Visual artist Bill Botzow and I have been collaborating since 1990. We share an interest in making work that begins with intuitive reflection on the circumstances surrounding real places and leads to making forms appropriate to those situations. For almost a year we have been developing a cumulative and adaptive performance piece, Rollover.

Our interests in this project began with weekly meetings in a studio exploring intuitive moving and mark making. This work was performed as roll in February 1997 to groups of ten. It was an intimate piece that encouraged audience participation through conversational exchange and hands on participation in moving and drawing. The next September another opportunity to work together prompted the introduction of what I call the blimp. The blimp is a 14 foot figure made of fruit tree netting stitched together so it can be stuffed. The blimp had been filled with garbage bags full of helium and floated in a previous Botzow and Cottam collaboration, Cascade of Gravity - A Parade in a Landscape at the Vermont Arts Exchange in June 1996. In September 1997 a generous supply of dry leaves on hand made that the sensible choice for stuffing the large figure. An installation opportunity from the Berkshire Artisans Annex Gallery in England Brothers Department Store windows, Pittsfield, MA resulted in Dormancy where life size figures were traced on plastic then used as templates for building supine pine needle figures. The large leaf figure was also part of this installation. We created performance pieces on three occasions during this installation (1/7/98, 2/4/98, 3/2/98). Also in January I performed a solo dance piece with the large leaf figure at NoBIAS Gallery, North Bennington, VT (1/23+24/98). Edmund Mooney wrote an original sound score and Kevin Bubriski showed an edited video tape of the installation performance in Pittsfield during intermission with accompanying images mounted on the gallery wall. During a project evaluation (2/98), Bill and I listed and organized all the elements born of these collaborations and began the score for Rollover, a performance piece that employs much of the rich imagery discovered throughout the collaboration. Rollover as theater work - Bill + I performing with figurative sculptures, Bubriski's projected video and Mooney's sound score was premiered at Mobius, Boston, MA (4/24 +25/98). This summer we will place elements from Rollover in a variety of settings including a community festival, Vermont Arts Exchange, North Bennington, VT; an invitational exhibition at the Hood Museum, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH and a residency/stage performance at the Flynn Theatre, Burlington, VT.

I look forward to the intrigue of setting a score that is observant, respectful and responsive to people and place while fleshing out the possibilities of the elements that have already been developed. In the best sense Rollover makes evident and compelling the spirit latent in ordinary matter.

-Meg Cottam, July, 1998

We would especially like to thank the following for their support, encouragement and advice during the course of Rollover.

Mobius
CAT - TV
Berkshire Artisans Gallery
Vermont Arts Council
Vermont Arts Exchange
No BIAS
Ruth Botzow
Anthony Cafritz
J.M. Carney
Tony Carruthers
Hopkins Center
Paula Clements
Vermont Community Foundation
Caitlin Corbett
Jenner Custom Framing
Greg Epler-Wood
Joel Giguere
The Hay Project
Chad Lily
Dennis Madden
Laura McKeon
A Moving Journal
Hood Museum of Art
Pat Parsons
Sue Parsons
Bennington Rent- a -Center
Barbara Roan
Andrea Rogers
Tim Rub
Amy Schlegel
Flynn Theatre for the Performing Arts
Donla Villani
Katy Watson
Cathy Weiss
Telos Whitfield
Jay and Joan Zwynenburg