critical disenfranchisement and disassembly. Due to race, class and other types of social division, many suffer invisibly. Due to the stigma attached to suffering many forms of crisis, most language options in-particular have largely failed those in crisis and, in fact, a variety of ongoing daily traumas continue without much seeming possibility of resolution, including addiction, police violence, mental illness, eviction, hunger poverty, etc., and rising incidences of domestic violence.

Presented on March 26, 2017 at Defibrillator Performance Art Gallery. The Artists Roundtable is a seasonal symposium organized to expand the individual conversation of artists interviewed for the Movement Matters column series at Sixty Inches From Center into the broader contexts of a discussion on the socio-cultural influence of their work. Movement Matters investigates work at the intersection of dance, performance, politics, policy and issues related to the body.

ARTIST ROUNDTABLE PARTICIPANTS
Po'Chop (Jenn Freeman), dancer and current artist-in residence at Links Hall

Darling Squire, dancer and current artist-in residence at Links Hall

Allen Moore, DJ, visual and sound artist and performance co-curator at Comfort Station Logan Square

Carole McCurdy, Dancer, performance artist and current Lab artist at Chicago Dancemakers Forum

Organized and moderated by Michael Workman, Artist, Founder and Director of Bridge, a (501) (c) (3) organization, Reporter and Columnist at Guardian US, Newcity & Sixty Inches From Center

As a performer, much of my work is both conceptual and choreographic, and often has something to do with cultural images I am interested in or expanded use of language. Each of these samples addresses a different aspect of these concerns, with the last serving as an example of my work in staging symposia, panel discussions, and artistic roundtables.

History

Michael Workman is a choreographer, language, visual and movement artist, dance and performance artist, writer, reporter, and sociocultural critic. In addition to his work at the Chicago Tribune, Guardian US, Newcity magazine, WBEZ Chicago Public Radio and elsewhere, Workman is also Director of Bridge, an artistic collective and 501 (c) (3) publishing and programming organization (bridge-chicago.org). His choreographic writing has been included in Propositional Attitudes, an "anthology of recent performance scores, directions and instructions" published by Golden Spike Press, and his Perfect Worlds: Artistic Forms & Social Imaginaries Vol. 1, the first in a 3-volume series, was released by StepSister Press in October 2018 with a day-long program of performances at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. Most recently, two of his scores were accepted for publication in a special edition of the Notre Dame Review focusing on the work of participants in the &NOW Festival of Innovative Writing.

Artistic Vision

I think my work is often an attempt to understand the boundaries of intimacy as they shift between public and private, and how those shifts may mirror stigmatizing social exclusions that limit access to essential crisis support and resources. I’ve often tried to address this work from an urbanist perspective, with a focus on collaboration. Recently, for me this has meant working in choreography, language, visual and movement art, design, dance and performance art, writing, reporting, and social practice.