Otis Houston Jr aka Black Cherokee has a posse and we are assembling.  People are in play, talking to each other and working together.  Case in point, member Chelsea Spengemann is curating FLOAT, the biennial series of performance and temporary sculpture at Socrates Sculpture Park, August 29 – 30, in Long Island City.  For this show, Otis is crossing the river to install sculpture and manifest his concentrated human presence.

This social assembly requires consideration by promoters of online dance communications.  It is another great example of how networking technologies can connect artists, viewers, producers and critics.  The use of mobile video blogging (iphone 3gs) is new however there is something novel going on here beyond a mere technological advance,  that is the treatment of the artist as the subject itself.  Through the collective presentation and documentation of Otis’ life and work we build a group narrative around what we see in the artist, not only what he does but who he is.

The talk on Great Dance and DTW misses something else too.  The grand narrative that surrounds the production and performance of “great dance” should not one of marketing or branding.  Using the language of business is not the best way to conceive and develop relationships between artist and audience.  A broader, more effective, grand narrative is that of social interactions rather than financial interactions.

The language of business is limited because it cannot properly conceive of itself.  Otis’ support will never come from a bank or a tobacco company because he is their critic .  Otis’ support comes from the people and the power they manifest developing social credit outside the logic of the marketplace.

Otis Houston Jr has a posse and we are assembling a story together.