Duets | Loving You | Artist, Writer, & Performer
An immersive open air art show hosted by Kellee Stall featuring artists Brandon Willett, Bridgette Martin, CHD:WCK!, Ellis, Emily Sage, Eva Crawford, Hilary Sober Edwards, Joy Davis, Laurie Smithwick. Artist in the show were paired up, cross-medium, and given a prompt to explore collaboratively in this exhibit. All prompts were meant to bring conversation around the unspoken parts of church, “church hurt”, and how we are influenced by our religious backgrounds or proximity to religion (simply living in the Bible Belt) for better or for worse.
“Loving You” is the collaborative concept created by Emily Sage and Joy Davis. It began with the prompt “baptism.” We explored the idea of baptism and water, the concept of being washed clean and starting fresh with a new sense of direction and clear vision. Being fully immersed and brought up out of the water a new person, “the old life is gone.” Emily Sage, newly wed, and Joy Davis, recently engaged, decided to explore this conversation within the realms of love. Falling in love is a lot like being immersed, it starts with the falling into the depths and being completely surrounded by feeling. And this decision of commitment filled with excitement for who I am, who the other is and who we are to be individually and together. Baptism as marriage. Coming humbly, young, and unknowing into a union, being brought up out of the falling with a new direction, a clear vision of what will be most important in life now.
“Loving You” consisted of a musical piece (by Emily Sage) that was performed live in a window sill as if in a musical theatre piece, where the character is singing pensively and longingly about her lover. The music demonstrated a light and wonder-filled feeling with piano, strings, and vocal harmonies surrounding a lullaby-like vocal melody. The lyrics speak of learning to love like learning to play the piano, it takes practice. The lyrics also relate falling in love synonymously with learning to love, and how that is in fact just learning to be human. The other element to this piece, was dance. Below the window sill where Emily performed the song, Joy Davis performed her dance that was part choreography with sections of response to her own dance and the magic that happens with live music and performance. Joy began her dance crawling out the window, signifying a careful openness to connection, a curiosity of the falling that starts happening subtly and quickly. It also gives a youthful, nostalgic feeling, like sneaking out the window to meet your love. She then dives into her dance fully. Some moments they are moving together, Emily and Joy, and in others they tell their own story together throughout the performance. In the third showing, Joy fully immersed herself in the pool she was dancing in front of, demonstrating the final and full immersiveness of the baptism, the allowing of self to be consumed with love.
Arranged by Emily Sage
Written by Emily Sage & Ellie Schmidly
Dance Choreography by Joy Davis