i have known a.g. since college. meeting through mutual friends (some of who are also recipients of this project), we eventually shared an apartment together in oberlin. she was a dancer in an experimental troupe with whom i would sometimes perform or briefly collaborate. we also did an impromptu collaboration for oberlin's "day of dance" that consisted of us commandeering a stairwell with me playing toy pianos to a.g.'s improvised choreography. it was lighthearted, but somehow a tad disturbing. a.g.'s work has always included a sense of the absurd mixed with serious and even scary social elements. when she moved to new york after college, i visited her a couple of times. i remember sitting on her rooftop in park slope looking out at the new york skyline. it was summer, 2002. we talked about the empire state building being lit red-white-and-blue and family tragedies. i felt so close to her in those moments. since then, she started working on a dance piece about pregnant women who dream of giving birth to monsters. i took this idea and drew a picture of the monstor i imagine in my head sometimes. the background words read: "babies are angels. babies are monsters. this is my baby. this is not my baby." a.g. has since left nyc, and i haven't seen her in a while, but i miss her dearly.
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