Art = Mixx Black and White Edition

Mannequins with ever changing facial expressions and features, morphing from moustaches to wide open Barbie doll eyes. A long line of black and white costumed people waiting in line for something some of them didn't know they were waiting for: the Interdimensional Room. 

Not sure if this spelling is intensional, if you know what I mean. 

Large scale photos of black and white landscapes, Occupy scenes, animals, quotes, nudes layered between leaves, reversed images, butterfly wings. 

Beautiful photoshop work. 

A printmaking area filled with do-it-yourself printed cards, and supplied with black printmaking ink, paper, and plastic printmaking squares.  

A stickered wall pasted with black cutouts, constantly being updated as women in high heels or men in black and white tshirts or sportsjackets or martial arts outfits made and tacked up new designs. 

A large door decorated with three large skeleton keys, opening to sheer emptiness. A photo corner where attendees could dress up in costumes, including oversize sunglasses, big hats, Groucho Marx moustaches, and clown noses to pose for photos that would be displayed on the screen above. 


Old fashioned cigarette girls, handing out lip shaped whistles (gotta bite and blow  hard - hmmm, weird life metaphor?) and later on, green eggs (filled with a fortune and a chocolate mint) to add color to the night. 

Undulating femmes on tall lighted platforms, like fairy tale mermaids luring sailors to the deep blue. But in this case, they were immersed in the deep black and white, which was the theme of the second Art = Mixx event on July 28th, 2012.






Wow. I was so impressed with what the organizers created for this free event held at the MACC, and a follow up to last month's excellent premier Art = Mixx event. Are these the same people who organized Source Maui? If so, a bigger wow. They concocted an interactive art-focused event that blew my experience of Source Maui out of the water and far exceeded my expectations of what an interactive art event could be on Maui. Besides, no rain or mud - a big plus!  The ambience was like trance, hipster, tech, adult Halloween, Alice in Wonderland, Portlandia with sequined shoes. 

Be-ruffled artist Stephanie Clifton caught in the act of snapping photos. 

Art = Mixx Black and White was amazing. It was interactive, art-oriented, three or even four dimensional if such a thing is possible, blending high tech lighting, music and visuals with low-tech DIY monoprinting (anyone could jump in and make a card) and make-em-yourself wall stickers. The attendees were part of the art too - body painted, bedazzled, blinged, feathered, papered, striped, high-heeled, Charlie Chaplin'd, crowned, zebra'd, ruffled. There was no shortage of head-turning things to gawk at or crane one's neck. No shortage of things to video, photograph, or otherwise record.

One particularly mysterious and possibly shocking vignette pointed out by Amanda of Gluten Free Maui involved scantily clad muscular men lifting up equally scantily clad women in bikinis, with both sexes wearing headscarves. As her partner pointed out, social commentary or political incorrectness? 

Oh, let's not forget the shoes. I rarely pay attention to shoes, but this is the
kind of event where one can wear those big platform shoes, heels,
or boots that stay in the closet most of the time on Maui. 

There was a lot I missed because there was a stream of endless costumes to gawk at, plus all the exhibits and performance art, and I was too short to see some of the spectacles above other people's heads, but I think everyone who attended had a fabulous time and had deeply individualized experiences. 








This is the kind of party that high schoolers would want to sneak in with fake ids, and then brag about to their friends the next day. Makes me glad to be over 21. 


For more photos and videos, make sure to check the Art = Mixx Facebook page. There are closeups of more art, performances, and the costume contest. 


Mahalo to everyone who organized it!

Photo of program courtesy of Bennett Yashon.