by GERM LYNN
LuLu LoLo in “Pierrot 2.0 A Homage to Nadar” collaboration with photographer Paul Takeuchi
If you’ve stumbled upon Art in Odd Places in recent years, you might have seen LuLu LoLo, or rather, one of her many memorable characters, adding an extra touch of flair to the bustling corners of 14th Street with her elaborate DIY costumes and signature sense of humor.
A playwright, performer, and born-and-bred New Yorker, LuLu LoLo has worn many hats over the years. But her latest role is that of Art in Odd Places: INVISIBLE curator. We discuss the concept of (in)visibility in the arts as one ages, the challenges of performing on the street, and the novel and exciting approach to curating this year’s festival, in which our curator will be reimagining her classic telephone operator performance to conduct a very literal “call for proposals” over the phone.
For all the details on this year’s upcoming open call for proposals, which will be held Saturday, May 18th from 12am – 11:59pm EST, click here.
Can you tell me a little bit about your background?
LL: I’m a lifelong New Yorker. I often say that I’m an “old New Yorker.” I grew up in East Harlem. I really only just recently left East Harlem a few years ago.
My parents were so beloved by the community of East Harlem. They really helped people. One of the things that influenced my art was the Italian community and the church processions. I was fascinated by them and how elaborate they were. In my earlier work, when I created these headpieces, I would wear them and it would be like I was in a procession.
I also think that a lot of my Italian heritage influences presentation. A couple of my first installations were about my grandmothers. I remember watching my grandmother make homemade macaroni. It was a food you ate, but to me it was also like my introduction to sculpture.
How did you come to find Art in Odd Places?
LL: It must have been an open call in 2009. I think it was called SIGN.
And we did it for four weekends; I still can’t believe we did that.
I decided I wanted to be a newsboy. And lots of people loved my outfit; I had the knickers on. And I decided to write a newspaper about the history of 14th Street, and 14th Street has amazing history … Macy’s was on 14th Street, The Metropolitan Museum was on 14th Street. So I created these vintage newspapers.
When I think about Art in Odd Places and how things have changed from 2009 to the present, in terms of street life and approaching people, is now people are so in the cocoon of technology and their phones, that it’s harder to engage people, I feel.
Composite by Emily Markert of LuLu LoLo
s AiOP characters. Photos by Paul Takeuchi and ‘Joan of Arc’ photo by Keka Marzagao.
You’ve been performing on 14th Street for years now. What kind of challenges do artists have to keep in mind?
LL: Well, there’s certain corners, to me, that work well or don’t work as well. Right in front of Whole Foods, that’s a real noisy block because the buses are stopping there. And Union Square has changed a lot because it used to be quite empty on certain corners. A lot of it is “who else is occupying the space?”
If you go near The High Line, you got a lot of tourists and maybe they would be interacting with you differently than New Yorkers. There’s so many variables. You don’t know … it’s always unexpected. It’s unexpected who responds to you.
How did this year’s theme of INVISIBLE come to be?
LL: I was talking with Ed Woodham, and I’m so honored he asked me to curate the festival. It came up about older artists and how difficult it is. It’s difficult for everyone living in New York right now. And I know a lot of older artists who have been here for awhile and don’t own their apartment and their landlord would love to get them out, and they’re struggling. Many artists who have been working for years and haven’t had a one-person show, and they’ve been invisible and yet they are making art.
With this open call, we want people to do performance on the street, and we will have the promenade of visual flâneur, where if you’re a painter, you can parade with your art.
What are you looking for with the call for proposals?
LL: Well, we are having this open call on one day, May 18th. And people have to call and they have to leave their name and their age and their phone number … and their proposal, what they want to do. And they really only have about three minutes. I’m wondering what they are going to say… and it’s invisible!
One of the reasons we thought of that too, even for myself personally, ironically, I don’t have video of my own work. Because I’m always struggling. I never have enough money to hire somebody to film me and edit it and have a finished video of my work. And I often don’t apply to places because I don’t have a video. And we thought it would be more accessible to people that way. I just thought this would be a refreshing way to apply because sometimes one of those applications can be so ponderous. And it tied in so wonderfully with INVISIBLE.
I think about INVISIBLE, there’s so many things right now … I don’t want to address what people should submit or what themes, but we have people that have no voice that are considered invisible. There’s so many possibilities of what you can do with that theme.
Stay tuned for a full audio interview with curator LuLu LoLo and the first iteration of Art in Odd Places INVISIBLE archive, an oral history of this year’s festival delving into the rich history of performance art in NYC featuring interviews with working artists from all generations.
