Allegory for a Rock Opera, 2010

Derek Liddington - Toronto, Canada

Installation, Sculpture, Performance Art

In the early 19th century, Italian opera was exported to North American audiences in an attempt to educate the 'working class' through 'high art'. During this period, opera scores were translated and edited to include Irish and English Hymns; the birth of sampling in popular music.

Starting at 7:00 PM, on the half hour legendary ballads of working class hero Bruce Springsteen will unravel. Historical and popular ephemera fuse in a satirical hodge-podge of visual and aural samples. Eighties' comedies are positioned beside contemporary examples of 20th century art and 19th century fashion, all of which will pose contradictions to our popular understanding of the working class.

The resulting performance features two Springsteen-esque Dandies locked in an operatic loop; one side romantic comedy, one side epic tragedy. Watch and listen as a working-class sub-history unfolds before your very eyes through an Italian-Operatic interpretation of Bruce Springsteen's epic ballads Born to Run and Born in the USA. Complete with Astro Turf and white picket fence the stage transforms into a sculptural caricature of the suburban archetype.

Liddington is an artist whose practice utilizes forms of mimicry, appropriation and translation in an attempt to displace contemporary narratives - those close to him call him a pomo. Liddington has received project support from the Ontario Arts Council and Toronto Arts Council.

Suitable for all ages

Thank you to:
Laura Pomeroy, Cat Essiambre, Kelly Henderson, Angela McQueen, Kristin Mueller-Heaslip