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Sarah Small

{{Short description|American artist, composer, singer, filmmaker, photographer}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Sarah Small

| image = Sarah Small.jpg

| birth_date = 1979

| birth_place = Washington D.C., USA

| education = B.A. in Photography from Rhode Island School of Design

| occupation = Composer, Vocalist, Filmmaker, Performer, Director, Photographer

| known_for = * Tableau Vivant (performance)

  • Black Sea Hotel (vocal ensemble)
  • The Delirium Constructions (photography series)
  • Butter on the Latch (film)
  • Secondary Dominance (performance, album, film)

| parents = Father: Haskell Small

| website = https://www.sarahsmall.com/

}}

Sarah Small (born 1979 in Washington D.C.) is a Brooklyn-based American artist, composer, singer, filmmaker, photographer, and performer featured on Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble's GRAMMY-Winning album, Sing Me Home.{{Citation|title=Sing Me Home - Silkroad Ensemble, Yo-Yo Ma {{!}} Credits {{!}} AllMusic|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/sing-me-home-mw0002922888/credits|language=en|access-date=2022-01-09}}{{Cite web|date=2020-11-23|title=Silk Road Ensemble|url=https://www.grammy.com/grammys/artists/silk-road-ensemble/10098|access-date=2022-01-09|website=GRAMMY.com|language=en}} She is known for her photographic and Tableau Vivant performance series The Delirium Constructions, singing as part of the Balkan vocal trio Black Sea Hotel, acting as the protagonist in the feature film Butter on the Latch by Josephine Decker, and directing the musical album, new music opera performance, and feature film Secondary Dominance.

Education and career

She attended high school at The Field School, in Washington, D.C.{{cite news |last1=Kaufman |first1=Sarah |title=Naked ambition: Sarah Small's 'Delirium Construction' brims with life |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/naked-ambition-sarah-smalls-delirium-construction-brims-with-life/2011/06/10/AGRLmrYH_story.html |newspaper=Washington Post |date=19 June 2011 }} and graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2001 with a bachelor's degree in photography.{{Cite web|date=2008-02-20|title=Gallery shows off work of noted photographer Small|url=https://wcfcourier.com/waverly/community/gallery-shows-off-work-of-noted-photographer-small/article_854cb7c7-3ed3-5287-8228-572734699736.html|access-date=2022-01-09|website=Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier|language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Tribeca Citizen {{!}} March at 92YTribeca |url=https://tribecacitizen.com/2010/02/17/march-at-92ytribeca/ |access-date=2022-11-12 |website=Tribeca Citizen |language=en-US}}

After graduating from college, Small moved to Brooklyn and worked as a photographer for 13 years. Her work has appeared in publications including Vogue, Life Magazine, The New York Times,{{Cite news |last=Sulcas |first=Roslyn |date=2011-05-25 |title=In Brooklyn, a Boschscape of Vows, Song and Flesh |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/26/arts/tableau-vivant-of-the-delirium-constructions-review.html |access-date=2022-11-12 |issn=0362-4331}} The Washington Post,{{Cite news |title=Sarah Small's living picture |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/sarah-smalls-living-picture/2011/05/26/AG4ACsYH_story.html |access-date=2022-11-12 |issn=0190-8286}} and The Wall Street Journal,{{Cite news |last=Waleson |first=Heidi |date=2017-01-17 |title='Secondary Dominance' and 'Funeral Doom Spiritual' Reviews: More Than Opera |language=en-US |work=Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/secondary-dominance-and-funeral-doom-spiritual-reviews-more-than-opera-1484687319 |access-date=2022-01-30 |issn=0099-9660}} has been showcased by John Schaefer on WNYC’s Soundcheck{{Cite web |title=Gig Alert: Black Sea Hotel {{!}} Soundcheck |url=https://www.wnyc.org/story/gig-alert-black-sea-hotel/ |access-date=2022-01-30 |website=WNYC |language=en}} and National Public Radio, and exhibited globally at venues including Galerie Caprice Horn (Berlin), Corcoran Gallery of Art (Washington DC), and the Australian Centre for Photography. She was named one of the “Top 13 Emerging Photographers” working today, by American Photo Magazine.{{cite web |title=Brief overview of work to 2010 |url=http://nepotismmagazine.com/latest-2/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101229142525/http://nepotismmagazine.com/latest-2/ |archive-date=2010-12-29 |website=Nepotism Magazine}}

In 2002, Small began studying Bulgarian vocal production in a start-up Bulgarian women's choir, Yasna Voices.{{Cite web |title=Yasna Voices - Female World Septet |url=https://www.harmony-sweepstakes.com/details/48466 |access-date=2022-11-19 |website=www.harmony-sweepstakes.com}} In 2006, Yasna Voices traveled on grant to  Bulgaria to study with master singer Kremena Stancheva, a founding member of the Bulgarian women’s choir,  Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares.{{cite thesis |id={{ProQuest|2201117111}} |last1=Stankova |first1=Maria Vassileva |year=2019 |title=Globalization, Nationalism and Cultural Translation in Bulgarian Folk Singing }}

In 2007, Small co-formed Brooklyn's Balkan vocal ensemble, Black Sea Hotel. She has premiered original works with Kronos Quartet in collaboration with Black Sea Hotel at St. Ann's Warehouse.{{cite web |date=2017-01-12 |title=Sarah Small's Provocative Secondary Dominance: Highlight of This Year's Prototype Festival |url=https://newyorkmusicdaily.wordpress.com/2017/01/12/ |website=New York Music Daily}}{{Cite web |title=Open House & Songs From Home |url=https://stannswarehouse.org/show/open-house-songs-from-home/ |access-date=2022-01-30 |website=St. Ann's Warehouse}}  and National Sawdust, and on stage with Reggie Watts and Sxip Shirey and Joe’s Pub. The vocal trio  was featured in Small's Tableau Vivant of The Delirium Constructions in 2011 and headlined the Lund Choral Festival in Scandinavia in 2018.{{Cite web |last= |title=Åtta uruppföranden på Lunds körfestival {{!}} |date=2 September 2018 |url=https://imusiken.se/2018/09/02/atta-uruppforanden-pa-lunds-korfestival/ |access-date=2022-01-30 |language=sv-SE}}{{Cite web |date=2018-10-14 |title=Lund Choral Festival i Lunds domkyrka 2018 |url=https://lundsdomkyrka.se/2018/10/14/lund-choral-festival-2018/ |access-date=2022-11-19 |website=Lunds domkyrka |language=sv-SE}} Black Sea Hotel has taught Balkan folk singing  internationally, with a specialization in songs from Shopluk, Bulgaria. Highlights include teaching residences at Sjöviks Folkhögskola in Sweden. 

In 2009, she taught Portrait Photography to seniors at the Parsons School of Design, and has taught darkroom photography to children and adults. In 2011, her 120-participant Tableau Vivant performance was featured in The Washington Post and The New York Times. {{cite news |date=26 May 2011 |title=In Brooklyn, a Boschscape of Vows, Song and Flesh |newspaper=The New York Times |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/26/arts/tableau-vivant-of-the-delirium-constructions-review.html?_r=2&scp=1&sq=In%20Brooklyn,%20a%20Boschscape%20of%20Vows,%20Song%20and%20Flesh&st=cse |accessdate=23 August 2020}}{{Cite news |title=Sarah Small's living picture |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/sarah-smalls-living-picture/2011/05/26/AG4ACsYH_story.html |access-date=2022-01-30 |issn=0190-8286}}

In 2012, Small formed Hydra, another vocal trio, and performed with Sean Ono Lennon and Taxiplasm at The Box.{{Cite web|date=2012-06-01|title=OUT OF THE BOX – JUNE 7TH NYC – SEAN LENNON, HYDRA & THE CLICK CLACK BOOM TO PERFORM FOR TAXIPLASM'S FILM PROJECT|url=http://untitled-magazine.com/out-of-the-box-sean-lennon-hydra-the-click-clack-boom-to-perform-june-7th-nyc/|access-date=2022-02-06|website=THE UNTITLED MAGAZINE|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|date=2012-06-14|title=Sean Lennon|url=http://m-nyc.thedelimagazine.com/category/bands/sean-lennon|access-date=2022-02-06|website=The Deli Magazine}}

In 2014, Small starred in Butter on the Latch,{{Cite web|date=2014-11-13|title=Review: BUTTER ON THE LATCH, A Fascinating And Truly Original Work Of Art|url=https://screenanarchy.com/2014/11/review-butter-on-the-latch-a-fascinating-and-truly-original-work-of-art.html|access-date=2022-01-09|website=ScreenAnarchy}} a psychological thriller film directed by Josephine Decker, which was on The New Yorker's “10 Best Movies of 2014.”{{Cite magazine|date=2014-12-11|title=The Best Movies of 2014|url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/best-movies-2014|first=Richard|last=Brody|access-date=2022-01-09|magazine=The New Yorker|language=en-US}}

In 2016, Small was invited by Beth Morrison and HERE Arts Center’s PROTOTYPE Festival to premiere her work “Secondary Dominance” on stage,{{Cite web|date=2016-12-19|title=Prototype: Opera/Theatre/Now|url=https://www.timeout.com/newyork/theater/prototype-opera-theatre-now-1|access-date=2022-02-06|website=Time Out New York|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=Secondary Dominance – PROTOTYPE|date=20 November 2018 |url=https://prototypefestival.org/shows/secondary-dominance/|access-date=2022-02-06|language=en}} which has since been made into several music videos and a feature film.{{Cite web|last=Cristi|first=A. A.|title=Sarah Small, Vanessa Walters, Wade McCullom's SECONDARY DOMINANCE Joins Prototype Festival|url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Sarah-Small-Vanessa-Walters-Wade-McCulloms-SECONDARY-DOMINANCE-Joins-Prototype-Festival-20161221|access-date=2022-02-06|website=BroadwayWorld.com|language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Secondary Dominance |url=https://www.backstage.com/casting/secondary-dominance-342949/ |access-date=2022-01-29 |website=backstage.com}}

As a photographer and performance artist, Small has exhibited and lectured internationally for The Lucie Foundation,,{{Cite web|title=Lucie Foundation Newsletter|url=https://luciefoundation.org/newsletter/August_23_2010.html|access-date=2022-01-09|website=luciefoundation.org}} Apple Store Soho, and at the China International Photographic Exhibition granted by the Ministry of Culture of China.{{Cite web|title=Image Makers with Sarah Small and Jason Florio - Events - APA New York|url=https://ny.apanational.org/events/image-makers-with-sarah-small-and-jason-florio/|access-date=2022-01-09|website=ny.apanational.org|language=en}}

Select photography exhibitions

  • 2017 - Fast Forward//Rewind, Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia, Atlanta, Georgia, US{{Cite news |last=Feaster |first=Felicia |title=Review: Eclectic mix of photographers from across country at MOCA GA |language=English |work=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution |url=https://www.ajc.com/entertainment/arts--theater/review-eclectic-mix-photographers-from-across-country-moca/DPMivtJWIraO4hcL30YSaM/ |access-date=2022-02-06 |issn=1539-7459}}
  • 2011 - Human Time Space, DOB Hua Lamphong Gallery, Bangkok, Thailand[http://thaiartxhibition.blogspot.com/2011/03/humantimespace-by-17-artists.html Human/Time/Space By 17 artists | Thai Art Exhibition]
  • 2011 - Neubacher Inaugural Exhibition, Neubacher Shor Contemporary, Toronto, Canada[http://neubachershor.com/events/recent/ Neubacher Shor Contemporary Launch and Inaugural Exhibition – nsc]
  • 2010 - 100 Portraits - 100 Photographers, Fotoweek DC, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., US{{Cite web |title=Larissa Leclair - 100 Portraits – 100 Photographers |url=http://www.larissaleclair.com/photography/2010/11/23/100-portraits-100-photographers/ |access-date=2022-02-06 |website=larissaleclair.com |language=en}}
  • 2010 - Art of Photography Show, Lyceum Gallery, San Diego, California, US[http://www.artofphotographyshow.com/Sarah_Small_Event.html Art of Photography Show – An Evening with Sarah Small]
  • 2010 - Vignettes, Bleicher/GoLightly Gallery, Santa Monica, California, US[http://shannonrowland.com/news.html Shannon Rowland Photography]
  • 2010 - Art Taipei Forum, Taipei World Trade Center, Taipei, Taiwan{{cite web |title=CV from 2011 |url=http://www.welcometocompany.com/sites/default/files/artwork_docs/small_cv2011.pdf |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326083920/http://www.welcometocompany.com/sites/default/files/artwork_docs/small_cv2011.pdf |archivedate=2012-03-26 |accessdate=2011-07-21}}
  • 2009 - Bova Images Festival, Bova, Calabria, Italy[http://theexposureproject.blogspot.com/2009/07/bova-images-festival.html The Exposure Project: Bova Images Festival]
  • 2008 - Delight and Horror: The Photographs of Sarah Small, 1000 Words Photography{{Cite web |date=2008-12-03 |title=Sarah Small |url=https://lenscratch.com/2008/12/sarah-small/ |access-date=2022-02-24 |website=LENSCRATCH |language=en-US}}
  • 2007 - Soft Ground, Platform Gallery, Winnipeg, Canada{{Cite web |title=Exhibitions {{!}} Platform Centre |url=http://platformgallery.org/exhibition/page/8/ |access-date=2022-02-24 |website=platformgallery.org}}
  • 2004 - Art+Commerce Festival, Emerging Photographers, Tobacco Warehouse, Brooklyn, NY, US

Select performance art

  • 2017 - PROTOTYPE Festival - Secondary Dominance
  • 2011 - Powerhouse Arena - Tableau Vivant of the Delirium Constructions{{Cite web|last=Sierra|first=Gabrielle|title=TABLEAU VIVANT... Opens At Skylight One Hanson|url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/off-broadway/article/TABLEAU-VIVANT-OF-THE-DELIRIUM-CONSTRUCTIONS-Opens-At-Skylight-One-Hanson-20010101|access-date=2022-02-06|website=BroadwayWorld.com|language=en}}
  • 2011 - Bathhouse Arena - Tableau Vivant of the Delirium Constructions
  • 2011 - Skylight One Hanson, Williamsburg Clocktower Building - Tableau Vivant of the Delirium Constructions
  • 2010 - 92Y Tribeca - Tableau Vivant of the Delirium Constructions

Filmography

class="wikitable"

!Title

!Type

!Year

!Producer

!Performer

!Director

!Composer

!Singer

!Photographer

!Ref

Docuconcoction of the Delirium Constructions

|Documentary film

|2024

|Yes

|Yes

|Yes

|Yes

|Yes

|No

|

Secondary Dominance

|Feature film

|2023

|Yes

|Yes

|Yes

|Yes

|Yes

|No

|{{Cite web |last=Cristi |first=A. A. |title=Sarah Small, Vanessa Walters, Wade McCullom's SECONDARY DOMINANCE Joins Prototype Festival |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Sarah-Small-Vanessa-Walters-Wade-McCulloms-SECONDARY-DOMINANCE-Joins-Prototype-Festival-20161221 |access-date=2022-01-29 |website=BroadwayWorld.com |language=en}}

Don’t Worry Darling

|Feature film

|2022

|No

|No

|No

|No

|Yes

|No

|{{Cite web |title=Don't Worry Darling Score OST Cover by psycosid09 on DeviantArt |url=https://www.deviantart.com/psycosid09/art/Don-t-Worry-Darling-Score-OST-Cover-932099187 |access-date=2022-11-15 |website=deviantart.com |date=6 October 2022 |language=en}}

The Autopsy of Jane Doe

|Feature film

|2016

|No

|No

|No

|No

|Yes

|No

|

Collective: Unconscious

|Anthology film

|2016

|No

|Yes

|No

|No

|No

|No

|{{Cite web |last=Harvey |first=Dennis |date=2016-04-05 |title=Film Review: 'Collective:Unconscious' |url=https://variety.com/2016/film/markets-festivals/collective-unconscious-review-1201734760/ |access-date=2022-01-29 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}

Thou Wast Mild and Lovely

|Feature film

|2014

|Yes

|No

|No

|No

|No

|No

|

Butter on the Latch

|Feature film

|2013

|No

|Yes

|No

|No

|Yes

|No

|

Tableau Vivant of the Delirium Constructions (filmed at Skylight One Hanson, 2011)

|Short Film

|2011

|No

|Yes

|Yes

|Yes

|Yes

|No

|{{Cite web |title=Tableau Vivant of the Delirium Constructions. Puede vivir toda la belleza del mundo en una sala de teatro?|url=https://nakedathomeblog.wordpress.com/2020/12/23/tableau-vivant-of-the-delirium-constructions-puede-vivir-toda-la-belleza-del-mundo-en-una-sala-de-teatro/|date=23 December 2020}}

Team Queen

|Short film/Music video

|2007

|No

|No

|No

|No

|No

|Yes

|

Molotov Samba

|Feature film

|2005

|No

|No

|No

|No

|No

|Yes

|

Neurotica

|Short film

|2003

|No

|No

|No

|No

|No

|Yes

|

Discography

class="wikitable"

!Year

!Artist

!Title

!Type

2023

|Sarah Small

|Boomerang of Black Fluorescence

|Album

2023

|Sarah Small

|Behind the Gymnasium

|Chamber Work

2019

|Sarah Small

|Secondary Dominance

|Album

2016

|Silk Road Ensemble

|Sing Me Home

|Single: “Sadila Jana”{{Citation |title=Sing Me Home - Silkroad Ensemble, Yo-Yo Ma {{!}} Credits {{!}} AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/sing-me-home-mw0002922888/credits |language=en |access-date=2022-01-29}}{{Cite web |title=Standout Performances |url=https://our.risd.edu/post/157542978029/this-year-is-off-to-a-strong-start-for |access-date=2022-01-29 |website=Our RISD|date=21 February 2017 }}

2014

|Jessi Colter and Lenny Kaye

|The Psalms

|Single: “Psalm 81”{{Citation |title=The Psalms - Jessi Colter {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits {{!}} AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-psalms-mw0003019765 |language=en |access-date=2022-01-29}}

2014

|Hydra

|Hydra

|Single: “Sonnet 81”

2014

|Hydra

|Hydra

|Single: “Wake Up”

2013

|Black Sea Hotel

|The Forest is Shaking and Swaying

|Album

2010

|Ansambl Mastika

|Songs & Dances for Life Nonstop

|Single: “Iskupav Poema”{{Cite web |date=2011-02-01 |title=#3175: New Releases, February 2011 |url=https://www.newsounds.org/story/116407-new-releases-february-2011/ |access-date=2022-01-29 |website=newsounds |language=en}}

Select music photography

  • 2014 Brooklyn Rider, The Brooklyn Rider Almanac
  • 2009 Kitka, Cradle Songs{{Cite web |title=Sarah Small Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sarah-small-mn0002062770 |access-date=2022-02-06 |website=AllMusic |language=en}}
  • 2008 Jan Vogler, Tango!
  • 2008 Martin Bisi, Sirens of the Apocalypse
  • 2007 Jan Vogler, Concerti Brillanti
  • 2006 Shara Nova's My Brightest Diamond, Bring Me the Workhorse{{Citation |title=Bring Me the Workhorse - My Brightest Diamond |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/bring-me-the-workhorse-mw0000544602/credits |publisher=allmusic.com |language=en |access-date=2022-01-30}}

Select photography awards

  • 2010 - Selected as 1 of 50 Top Finalists for Artists Wanted: Exposure 2010
  • 2010 - Selected by Magenta Foundation as 2010 US Flash Forward winner[http://www.magentafoundation.org/books/flash-forward-2010/winners.php Magenta: Flash Forward 2010 - Winners and Honourable Mentions]
  • 2009 - “10 Best 10” Photo Contest Winner - Resource Magazine and Win-Initiative{{Cite web |date=Fall 2009 |title=Sarah Small |url=https://issuu.com/resourcemagonline/docs/fall09 |access-date=2022-02-06 |website=Resource Magazine |pages=116–117 |language=en}}
  • 2009 - 1 of 2 American finalists selected from 65 countries by ITS#EIGHT International Talent Support, to be flown to Italy for exhibition and award ceremony.[http://photographygrants.blogspot.com/2009/01/its-international-talent-support-photo.html Photography Grants and Awards: ITS International Talent Support : photo competition]
  • 2009 - Selected 1st Place winner for 2009 Fine Art Xto Nude Image Awards to be exhibited in Farmani Gallery in July.[http://farmanigallery.com/en/Exhibit/xto.php Farmani Gallery]
  • 2009 - Winner of Magnet Media's Zoom-In-Online Viewfinder's Challenge, judged by David Turner and Redux Pictures Director, Marcel Saba.
  • 2008 - Chosen as 1 of 13 Top Emerging Talents by American Photo Magazine.[http://www.risd.edu/About/News/Living_Pictures.aspx?dept=4294967928 Living Pictures | News | About | RISD]
  • 2008 - Avant Guardian Competition Winner - Surface Magazine{{Cite web|date=2019-01-17|title=Winners of Avant Guardian Announced|url=https://www.popphoto.com/news/2007/10/winners-avant-guardian-announced/|access-date=2022-02-06|website=Popular Photography|language=en-US}}
  • 2008 - Finalist - Critical Mass Competition{{Cite web|title=Image Makers with Sarah Small and Jason Florio - Events - APA New York|url=https://ny.apanational.org/events/image-makers-with-sarah-small-and-jason-florio/|access-date=2022-02-06|website=ny.apanational.org|language=en}}
  • 2004 - Emerging Photographer Competition Winner - Art + Commerce

References

External links

  • [http://www.sarahsmall.com Artist's website]
  • {{cite web|url=http://skydivingforpearls.wordpress.com/2011/05/22/finding-my-post-apocalyptic-peace/|title=Finding my Post-Apocalyptic Peace|date=22 May 2011|first=Abigail|last=Wright}} Article written by a performer in Tableau Vivant

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Small, Sarah}}

Category:1979 births

Category:Living people

Category:American artists

Category:Rhode Island School of Design alumni

Category:Rhode Island School of Design alumni in music

Category:American women composers

Category:21st-century American composers

Category:21st-century American singers

Category:21st-century American women musicians

Category:21st-century American women singers

Category:American people of Jewish descent

Category:American women in electronic music

Category:Avant-garde singers

Category:Nudity in theatre and dance

Category:21st-century American women photographers

Category:21st-century American photographers