Allison Cummings lifted and carried by Intimate Apparel actor Andre Sills.

In an interview with Allison Cummings, the choreographer and performance artist admitted that most of the YouTube views of Burden documentation seem to have come from “Lift & Carry” enthusiasts.

Johanna Householder crushes chips.

Johanna Householder laid out and then mercilessly crushed All Dressed Ruffles under the heel of her shiny black stiletto during W.O.R.K.S. on October 16.

Les Fermières Obsédées at the ContainRs, October 19, 2012

However, those for whom the craving for performance art is only satisfied by the wettest, messiest acts were surely set aquiver by Les Fermières Obsédées‘ orgiastic spectacle. The artists finished their filthy, filthy performance covered with cola, chocolate sauce and other unmentionables cannibalized from a doll that they alternately beat and ate. Plus, they gave out candy!

You can catch the collective’s second performance at the Southern Alberta Art Gallery on Sunday.

Les Fermières Obsédées

Johanna Householder holding Allison Cummings

After what sources say was quite a long Sunday night at John Snow House, artist Allison Cummings started hopping into the arms of both friends and complete strangers, apparently expecting to be carried. One might assume that she was either exhausted from her long performance, or full and sleepy from a big meal of rice paper and chili sauce.

Although Cummings is small and light, inevitably she would become too heavy and need to be let down. After lying on the floor briefly, Cummings would get back up and just stand there, quietly waiting to be fed and picked up again. This continued in the lobby of the Epcor Centre for about four hours on Monday afternoon.

l-r: Allison Cummings, Randy Gledhill, Chumpon Apisuk, Johanna Householder

After Allison Cummings’ performance at Epcor, artists gathered at the Old Y Centre, site of M:ST’s office. Eventually the conversation turned to wine, and the group left for a drink next door at Hop In Brew Pub.

Johanna Householder, Chumpon Apisuk, Randy Gledhill, and Allison Cummings launched into a discussion of Thai art politics, which soon turned into enthusiastic stories of drinking customs at the international festivals each had performed at. Drinking an Aprikat, the animated Gledhill recalled an anecdote about skyping with a “festive” Vasan Sitthiket at 4am Bangkok time.

Later, the group was joined by Terrance Houle, Dan Wilson, festival Artistic Director Tomas Jonsson, and, briefly, trans musician/heartthrob Rae Spoon, in town filming an NFB documentary.

See Johanna Householder and other Canadian performance luminaries perform W.O.R.K.S. tomorrow evening at the Royal Canadian Legion.

At 9:30 I received a text from Mountain Standard Time’s Artistic Director Tomas Jonsson, requesting my presence at an event in some shipping containers near the river.

“Just follow Stephens Ave. east until you get to a sketchy neighbourhood; look for the lights and thumpy dance music.”

I eventually found my way to ContainR Calgary, a temporary outdoor art/party space built from repurposed shipping containers. One of the dozens of performers was M:ST artist Allison Cummings, performing her silent and intimate work Burden with a non-stop flow of arts-curious businesspeople. You can catch Burden again at the Epcor Centre on Monday afternoon.

The ContainRs will be the site of several other parties and events during M:ST. Their bare metal seems to amplify the cold; I’d recommend dressing for warmth (in addition to fashion).