October 14-20, 2004

art

Uncommon Sense

Road scholars: Tongue Smell Color creators Hellmut Gottschild and Brenda Dixon Gottschild share their personal and cultural journeys. Photo By: Michael T. Regan

The Gottschilds see, hear smell, taste and -- most of all -- feel their way through cultural quagmires.

by Deni Kasrel

"I was in Vienna, around 1969, and some Czechoslovakian asked "Can I take your picture? Because at home we’ve never seen a real black person.’" This happened to Brenda Dixon Gottschild when she was traveling abroad as a member of an experimental ensemble known as Open Theater.

It may sound far-fetched to our American ears; however, Brenda’s husband, the German-born Hellmut Gottschild, says, "It could have been I who did this. Really, I grew up in the same culture, so it would not be a big thing. But it’s the idea of not understanding how it feels from the other side. You think, "I’m complimenting you. I’m telling you you’re beautiful and I want to photograph you.’ But the person you are asking doesn’t feel that way."

So how does it feel to be on the other side? That’s one of the provocative questions pondered in the couple’s Tongue Smell Color, a work that takes on loaded issues such as race, gender, cultural memory and guilt. It makes its Philadelphia premiere this week at the Painted Bride Art Center. It’s described by the Gottschilds as a "movement theater discourse" because, although it does feature choreography, it’s not a dance work. The piece is theatrical, but it’s not purely a work of drama. And while there are segments that include recitations of academic research, it’s surely not a lecture.

Tongue Smell Color makes good use of the duo’s formidable talents. Hellmut, a longtime dancer, choreographer and mime, made an indelible imprint on the local scene through his stint teaching dance at Temple University, as well as being the founder and director of ZeroMoving Dance Company. Brenda, who was also on the faculty at Temple, is a dancer, critic, actor, scholar and author of books about the Africanist presence in American dance and performance.

The piece draws on contrasts and differences felt and experienced by the couple based on their respective heritages. Hellmut grew up in Nazi and post-Nazi Germany, where cultural diversity was nonexistent. Brenda’s upbringing in Harlem put her in touch with the American melting pot. Coming together as a couple required each of them to re-evaluate certain culturally influenced perspectives -- a point that is addressed with considerable frankness in Tongue Smell Color. In one part, Hellmut speaks about his attraction to a black woman out of "curiosity" and his desire "to explore my fantasies." Meanwhile, Brenda recalls that as a dance critic and colleague she’d observed Hellmut for years, but when he first called her up in an attempt to get to know her better, she "found myself on guard."

Brenda admits that while portions of the piece are inspired by real life, "even things that are autobiographical are teased and tempered, because we’re both performers." Other parts -- a segment in which Hellmut portrays a slave trader while Brenda, shrouded in a sheet, plays the "Hottentot" up for sale; a vignette about a renowned European physician who displays an African woman as a "live human specimen" -- are based on historical fact. The duality creates intriguing intersections. As Brenda observes, "I think the reason the autobiographical became interesting to us as a means of creating theater is the historical issues, and the issues that come up between race and gender. Ö I feel people are constantly having to reinvent the wheel in terms of how we deal with those things. So it almost became a convenience that we understood."

"We talk very theoretically about "Yes, we all have to live together,’" says Hellmut. "But the little things Ö like the smell of another, or the prejudice one has about the smell of another, the idea of kissing a black woman -- most people don’t go so far as to mention those things. So these things stay secret. It’s very private and personal."

But not if these two can help it. Each performance of Tongue Smell Color is followed by a discussion with the audience. The co-creators ask the spectators how the issues resonate with their own lives. What recollections and experiences are brought to fore? Reactions at performances across the country and in Europe have varied from opinion to real-life anecdote. Complete strangers have gotten into spirited exchanges.

The couple hopes that by relating snippets of their own stories -- even if these are exaggerated and tweaked for theatrical effect -- viewers will at least begin to understand that personal and societal issues are inextricably intertwined. As Brenda observes, "America is so apolitical that constantly we fail to realize the connection between our individual destinies and the world around us."

(d_kasrel@citypaper.net)

Tongue Smell Color, Thu., Oct. 14, 7 p.m., $15; Fri.-Sat., Oct. 15-16, 8 p.m., $20, Painted Bride Art Center, 230 Vine St., 215-925-9914.