Ben Gould
Anvil Crawler
September 30, 2023
8pm
Anvil Crawler is a new performance by Ben Gould that gives form to the electrical systems within the body while being guided by the electrical circuit of our atmosphere and the idiosyncratic circuit of the artist’s neurology. Tuned to the formation of lightning from which the work itself is named, a choreographic structure unfolds and burns. While introducing an external electric current through the body administered by a series of electrodes, Gould’s Tourette’s Syndrome becomes unpredictably charged, newly ecstatic, and volatile - creating a language of movement that is guided by both his known condition and unknown sensation. The performance is illuminated by erratic flashes of light determined by real lightning strike data, which in turn feed the energetic movement system. Through stages of control, resistance, acceptance, and abandon, the performance becomes a storm of viscerality, intimacy, and at times, joy.
Ben Gould, Anvil Crawler, 2023
Photo by Chris White
Ben Gould, Anvil Crawler, 2023
Photo by Chris White
Ben Gould, Anvil Crawler, 2023
Photo by Chris White
Ben Gould, Anvil Crawler, 2023
Photo by Chris White
Ben Gould, Anvil Crawler, 2023
Photo by Chris White
Ben Gould, Anvil Crawler, 2023
Photo by Chris White
Ben Gould, Anvil Crawler, 2023
Photo by Chris White
Ben Gould, Anvil Crawler, 2023
Photo by Chris White
After the sudden and late development of Tourette Syndrome, Ben Gould’s practice adapted to harbor an investment in the body - exploring the loss of control, resistance, and energy systems within and outside our physiology. With the body as a source, Gould’s multidisciplinary practice is driven by his neurological condition, providing a choreographic motor, and ideological framework for projects ranging from site-specific performances to sculpture and film. Within a growing mythos shaped through personal medical procedures, the history of disability treatment, and the embodiment of new narratives constructed through making, a space for fantasy and freedom is created - opposing the rigidity of physical limitation and societal norms. Each work is powered by a search for understanding and transformation, finding ways of giving form to the idiosyncrasies of his raw being, and unearthing meaning from our ongoing collaboration with others, material, and the environment.
Gould has exhibited work and performed site-specific projects throughout the country, from varied landscapes to institutional spaces - such as a hydroelectric power plant in New York, a Quarry in Illinois, a limestone mine in Kansas City, a bunker in the Marin Headlands, and a moving vessel on the Chicago River. Gould received his BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute in 2015, apprenticed with master craftsmen in California, and was a 2015 Ox-Bow Fellow. He was an artist in residence at Queenslab in New York City in 2018, a Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant recipient, a 2019 Haystack Open Studio Resident, a 2020 Lighton International Artists Exchange Program grant recipient, and a 2021 NYFA Fellow in Interdisciplinary Work. Most recently, Gould has been presented by and shown new works and performances at KANAL Centre Pompidou (Brussels, Belgium), Liberal Arts Roxbury (NY), Bozar (Brussels, Belgium), and The Center for Craft (Asheville, NC), Palais de Tokyo (Paris, France), the Tarble Arts Center (Charleston, IL), and Lyles & King (NYC).