Denying Destiny

The Age

Friday October 17, 2008

Fiona Scott-Norman

Here's a performance artist with a sense of humour, writes Fiona Scott-Norman.

UNLESS we're transcendentally inclined, we've all got something we hate. It's possibly the colour orange, it may be cricket, and if we're less well adjusted it's probably people coming over here in boats and taking our jobs. For Cynthia Hopkins, a Brooklyn-based musical performance artist at the Melbourne International Arts Festival with her band Gloria Deluxe, it's Greek plays.

"I really hate Greek plays, all of them. It's visceral, it's kind of extreme," says Hopkins, who has been described in Time Out New York as someone who "pulls off the impossible: she makes postmodernism danceable".

"I've been trying to work out why I react so strongly, and one of the clues is those plays are very bent on fate," she says. "You come into this life and you don't have any control over your destiny; it's all woven by the three fates. The best you can hope for is the oracle is correct and you can prepare yourself for the terrible things that are going to happen. And their fate is always terrible. I hate those plays. I believe you do have control over your own life and mind."

It makes sense that Hopkins instinctively resiles from the notion of destiny as she defines her work as one of "alchemy", consciously taking the tragedies of life and transforming them into art.

"My work helps me survive. Personal grief and the horrifying environment of human civilisation, they're the wheat, and I try and spin them into gold by weaving them into song and performance. I've got a wild variety of voices in my head, and if I don't get them out of my system I'd go crazy. It's cathartic for me, and hopefully inspiring for others - a lot of hard times I've got through by listening to other people's music."

Hopkins, born in Massachusetts, New England, and singing in the church choir from the age of five, also spins her tragedy into dark comedy.

Accompanied by her band Gloria Deluxe - named after a favourite accordion - she'll be performing songs from her Accidental Trilogy (Accidental Nostalgia, Must Don't Whip 'Um, The Success of Failure), three operettas she created as part of her artistic collective Accinosco, which have cemented her reputation as an entertainer, extravagant dresser, performance artist and songwriter, and seen her open for artists such as Patti Smith and David Byrne.

Accidental Nostalgia is a thriller about the pros and cons of amnesia. Hopkins performs the role of Cameron Seymour, a neurologist with psychogenic amnesia who's wanted for her father's murder.

"I'm an alcoholic so I have a lot of blackouts from drinking, and it's really frustrating," Hopkins says.

Must Don't Whip 'Um sees Cameron Seymour as an obscure and forgotten pop star from the 1970s staging her farewell concert before disappearing. The Success of Failure is an epic intergalactic folk tale from the future.

Hopkins will perform two shows with Gloria Deluxe, and one solo; each performance will consist of songs chosen from the trilogy.

"To be honest, I've just selected my favourites."

Gloria Deluxe is at Beck's Bar tonight and tomorrow at 9pm. Cynthia Hopkins is at Beck's Bar on Monday at 7pm.

© 2008 The Age

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