Lopsided
Created by Brian J. Evans
LOPsided is an autobiographical work made up of original music, dance and theater, and photography focusing on Evans’ understanding of his own biases and working through translating the idea of Citizen Artistry to audiences viewing LOPsided. The work premiered as a live one-man show in Minneapolis, MN in 2018 as a part of The Right Here Showcase. The original performance of the work was a “Swan Song tribute” to the Twin Cities before he moved to Seattle to continue his academic education at University of Washington. The newest iteration of Brian J. Evans’ LOPsided premiered on Central District Forum for Arts and Ideas’ online presenting platform, CD Forum TV on YouTube, on June 13, 2020.
“In many ways I don’t want to make art about the pain and trauma of being mixed in America, but the hope is that by sharing my perspective, which is made up of many, it will help to humanize us.”
- Brian J. Evans
The latest version of LOPsided is a series of 12 videos. Each video can be viewed on its own or all videos can be viewed together in any order as an evening-length digital work. (Click through to CD Forum's YouTube channel to view the video playlist.)
Support Brian and this work through Venmo @Brian-Evans-29.
LOPsided | A Prelude
Amid a pandemic and racialized social unrest: What is the purpose of this series? I hope this video provides some context.
LOPsided | Lasting Impression
LOPsided | LOPsided
Setting up a frame and providing background and contextual insight.
LOPsided | Mixed Man
As an interdisciplinary artist and a mixed-race human, there seems to be a requirement that I must define myself with things that I can not be in order to be legible. Mixed man is a rebuke of that sentiment and an acknowledgment that I am, we are a plurality.
LOPsided | On With The Show
This is the oldest work of the series, first premiered in 2007 and has since been filtered through the experiences of growing up as a person of color. Every location is this video is made less-safe by the simple fact that I am not white, and at any moment, I may need to raise my hands to demonstrate I am not a threat. Yet, the show must go on and does.
LOPsided | An Ode to D
Directly downloaded from de dome.
LOPsided | Sister Story
My sister is a hero of mine. I have had the great fortune of being surrounded by amazing women and she does in one video what I've been attempting to understand and communicate my whole life. Love you sis!
LOPsided | 間 Ma
Loosely translated as the spaces between spaces.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma_(negative_space)
Ma comments on race and love and asks the question where do we go to try and understand those nuanced states of being.
LOPsided | Nina
I Wish I Knew How it Would Feel to be Free.
LOPsided | Shine I
I wrote this poem two days after the Charlottesville protests. Attempting to reckon with the reality that there are folx who would rather not have me exist in this world.
LOPsided | Shine II
Shane Koyczan is a fantastic performer, writer, and empath. I was so moved by Shane's poem Shine that I commissioned Cynthia Gutierrez to collaborate on making a companion piece to Shane's work.
"Shine in the dark places, lend the world your light." ~Shane Koyczan
LOPsided | Yoke
Yoke: an oppressive agency.
LOPsided | Those Sunsets
Bittersweet endings. Co-Written with Shahar Eberzon prior to her inevitable departure. 27 amazing artists responded to an open call of contributions and I am so appreciative of their generosity! Thank you!
About Brian J. Evans
Brian J. Evans is a Citizen Artist, defined by the Aspen Institute Arts Program as:
Individuals who reimagine the traditional notions of art-making, and who contribute to society either through the transformative power of their artistic abilities, or through proactive social engagement with the arts in realms including education, community building, diplomacy and healthcare.
Mixing disciplines, mixing professions, and of mixed race, Brian J. Evans unpacks the “moments of suspension” that reside in the spaces between spaces. Convinced that connections exist between us all and it is the responsibility of the Arts to remind us to be holistically human, lest we forget. Courageous vulnerability and intentional equity keeps him aloft as he finds ways to give back and add to the communities, mentors, and ancestors who blazed trails and continue to do so! Evans is a recipient of a 2015 McKnight Dance Fellowship, administered by The Cowles Center and funded by The McKnight Foundation. A former decade long principal dancer and musical director for Stuart Pimsler Dance & Theater, Evans believes it is the responsibility of the Arts to rediscover existing connections within humanity. He is currently finishing his final year of the Dance MFA Graduate program at the University of Washington (UW) Seattle Campus and was awarded the Howard P. Dallas Endowed Fellowship for his service on the UW dance department’s newly founded diversity community and serves as a liaison on the Divisional Arts Diversity Committee. His next adventure includes a tenure-track professorship in the Theater and Dance department at Bates College in Lewiston, ME.
