Anja Notanja Sieger - Playing Possum
On Friday, January 17th, 5-9pm and Saturday, January 18th, 12-4pm, a show of intricate paper cuttings by Anja Notanja Sieger will debut at Grove Gallery in Walker’s Point. Just as possums simultaneously access both living and deceased realities when threatened, at Playing Possum, you'll view life and death at the same time through these positive / negative silhouettes. Present will be large single sheets of paper sliced so finely by knives that they resemble woodcuts and shadow puppets that have appeared in local theater productions—both in raw paper form and as individual solar prints.
Sieger's influences include the possibly-dead-possibly-alive creatures she sees on her walks. “One night I watched a possum amble into the weeds. It had clumpy, uneven fur. When I moved by it, it just froze in place,” describes Sieger. “A couple days later I saw that possum in the middle of the street looking very dead—or was it? I’ll never know but it got me thinking about how closely possums study death.”
Sieger will be at the gallery during open hours on February 15th to offer “Voices of The Animal Kingdom” alongside friends: comedian Becca Segal, performance artist Kirsten Meier, biologist Emma Kraco, and Iowa typewriter poet Andrea Becker. Each will represent an animal species and provide insightful prose inspired by a study of that creature. Please arrive with a question and a donation to receive the typewritten thoughts of animals.
On February 22nd, the closing day of Playing Possum, there will be a free 3 PM shadow puppet and poetry performance. The spectacle will feature performances by participants from the Shadow Puppetry & Poetry Workshop held in the gallery earlier that day. The workshop costs $25 and includes all supplies. Sign up for the workshop here.
Anja Notanja Sieger, B. 1987, BFA Kansas City Art Institute. Sieger is a predominantly analog artist living in a digital world, and is known locally for her custom typewriter poetry service, advice tents and shadow puppetry. She also hosts The Subtle Forces, an experimental podcast that is impossible to accurately describe even in the most stalled of elevators. Previous venues for her work include The Pfister Hotel; QWERTYFEST MKE; Woodland Pattern; O, Miami Poetry Festival; Quasimondo Physical Theatre; Milwaukee Opera Theatre; Fringe Fest Milwaukee; 104.1fm Riverwest Radio; RedLine Milwaukee; 10th Street Theater; Renaissance Theaterworks; St. Kate Arts Hotel; The Museum of Wisconsin Art; Walker's Point Center for the Arts; Gallery 2622; and the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center.
GALLERY NIGHT & DAY:
Friday, January 17th, 2024, 5-9 PM & Saturday, January 18th, 2025 12-4 PM
CLOSING:
Saturday, February 22nd, 12-4 PM
FEBRUARY 15th:
“Voices of The Animal Kingdom,” a typewriter poetry performance, 12-4 PM.
SHADOW PUPPET WORKSHOP & PERFORMANCE: Saturday, February 22nd with a 1pm Workshop and 3pm Performance.
Grove Gallery is open to the public, noon-4pm on Saturdays. The show will close on February 22nd.For More Information about the Anja and her work, please visit her website at: anjanotanja.com