Another Round Please

Set sail on S.S. Hangover, docking at Austin's Laguna Gloria this spring

S.S. Hangover Contemporary Austin Laguna Gloria

S.S. Hangover sets sail beginning April 7.

Courtesy photo

In what is being described as both "delightful and absurd," the S.S. Hangover is setting sail for The Contemporary's Laguna Gloria this spring. Part sculpture, part performance, part endurance test, the S.S. Hangover by artist Ragnar Kjartansson is a fully immersive sensory art experience that will leave you buzzing.

Running on select weekend dates from April 7 through May 6, the restored Icelandic fishing boat sets sail with six brass musicians dressed in cocktail attire for a four-hour journey around the lagoon. As the sails billow and the boat continues to cruise, the musicians continue to play ... and play ... and play.

Composed by former Sigur Ros member Kjartan Sveinsson, the ethereal score is performed nonstop by members of Density512, Austin's contemporary chamber orchestra collective. Though a dream-like experience for attendees, it's designed to "[test] the performers' endurance as the vessel circles in the water again and again."

"The work seems simple at first, but the more you consider what you are seeing and hearing, the 'curiouser' this nautical oddity begins to seem," explains Andrea Mellard, The Contemporary Austin's director of public programs and community engagement, in a release. "When does a performance become a sculpture and when does a sculpture become a performance? As the playfully impossible performance enters its second, third, or fourth hour, how can those musicians keep playing?"

In his artist's statement, Kjartansson said he took inspiration for the S.S. Hangover from the 1935 American film Remember Last Night?, in which a group of friends attempts to recall details of a murder they were too drunk to remember.

Laguna Gloria is just the latest of many high-profile ports for the S.S. Hangover. Kjartansson's piece debuted at the 55th Venice Biennale in 2013 and then took a turn through New York City's Central Park in 2015.

The ultimate trip to nowhere sets sail April 7, 8, 14, 15, and 28 and May 5 and 6 from 11 am-3 pm. A special sunset performance will take place on April 22 from 4-8 pm. When it's not sailing, the ship will be docked and on display on the shores of Laguna Gloria.

Admission to Laguna Gloria is free for Contemporary Austin members, military, and kids under 18; $5 for adults; and $3 for students.

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Austin gallery hosts World Fair-inspired international street art party

Photo courtesy of Gallery Delytes

Some of the show's featured street artists include RabbitSnake, Sistashhhh, CityKitty, Technique2012, WarClass, Smack, and Only Abrahams.

On April 5, Austinites can experience a variety of street art, live music, cuisine, and dancing from all over the world — without ever leaving South Austin. This World's Fair, presented by Gallery Delytes, will take over Propaganda HQ for one day only.

Like Chicago's famous World Fair of 1893, this event will bring together artists, food, and music from the world over, as a way to expose Austinites to various cultures without ever leaving home.

“Gallery Delytes aims to bring people together through the universal languages of street art, music, and food,” says curator of Gallery Delytes SR Meyers in a press release. “We are excited to create an event that highlights the creativity and rich cultural tapestry of street arts from around our world, right here in Austin.”

Some of the featured artists include:

The Postman: This anonymous street art duo comes from Brighton. They have a background in graffiti and photography, and their street art is a mix of spray paint, stencils, collage, and digital media.
Brady Black: Though Black was born in Texas, he has traveled the world creating public art and "community murals" that focus on bringing attention to marginalized communities. Black began his street art in Beirut, Lebanon, and these days he's based out of Seattle.
City Kitty: City Kitty has been pasting elaborate, hand-drawn scenes throughout the city of New York for the past 14 years. He's best known for his large-scale psychedelic drawings of cats and humans with extraneous facial features, which you can see all over North America and Europe.
RabbitSnake: RabbitSnake is a local Austin street artist best known for their signature cartoon-like, long-necked and slightly creepy Donny Darko-esque rabbit tag, but they also use stencils and mixed media like attaching stuffed animals and other objects to poles, in the style of a roadside memorial.
Sam Shrug: Another artist from the U.K., Sam Shrug comes from Essex and is a mixed media street artist. He uses a combination of nostalgic printouts, found photos, paint, and halftone stencil techniques to create psychedelic-looking black and white images with splashes of vibrant color.
Sistashhhh: Another local artist, Sistashhhh uses a combination of vibrant colors in a style her Instagram page calls "Nuevo Pastiche movement." According to her IG, "it snatches from the past tears at the fabric of time throws toward an abstract surrealist future." We'd just recommend checking it out.

The rest of the lineup includes about 30 more artists.

According to Meyers, "The actual event [space] will completely be transformed into International Art Fair Grounds that will spill out into the Warehouse."

This World's Fair will take place from 5-10 pm at 625 Industrial Blvd. on April 5. Admission is free and guests are encouraged to RSVP online.

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