JAIMIE WARREN

How does an artist honor her heroes? Matching the playful "anything goes" aesthetic of its subject, this film explores the photographic and video work of Brooklyn-based artist Jaimie Warren as she recreates a wild array of pop culture characters.

What is meaningful community art? In this film, the artist-led variety show Whoop Dee Doo—co-directed by Jaimie Warren and Matt Roche—collaborates with the Urban Youth Theater Ensemble to produce a one-day-only performance of "An Abominable Thawt" (2015) at Abrons Arts Center on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Developed through workshops over the course of two months, the show’s original concepts and characters emerge through a series of improvisational games between teenagers and artists. Local performers are also enlisted, such as the singer Joseph Keckler, the tuvan throat singer Robert McLaughlin, and members of The Japanese Folk Dance Institute of New York. The week before the show, additional Whoop Dee Doo artists arrive from around the United States to help contribute ideas, craft costumes, and build a 360-degree installation out of newspaper, cardboard, and painter’s plastic. Performed on the second day of spring, the wildly colorful and energetic show features abominable snowmen, a traditional Japanese masked prison dance, game shows, a larval magic act, and a frozen set that slowly thaws. The latest in a series of performances stretching back to 2006, Whoop Dee Doo originated in Kansas City and has taken its “faux public access television show” on the road to cities such as Baltimore, Portland, Philadelphia, Omaha, Cincinnati, Chicago, San Antonio, Miami, Montreal, and Malmo, among others. “Whoop Dee Doo accomplishes everything that I would want to get out of an art experience,” says Warren, while Roche adds “It’s the main source in my life for personal growth.” With the goal of creating unexpected and endearing experiences that local artists, underserved youth, and audiences can share, Whoop Dee Doo breaks down stereotypes between art and entertainment in a chaotic mix of cross-cultural and cross-generational collaboration. Jaimie Warren (b. 1980, Waukesha, Wisconsin, USA) lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Warren is co-director of Whoop Dee Doo with Matt Roche (1978, Hammond, Indiana, USA). Learn more about the artist at: http://www.art21.org/newyorkcloseup/artists/jaimie-warren/ CREDITS | ART21 "New York Close Up" Created & Produced by: Wesley Miller & Nick Ravich. Editor: Michelle Chang. Cinematography: Amitabh Joshi, John Marton, Wesley Miller & Nick Ravich. Sound: Wesley Miller & Nick Ravich. Additional Camera & Sound: Drew Mandinach & Whoop Dee Doo. Design: CRUX Design & Open. Music: John Ancheta, Gary U.S. Bonds, Joseph Keckler, Robert McLaughlin, Matt Roche, Masaru Satô & Silentó. Artwork & Photography: Whoop Dee Doo. Urban Youth Theater Ensemble: Sophie Bomeisler, Armani Cooper, Gabriel Cubero-Albisa, Esther Estrella, Brittany Gonzalez, Angelica Jacobs, Emmanuela Joseph, Samara Lozada, Justin Maldonado, Cira Merlin, Ricardo Merlin, Stephen Moore, Gareth Nolasco Tupper, Chester Pollard, Yasmeen Vargas & Kira Viera. Thanks: Jessy Abid, Abrons Art Center, Julio Badel, Kim Cox, Takako Funada, Lindsey Griffith, Jeila Gueramian, Chimmy Anne Gunn, Jon Harper, Sara Haug, The Japanese Folk Dance Institute of New York, Carl Johnson, Millie Kapp, Joseph Keckler, Drew Mandinach, Mary McLaughlin, Dennis McLaughlin, Robert McLaughlin, Rie Morimoto, Kevin Mooney, Anna Platt, Allen Riley, Mariah Robertson, Matt Roche, Teddy Rosen, Erin Sheehy, Carolyn Sickles, Momo Suzuki, Rieko Takamiya, Josh Tonsfeldt, Jaimie Warren, Naoko Wowsugi & Emma Zurer. An ART21 Workshop Production. © ART21, Inc. 2015. All rights reserved. ART21 "New York Close Up" is supported, in part, by The Lambent Foundation; the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts; and by individual contributors.

What brings a community together? Over pizza and beers, the dedicated crew behind "Whoop Dee Doo"—artist Matt Roche & Jaimie Warren’s traveling kids variety show—discuss the artistic and emotional pull of their uniquely collaborative community art project. Modelled on the punchy humor and DIY aesthetic of classic kids television shows like "Pee-wee’s Playhouse," "Whoop Dee Doo" relies on local youth groups, friends, and word of mouth to supply the ever-evolving network of artists who create the project’s elaborate costumes, sets, and props. For artist Michael O'Malley—an arts educator who has worked on over a dozen shows all over the country since 2011—the project provides a necessary release. "If you're an artist or a creator, there's a lot of time spent thinking and talking how we should talk about art. And finally to go into a space where it was like, all of those things matter, but we're not gonna focus on that, we're gonna focus on what we make, is refreshing." Artist Monika Uchiyama describes what she thinks drives the intense, all-nighter production pace. "I feel like it's not a responsibility to myself to complete this crazy sculpture, but rather a responsibility to everyone because I know that it's this collective experience." Weaving in and out of the conversation are select scenes from the latest "Whoop Dee Doo" production, "Make It Wild" (2016) staged on the High Line in Chelsea, that culminate in one of the project's signature moments, the destruction of the set at the end of a show. "I do think that the fact that everything is gonna get destroyed so quickly, that's part of the reason why solo studio artist types enjoy working on this project when they do," says co-director Matt Roche. "I think it connects you to why you would've originally thought you wanted to be an artist, the times when you were younger and you were making stuff that people weren't gonna see." Featuring the New York City performance groups Aalokam, Dance Adventure, and Half Moon Sword. Jaimie Warren (b. 1980, Waukesha, Wisconsin, USA) lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Warren is co-director of "Whoop Dee Doo" with Matt Roche (1978, Hammond, Indiana, USA). Learn more about the artist at: http://www.art21.org/newyorkcloseup/artists/jaimie-warren/ CREDITS | Art21 "New York Close Up" Created: Wesley Miller & Nick Ravich. Director & Producer: Nick Ravich. Editor: Andrea B. Scott. Cinematography: Don Downie, Amitabh Joshi, Bernard McWilliams & Rafael Salazar. Sound: Mike Keenan, Nick Ravich & Ava Wiland. Additional Camera: Semir Hot. Design & Graphics: Open & Uros Perisic. Artwork Courtesy: Whoop Dee Doo. Music Courtesy: Matt Roche. Thanks: Aalokam Dance Company, Lydia Austin, Danny Crump, Sarah Dahlinger, Dance Adventure, Mya Edwards, Rebecca Fayemi, Friends of the High Line, Half Moon Sword, Rachael Harris, Katie Henry, Sarah Henry, Xiaoyang Jin, Michael O'Malley, Justin Oswald, Josh Pavlick, Bharathi Penneswaran, Anna Platt, Ashley Richards, Erin Sheehy, Jaime Sunwoo, Monika Uchiyama & Westbeth Artists Community. An Art21 Production. © Art21, Inc. 2016. All rights reserved. Art21 "New York Close Up" is supported, in part, by The Lambent Foundation; public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; VIA Art Fund; Lévy Gorvy; and by individual contributors.

Jaimie Warren performs at The Hole on April 18th, 2014.

Jaimie Warren gives us a tour of her show The Whoas of Female Tragedy II at The Hole in NYC http://www.thefader.com/2013/02/14/art-show-jaimie-warren/ Subscribe now for more The FADER http://bit.ly/XPZVfG Art show is Interviews and chats with artists at their current gallery show.