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Issue date: 11/1/06 Section: Entertainment

Kaloyan Ivanov

The difference between art and entertainment may be in the eye of the beholder, but for DBCC student Kaloyan Ivanov the two have melded into one and become something uniquely spectacular.
At 7:30 p.m. Nov. 9 in the Theater Center, Ivanov will realize a dream that began over two years ago when he will use design, line, color, texture and balance to create a new way of presenting those properties.
During an hour-long performance, Ivanov will paint 12 dancers on life-size canvases as they perform live on stage. Ivanov warns that while his application of paint during the performance may appear chaotic, it has a purpose.
"This is sincere. I'm not doing it for shock's sake," Ivanov says.
For those who may be unfamiliar with the concept of performance art, it is made up like a triangle, with dance, painting and music as its main components. If any of these components are missing, the performance art is not going to work - like a table with two legs.
This performance piece is titled "Espial," which comes from the Spanish word for espionage, and literally means "the uncovering of a mystery." "Espial" is the basic story of art as personified by dancers.
"It's the idea of surrendering an ego, or all materialistic things to the art," says Ivanov. "You can make art for money, or you can make art as something more sincere that transcends all those material things."
Ivanov has chosen an eclectic selection of music for the performance, including Bolero music, No Doubt and Led Zeppelin, to name a few. Each song has been carefully chosen for tone and tempo, to correspond with not only the dancers, but also with Ivanov's painting.
"I know the designs, I know the colors, at what time I'm using what color, what line," Ivanov says.
Although he practices five hours a week, Ivanov has yet to commit his vision to canvas. He's waiting for the actual performance to begin a tangible expression of this much-anticipated dream. "On that day the audience will get to experience it and I will get to experience it at the same time."
When asked what he wants to accomplish as an artist, Ivanov says, "The job of the artist is to communicate something, to develop the space between the painting and the audience, to evoke something in the art."
While Ivanov hopes to inspire others, he finds inspiration in friends, books, artists, little kids and the teachers he's had at DBCC. Ivanov is majoring in Fine Arts and has not yet decided where he wants to finish his education.
Past projects had Ivanov working with the great Cristo - arguably the most famous environmental performance artist of all time - on his last big project in New York. Helping the young artist with this month's presentation will be Kevin Veiga, DBCC dance professor and professional choreographer.
"It's his project, his idea, his art - the choreography is just there to support him," says Veiga of Ivanov. "He's brought ideas out of me that I wouldn't have come up with myself."
"Espial" is not the beginning for Ivanov, who is an accomplished artist, nor is it the end. He has great hopes for his future as an artist and his goal is "to make work that is inspiring to other people. Money is not an incentive for me. When somebody is inspired by my art, or likes it, that's my aim. To create a reaction."
Admission is $5 and tickets may be purchased at the Theater Center, Bldg. 220.

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