EpiscoDisco

Paradise Now presents “Under Her Feet”

Saturday, January 23rd || 7PM to 10PM || Grace Cathedral

The Art

Many world religions exalt the role of the mother in scripture and iconography, from the central role of the Madonna in Christianity, to the adage taken from the Quran that “heaven lies under your mother’s feet”. Two artists address the uniqueness of motherhood from disparate perspectives, one personal and another investigative. Oakland artist Derek Weisberg uses the rituals of his work to reconcile his mother’s passing. Ceremonially adorned with candlelight, Weisberg’s twisted figurative sculptures embody states of emotional grief both intensely personal yet universally recognizable. New York photographer and installation artist Jessica Levey invokes all the loaded associations that accompany the simple imagery of mother and child with her straightforward video piece. The imagey marks Levey’s time working as a nanny, when she found herself participating in all the intimacies and exhaustive trials of being a mother without actually intending to be one.

The Music

To kick things off, musical whiz Nadia Shihab will be wielding both violin and keyboard to improvise playfully layered electro-folk music. Beats down the middle courtesy of DJ BusStation John and DJ Mrs. Blythe, and bringing up the rear will be the debut performance of Alters, the dark pop fusion of the talented Reverend Bertie Pearson and Little Melanie Anne Berlin. Alters formed when Bertie heard Melanie sing R. Kelly’s ‘Like a Snake’ in a Karaoke bar in Japantown in 2008. After discovering a mutual love of The Wake and Jermaine Dupri the two decided to form their band.

EpiscoDisco

Recently voted one of 7×7 Magazine’s 250 Things To Do In San Francisco Before You Die and anointed “unusual fun” by the SF Chronicle, EpiscoDisco is a monthly event where community congregates to enjoy contemporary art installations, live performance, drinks and DJ’ed music at Grace Cathedral. EpiscoDisco is hosted on one Saturday of each month by Reverend Bertie Pearson and curatorial duo Paradise Now.

Paradise Now

Theology, music and art all share the aspiration to transcend the borders that language cannot. Paradise Now is a nondenominational curatorial duo that is exploring this commonality by showcasing artists who engage the awe-inspiring space within Grace Cathedral through multi-media installations and performing arts. Paradise Now is Eve Ekman and Jean Cooney.

Grace Cathedral

“Great buildings are outward expressions of the human spirit…which speak to the human urge to transcend the mundane and commune with the divine”. A San Francisco landmark, Grace Cathedral is also home to a spiritual community that has continuously enjoyed relationships with contemporary artists, most notably Ansel Adams and Keith Haring, and currently forges new connections with Bay Area Artists though the Reverend Bertie Pearson and Paradise Now. These alliances are enabled by the openness at Grace to “embrace innovation and open-minded conversation where inclusion is expected and people of all faiths are welcomed.”