Deep Astronomy and the Romantic Sciences

Description

Join us for an evening of music, animation, and interstellar investigations with the incomparable Cory McAbee performing songs from his Small Star Seminar album, including “I Was Once Like You,” “They Pump It Up,” and “Trust Me.” Writer/director/composer and San Francisco cult icon McAbee’s (American Astronaut) irresistible new performance art project follows the story of a singing motivational speaker who travels the world urging people to give up their goals, stop reaching for the stars, and start looking for the stars within their own minds. The quirky “seminar” features optimistic songs about quitting, accepting one’s own limitations, and the power of sitting quietly. Through slides, brief clips, and conversations with his live audiences, McAbee introduces his theories of Deep Astronomy, Truth vs. Fact, transdimensional drifting, and the Romantic Sciences.

“At least one audience member, by their own admission, bought a ticket to Cory McAbee’s Sundance premiere of Deep Astronomy and the Romantic Sciences under the assumption that McAbee was planning an actual astronomy lecture. They were moderately startled when he jumped onstage with a musical sales pitch for something called the ‘Small Star Corporation,’ a fictional company that can help ordinary people navigate everything from accidental drifts across dimensions to the process of efficiently recycling their corpse. Deep Astronomy is part of a collaborative, multi-year guerrilla filmmaking project based on talks McAbee has given around the world. (McAbee is also the creator of the bizarre cult science fiction film The American Astronaut, which is very useful context for his latest show.) As a discrete performance art piece, it’s like a cross between a highly cerebral stand-up comedy routine and an art-rock concert, with monologues ranging from pure absurdism to poignant musings on death and time.” — Adi Robertson, The Verge

“Presented in two acts with an intermission, this ‘deep astronomy master class’ delves into the proper way to observe and interpret the universe, the reason why humans exist, and how our presence can work to the benefit of other dimensions. Through original music, animation, artwork, and live performance, I employ cowboy-savant wisdom to remind us that our minds are made up of stardust and light particles, and how important it is for us to give the universe the deep attention it deserves, rather than the constant complaining it gets. How you try is up to you. How you fail is not up to you. How you reflect upon it all will depend on how you manage the contents of your imagination.” – Cory McAbee

Film Details