American Artists

Founder of the photo studio “Folie A Two” (Delirium of Intimacy), Edward Benkowski is inspired by this psychotic disorder. In particular, Edward focuses on the emotional tuning and the consequent privileged communication established by a “dual”, intimate sharing relationship between the Self and the public. Thus, the selected artwork, “Vitality”, is a branch of the same photographic studio inspired by the “Mudra”, a gesture of Eastern religions used in rituals and iconographies to indicate a concept, an intention, or an esoteric communication between the abstract dimension of thought and that of the physical world. Specifically, the “mudras” re-proposed in the three shots of “Vitality” show a dancing figure, whose marked virility is not necessarily translates into brute force; on the contrary, the body fluctuates with lightness, balance and delicacy, letting the masculine features make use of one feminine sensuality bringing back the protagonist, through a liberating mix of genres, to its origin vitality.

Her screen dances have been included in festivals in the US, Brazil, Canada, and Portugal. Roma is on faculty at TCU’s School for Classical & Contemporary Dance in Fort Worth, Texas.

Nina Martin, (Director/Choreographer) has been involved in performance art with a dance/choreography focus since 1976. She has demonstrated a unique development of collaborative art making, with a particular interest in lifting multimedia ensemble improvisation to new rigorous attention and possibility. Nina’s choreography and master teaching have been presented throughout the US, and abroad including Russia, Austria, Ireland, Finland, Lithuania, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Venezuela, Mexico, and Japan. Performance credits include Lower Left Performance Collective (www.lowerleft.org), David Gordon Pick-Up Company, Mary Overlie, Deborah Hay, Martha Clarke, and Simone Forti. Nina is on faculty at TCU’s School for Classical & Contemporary Dance in Fort Worth, Texas.