Multimedia and music are combined for “Color Wheel,” a live performance at the Moab Arts and Recreation Center (MARC) on Saturday, Aug. 4.
“Color Wheel” is the creation of Rae Red, a multimedia artist from Marfa, Texas. Red describes her one-woman performance as a live color experience using shadow puppets, overhead projections, stop-motion animation and song.
“I tour my shadow shows across the United States every summer,” Red said. “Each performance centers around a broad topic. Last year’s topic was water, and the year before that, it was pollination. I dive into these broad themes from my own perspective.
“Color Wheel” is an exploration into our understanding of color, and its effect on how we perceive the world around us.
As Red puts it, “Color is a product of physics and how our brains process light. Color doesn’t exist except for how our minds interpret what our eyes see.”
Color is not a concrete attribute in the same way size and texture are. For example, color changes with different light conditions. Additionally, a particular color may evoke feelings of happiness in one person but anger in another. Scientists are not even sure that when two people look at a color, such as green, they are both seeing the exact same color.
“‘Color Wheel’ is about color’s effects on every one of us,” Red said. “Our brains interpret the light that our eyes absorb, which is then put through the filter of language and culture and turned into meaning beyond a simple image or shade. It affects not only how we see the world around us, the landscape, the flowers, the trees, but also how we perceive each other.”
Red said her show also touches on the abstract way color influences the perception of race or bias.
She combines personal narrative with environmental justice. She said her approach explores what it means to transform.
Haley Noel, local folk-bluegrass performer, is opening the performance. Known to many people in Moab as a singer and banjo musician, Noel was born in Maryland and raised on a rural farm.
She said that working hard and playing hard are her two main states of being.
Noel recently released her first solo EP, “Wanderings,” which takes influence from folk, blues and bluegrass. Noel’s tunes range from wistful to upbeat, and provide the backdrop for lyrics highlighting adventures of love, joy, disobedience and sorrow. Her songs are also about admiration for the land, whiskey and dancing.
“I have been performing since I was 3 years old. Music performance is something I was raised to do,” Noel said. “My father grew up performing as well; his family is musical. He and my other family members really encouraged me to perform in groups and by myself in various settings. It’s my outlet for emotional situations, as well as to inject love and art into the world.”
Noel will be selling copies of “Wanderings” at the performance of “Color Wheel.”
The performance begins at 8 p.m. Doors open at 7:45 p.m. Suggested donation for entry is $10.
Haley Noel opens for Rae Red’s multimedia show at the MARC
Where: Moab Arts and Recreation Center, 111 E. 100 North
When: Saturday, Aug. 4, at 8 p.m.
Cost: $10 donation suggested
Information: facebook.com/events/2120341771555702/
“‘Color Wheel’ is about color’s effects on every one of us. Our brains interpret the light that our eyes absorb, which is then put through the filter of language and culture and turned into meaning beyond a simple image or shade. It affects not only how we see the world around us, the landscape, the flowers, the trees, but also how we perceive each other.”
