2012 / Urban Interventions

Beginning in June 2012, Redmoon launched a robust five months of large-scale spectacle events with Urban Interventions, a series of original performances each featuring a highly engineered spectacle object: a parade in flight with Hawkman and his Entourage, a mobile choreographed fire concert with DJ Fire, and a serio-comic drama perched atop two towering hydraulic forklifts with Dis/Re-Placement.

Each of these 3 spectacle performances intervened into different Chicago festivals, neighborhoods, parades, and landmark locations to disrupt the everyday and create spontaneous celebration and community.

Locations for Urban Interventions 2012 included the 43rd Annual Chicago Pride Parade, Wicker Park Fest, the Evanston and Winnetka 4th of July Parades, MCA First Friday, the 83rd Annual Bud Billiken Parade, and Lollapalooza.

Nearly 200 cell phone photos were shared by audience members and uploaded here.

Watch the video of Dis/Re-Placement at Bucktown Arts Fest here.

Click here to explore the making of Urban Interventions 2012.

Hawkman + his Entourage

• A winged parade, featuring the flight of Hawkman and his entourage. The Hawkman’s wingspan reaches 13 feet while he is perched atop a 30 foot extension ladder. The Hawkman will participate in parades throughout Chicagoland such as Winnetka and Evanston 4th of July parades, Pride parade, and the Bud Biliken Parade.

Dis/Re-Placement

• Fun with Forklifts—Redmoon’s second Urban Intervention, Dis/Re Placement machine has two forks – one in the front and one in the back. Both are lifting and moving rooms ripped from a foreclosed building: the floors and walls, and the people and things—all creating a spectacular architectural ballet for any neighborhood festival.

DJ Fire

• On a mobile stage, live music is visually represented in fire. Working from any sound source (our own ‘dj cart’, a local choir, or a lone cellist), our customizable interface can translate sound frequencies into a 10-pipe fire organ. Spectacular, wild, and totally safe.