Los Super Elegantes
Pick a Paisley, Tropic is the Topic, Decorating with Dogs
Blow de la Barra
Thursday, November 3 2005
Los Super Elegantes is the collaborative pairing of artists Milena Muzquiz and Martiniano Lopez-Crozet who have been honing their own peculiarly endearing ad hoc theatricality as a band, playwrites, performers and object makers since 1995. Recently in London from Los Angeles for a gallery-based event -at Pablo Leon de la Barra and Detmar Blow's West end Blow de la Barra venture- that presented a fragmented insight into a selection of musical stagings they have put on in the past. A reduced theatrical tableau was created for each by way of a small stage set on which was performed a key song and action that resulted in some artistic residue to the literal canvasses of the sets.
Often deliberately amateurist in their approach LSE lip-synch along to a sound track and emanate an aura of enthusiastic thrown together-ness rather than practiced perfection. Commentators have discussed Los Super Elegantes' performance "crumminess" as a canny debasement technique that separates them from the world of polished pop that they reference. They talk of their stance as that of pure imitation, a way to participate and commentate, to act out and send up entertainment cliches whilst being entertaining.
The complexities within their repertoire of lyrics, scripts and personas -the curious mix of the radicalism and pop- are more in evidence within a whole play, but their exuberance and love of absurdity is evident in both filmed performances. The gallery song and dance vignette results in an Yves Klein-esque post-performance painting complete with gluey shoes, while a clip of the after event entertainment routine illustrates the cabaret energy that endears them as performers.
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Credits
Film: Darren Flook
