San Francisco artist Jodi Lomask describes her work as “feasts for the audience.”
If she had to define it, she’d call it modern performance which “fuses dance with abstract designs inspired by scientific concepts.”
Lomask is the artistic director of Capacitor, a troupe presenting the local premiere of “The Perfect Flower” this weekend at Fort Mason’s Cowell Theater.
The initial idea for the piece, in which dancers perform on and with abstract 7-foot steel sculptures, came from the plant life on the rooftop garden of the California Academy of Sciences.
From there, Lomask entertained the notion of a perfect flower, a term for plants that are “survivors”; with male and female reproductive structures, they can pollinate themselves.
That reality is tied to what Lomask calls the utility of beauty, a theme that the Connecticut native — who has been creating dances in the Bay Area since 1997 — often explores in her work, in subjects ranging from deep earth to outer space.
“Beauty is not just a superficial thing. It’s totally tied to survival in the natural world,” Lomask says.
The dance maker doesn’t work alone. For “Perfect Flower,” blacksmith Mark Nichols created the centerpiece apparatus based on wire objects designed by Lomask.
“He does beautiful work. He’s able to make steel look alive,” Lomask says.
Celebrating a decade of innovative performances, the 90-minute program this weekend also reprises previous Capacitor favorites: “future species,” “Within Outer Spaces,” “Digging in the Dark,” “Avatars” and “biome.”
IF YOU GO
Capacitor
- Where: Cowell Theater, Fort Mason Center, Buchanan Street and Marina Boulevard
- When: 8 p.m. today-Saturday
- Tickets: $15 to $25
- Contact: (415) 345-7575 or www.capacitor.org
