The short film ‘Storefront Diva’ is a collage assembled from a 4-hour performance, inspired by Joseph Cornell’s dream fragment in which he watched Claude Debussy playing piano in a storefront. Phase One took place on 27 December 2011, at a pop-up store location directly opposite Le Poisson Rouge in the heart of Greenwich Village, Manhattan. Pianist Kathleen Supové performed a composition by Joan La Barbara in a special set and costume designed by Marija Plavšić, accompanied by Aleksandar Kostić’s video installation. Phase Two of ‘Storefront Diva’ took place at The Flea Theater in Tribeca on June 2012. Supové performed a new composition by La Barbara, and Kostić created a new video installation that fuses elements of the past and present. ‘Storefront Diva’ was made possible in part by public funds from the Manhattan Community Arts Fund, supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and administered by Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, with additional funding from the New York University Adjunct Faculty Professional Development Fund and American Music Center/Composer Assistance Program. Generous support was also provided by Yamaha Artist Services and Materials for the Arts, DCA.
Click here to watch full video ‘Storefront Diva’ (5 min 47 sec)