JESS HOOKS work seeks to solve problems and create inquiry into the arrangement of objects in space. She explores using a variety materials & styles to create situations and opportunities where both the mind & the body are being engaged. She investigates the instances where the intersections of personal identity and broader culture create social change.…
Jess Hooks fell in love with participatory art in LA area nightlife in the early 90s. While attending Hampshire College she drew a connection between the avant-guard, medieval art & literature, monotheism, capitalism and the construction of female identities. After completing post-graduate programs at FIDM & UCSC, Jess received an MFA in Dramatic Art from…
Last Christmas (2014) there was an article on Bowery Boogie about SantaCon, including a bit about its connections with The FIGMENT Project. The article, and its over 200 comments, was one of the top posts of the blog in 2014. It brought up issues of gentrification, public space, privilege and community, all of which are core issues…
My grandparents met in a refugee camp on a Greek Island. After surviving the holocaust, my underage grandparents tried to get out of Europe. There was nothing left for them at home, no real family, no food, more war, no jobs, no education, no future. They found “Conditions in the camps were very harsh, with…
Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” is a perfect fall show, particularly when executed in a community garden in the Lower East Side. One of my proudest production design efforts (costume & sets), I was able to build out one wall with salvaged oak flooring which functioned as both the inside and outside of structures. The costumes…
When an old friend asked if I could do her wedding decor I jumped. I knew this would take place at her families compound on a small island off the coast of Maine. The family has owned the property for several generations (I think 5, maybe 6) and it shows: the tiny cottage that has several…
Affectionately referred to as “The Puppet Dress,” this piece was selected by St Ann’s Warehouse for development during the 2010-2011 Puppetlab. Additional performances were done at The FIGMENT Project weekend festival on Governors Island as well as Gemini & Scorpio‘s “Lost Circus” event. From the Messenger Theatre Company website: “Seeing Inside” takes place under the skirt of Lou Andreas-Salome…
The Altoona Dada Society Presents: The Velvet Gentleman Directed by Kevin P. Hale Produced by PlaylabNYC [Show slideshow]
In 2010 a friend approached me with the bold statement, “you’re into Olivia Newton-John, right?” The answer is yes. Olivia Newton-John. Love of my life? The woman who turned me gay in 1981 as she did the finale of Xanadu (I was 4)? Yes, I’m into ONJ. He went on to tell me about this idea…
In 2005 I met theater director and producers Mahayana Landowne working on Rounding Third at Millbrook Playhouse. Before she came on to direct the show, members of the Millbrook company had said that we would get a long. We did. Over the years following we lost touch. Fast forward five years and I find myself back in…
