(drum roll pattering) - [Mark] In this edition of Artistic Horizons, (cymbal clanging) (Lino speaking in foreign language) sharing history through art.

- [Translator] It's related to the female role of the history.

(Lino speaking in foreign language) - [Translator] So, with freedom aspirations.

- [Mark] Boundless abstraction.

- [Mokha] It's a universal language, basically, geometry is, and color.

They transcend culture, they transcend people.

(curious music) - [Mark] A physically integrated dance company, - [Nareika] Every single one of us has some sort of physical limit.

And to show that in performance, to me feels really empowering of just the human body in general.

(gentle music) - [Mark] Colorful barn quilts.

- [?4] When I get ready to do a barn quilt, I sit down and look through images online and then pick out ones that my eye's drawn to.

- It's all ahead on this edition of "Artistic Horizons."

(light upbeat music) Hello, I'm Mark Cernero, and this is "Artistic Horizons."

Painter Mokha Laget embraces geometric abstraction.

Born in North Africa and now based in New Mexico, her shaped canvases and visual scores explore the spatial and sonic realm and evoke familiar yet unfamiliar terrains.

Here's her story.

(thoughtful music) - Geometric abstraction, I think, has to do with relationships.

Everything is about relations and relationships, whether it's people, whether it's colors, whether it's shapes.

And the works that I make address that element as well.

If you look, you can start thinking about what are these relationships about?

(thoughtful music) What do they mean to me?

What do they do to me?

(thoughtful music) North Africa was a really special place for me and I think as children, we're imprinted with the colors and the light of the place we grow up.

(gentle thoughtful music) And there was a very golden glow to that place in part because of the desert and the Red Sands, so it was a strong foundation in so many ways for color, for light, for geometry, and a place that I adored.

(gentle thoughtful music) - Can you tell me about "North Light"?

What was the inspiration behind this piece?

- "North Light" was a commission for the US Embassy in Nouakchott which is the capital of Mauritania, a country in the northwestern part of Africa.

And I knew the city, I knew the lay of the land.

So when the commission came, I had a very strong feeling about how I could express this as a visual piece.

When you look at the painting, you have a sense that there's an architecture there, that it could be a place, but it's unclear.

Again, it's in that ambiguous zone where they could just be shapes and colors, but they are a place, but they're not a recognizable place, and that is the geometric abstraction part of it.

(gentle thoughtful music) Geometry historically was something that was considered closer to the divine because it had this precision and proportional perfection.

I don't use it that way.

I like to shake it up a bit because the idea that perfection is anywhere near our human reach is, oh, just not really in the cards.

And the fact that I can use geometric abstraction as a way to also subvert this perfection and use it to create a gentle chaos is maybe closer to the way that we as humans live with ambiguity, with shapes and colors that are not always in perfect harmony.

(gentle thoughtful music) - What drew you to explore music as a visual medium through your scores?

- I have to go back to a residence in particular that I did in Morocco, in Northern Morocco where I was staying in a town where the architecture of the place was regrouped, basically, Muslim architecture, Jewish architecture, Christian architecture because these peoples had been trading and living together for many centuries.

I was fascinated by the fact that there was this juxtaposition and the geometry of it.

During my time in Morocco, I painted a piece called "Moroccan Capriccio" which was a painting some nine feet wide and composed of elements of architecture.

That piece ultimately became the subject of a score.

(enigmatic music) And I met the composer at another residency I'd done.

Bobby Ge was a young composer who discovered my work and was interested in putting it to music, and I had heard his music as well.

It was a wonderful cross-pollination of these residencies.

(enigmatic music) It's a universal language, basically, geometry is and color.

They're both a universal language.

They transcend culture, they transcend people.

(enigmatic music) (relaxing music) I would say relationships are fundamental elements from the moment that we're born, like were having to deal with navigating the world, whether it's objects or people and events.

And for me, growing up in North Africa, spending time in France, being part of the French culture and then the American culture, that was a lot of navigating of languages, of different cultures, of realizing that there's no single monolithic predictability in any of it.

So there's a kind of displacement that occurs, but it's also an opportunity to create new relationships, to realize that it's can be something very positive and that it's okay if it doesn't fit neatly.

I mean, this is one of the reasons my shaped canvases are for the most part, non-orthogonal.

They're not square, they're not rectangular because life is not a straight line, and these diagonals are about shooting off into the architecture, into the unknown.

And the diagonal is interesting also because it's historically considered to be a line that is on the verge of falling, so you're always a little bit on that edge.

(relaxing music) Life is not perfectly balanced.

It's not a straight line.

There are a lot of zigzags and it's something to be celebrated, to relish the unpredictability and the enrichment that that can bring.

And so, the relationships are always new, are always different.

And they're not always pleasant but they're interesting.

It's something that gives you a lot of wonder in life.

(light upbeat music) - [Mark] And now, for the artist quote of the week.

(light upbeat music) Inspired by his heritage and spirituality, Cuban artist Lino Viscaino honors the voices of the past by sharing their stories.

We visit the artist in his home country to hear about some of his work.

(traffic humming) (emotional violin music) (Lino speaking in foreign language) - [Translator] These objects you see over there, (Lino speaking in foreign language) that you've seen all these pieces over there.

(Lino speaking in foreign language) It's related to the female role of the history.

(Lino speaking in foreign language) So with freedom aspirations, (Lino speaking in foreign language) the female enslaved, African enslaved (Lino speaking in foreign language) didn't know how to write, (Lino speaking in foreign language) but they were very smart (Lino speaking in foreign language) and they were able to avoid the master surveillance (Lino speaking in foreign language) to be able to run away, (Lino speaking in foreign language) run away to the forest.

(Lino speaking in foreign language) And in the way they comb their hair, the braids, (Lino speaking in foreign language) they reflected the way to get to the forest and to be able to escape to get to the palenque.

(Lino speaking in foreign language) And those female enslaved that were able to run away and get to the palenque, (Lino speaking in foreign language) and in all these braids, they had seeds inside.

(Lino speaking in foreign language) And with these seeds in their braids, you know, they could use it to start cultivating and grow food.

(Lino speaking in foreign language) And it was a very important element.

(Lino speaking in foreign language) The female role in those palenques was very important.

They were the ones that were feeding the rest of the enslaved, the runaway enslaved.

(Lino speaking in foreign language) They do not only cook, que mas?

(Lino speaking in foreign language) And they also grow food.

(Lino speaking in foreign language) They provide food for the palenque where the enslaved run away and lived.

(light upbeat music) - Now, here's a look at this month's fun fact.

(light upbeat music) Founded in 1990, the physically integrated dance company, Karen Peterson and Dancers, encourages those with and without disabilities to move.

Through inclusive workshops and performances, our common humanity is brought to the fore.

We head to Miami, Florida to learn more.

(happy music) - [Nareika] There's something very real about having all different body types dancing together and that, like, we all have limits.

It's not like a detriment to have some sort of physical, like, every single one of us has some sort of physical limit.

And to, to show that in performance, to me feels really, like, empowering of just the human body in general.

And to be like, dance is joy and connection and we all have different limits and we can still dance together and be on stage also.

(gentle music) - My goodness, I've been doing this for past 30 years, so obviously there's something that keeps me coming back to this, yeah.

(relaxing music) This season, I knew that I wanted to work with the four dancers.

Usually I have a larger company.

This is a small group this year, so we had a lot of time.

And with that freedom of the time, I think we were very creative.

(relaxing music) I love to watch audiences' faces just to see their response.

You know, it's really good to have an audience as a tryout, just to see, ooh, I think they might like this or they might be engaged by the work.

I wanna make sure that the audiences are engaged or moved in some way.

- Bravo, bravo.

(audience clapping) - Happy, sad, emotional, upbeat.

It's all there, but it's like a whirlwind where you just feel like, oh, this is great.

Oh, this is so sad.

Oh, this is so beautiful and this is so rocking.

So, it's all mixed in one, mixed together.

(relaxing music) - I usually have some simple idea and we improvise and I'll say, "Okay, Adam and Nareika, try this.

Now, don't try that.

Try this.

Can you do this faster?

Can you turn it around?"

So, it's a trial and error discovery between me and the dancers.

- We just exploring each other and something.

One day, I just jump into her chair.

Then I feel, oh, I'm sorry, but can I try?

Then, we got the some ideas by popping each other minds.

It's okay, can I?

It's okay, can I?

- [Marjorie] Yeah.

- [Sun] Then, we mixed it.

(gentle music) - My name is Mark Travis Rivera.

I am an independent disabled choreographer based in Atlanta, Georgia.

But I was born and grew up in Wynwood in Miami.

Storytelling is a through line of all that I do, which is why I call myself a professional storyteller.

And for me, movement isn't just about moving for the sake of moving.

There's a story, there's a narrative, there's a reason, there's a cause and effect.

There's a metaphor with the body.

What is the story within our bodies are trying to tell, right?

And so for me, telling stories, I believe, can be used to create a more inclusive world.

And we do that in dance by working with disabled and non-disabled dancers.

(gentle music) For some people in the non-disabled dance world, you know, the choreographers aren't always disabled oftentimes, and so they're approaching it differently.

But for disability dance in particular, it's about using the bodies we have and creating exquisite art.

(gentle music) (lively music) - Before I joined many years ago, I didn't know how to even think of dancing with a partner or another wheelchair or even an able-bodied with a wheelchair.

I just never even, wouldn't have even thought about it.

Then when I first saw KPD, Karen Peterson and Dancers, and actually Marjorie was the first one I saw, that's what immediately got me interested.

- The first time that I saw KPD, the thing that moved me the most is it was such a beautiful dance.

And simultaneously, it was kind of like this redefinition of what we think of as beauty per se in dance 'cause there's a lot of like very particular or strict movement and process in the traditional dance world.

And so, it's really nice to collaborate and be like, oh, we're creating this beautiful thing together.

Like, your body is just as beautiful as your body is just as beautiful as my body.

And we can communicate about it and make something together that's really beautiful.

- It makes me alive.

When I'm on stage, I become alive, I become whole, you know?

So, that's the difference between being asleep and my real life.

- I never think about that we have disabled body here.

It's just to connect each other's body type, different body type.

We moving together, we mix and mingle together, and make it happen together.

(energetic music) - For me, it is about speaking the human experience through movement through our bodies.

It's an embodiment of the human spirit.

I think some people try to diminish the contribution of disabled artists, but I'm here to remind people that disabled people can dance and choreograph and we can do so well.

- Nothing is impossible, - [Adam] Even though it looks like you know, fun and the passion and all that.

but it is hard work.

But it's a job well done at the end.

- And that we love to do.

- Right.

(energetic music) - Physically integrated dance is not going away.

It is developing around the world, it's developing around the country, and it's a dance form that's here to stay.

(energetic music) (gentle music) (light upbeat music) - And now, here's a look at a few notable dates in art history.

(light upbeat music) In upstate New York, Artist Sarah Plat teaches students how to create barn quilts.

Designed to resemble quilt patterns and often displayed on barns, these bright geometric works decorate rural landscapes across the United States.

Take a look.

(cheerful music) - [Narrator] As an artist, Sarah Platt makes lots of choices from paint colors and designs to the meaning of each piece, these choices are all part of the artistic process when it comes to a craft that originated outside of the US.

- Barn quilting actually is an art form that's probably about 300 years old.

It came from immigrants from Europe.

They brought the idea over here, but it didn't gain popularity until 2001 when a woman was inspired by her own mother to make her barn look more beautiful.

Her mother was a quilter, and so she took that concept and used it to paint a design, a quilt design on her barn.

I didn't know anything about it until my principal came to me and said, "Hey, do you know what barn quilts are?"

And I had no idea.

So, she started telling me about some in the area that she had seen, and I looked it up and I painted my first barn quilt.

(water sloshing) - [Narrator] It ignited a fresh kind of art class at Hermon-Dekalb Central School where seniors come to the table with barn quilt design ideas.

With great patience, they take to the boards, creating pieces with meaning and gifting their final products to friends and family.

- This is my first year taking barn quilting, and I like this class because it's really satisfying to see the finished product.

I created a barn quilt that was for my grandma, and it was a bluebird.

I picked a bluebird because that's just what my family thinks about.

Whenever we see one, we think, oh, that's our grandma coming to visit us.

- Barn quilts have somewhat of a geometrical pattern because they are images that quilters would make.

Anything that you can make out of fabric, they'd taken to the idea you can make them into barn quilts.

So, there's very traditional barn quilt patterns made after sewing patterns like a pinwheel or a mariner's compass, but it's really up to the designer.

So as barn quilts have become more popular, people have taken them different directions.

The main purpose for a barn quilt, not only for decorative reasons because paint was very expensive when they first were coming to the area, was to show people where a family was located or a crossroads between a certain road so people traveling could find your home.

But now, they've just grown into a popular design to tell somebody about who you are.

So, the animals have come into play like horses and cows.

- [Narrator] A quiet drive down a long back road can reveal the likes of dozens of different barn quilts.

- There are barn quilt trails over multiple states and at one point, there were over 7,000 barn quilts being displayed that were on an active barn quilt map.

- We've been getting a lot of tourists into Hammond.

A lot of people come, they're driving the Barn Quilt Trail, then they look for a place for lunch, then they look for a place for dinner, then they visit the gift shops and the farmer's market and... We're a magnet for people driving the Barn Quilt Trail.

People who love quilting and people who love celebrations of rural beauty.

- [Narrator] People like Sarah Platt.

While those taking in various pieces on back roads may not realize what goes into making a piece, Sarah certainly does.

- Traditional barn quilts are eight foot by eight foot.

They are done on two pieces of plywood that are put side by side.

However, with popularity, people have wanted them smaller.

Not everybody can host a humongous barn quilt on the side of their house, so sizes range from two by two to four by four, almost anything down to a foot by a foot, anything that's perfectly square.

And you don't really need much.

Today, they're painted on something called MDO Board, which is easily available at like your hardware store.

And some people prefer to just do it by hand or use tape to make nice, crisp lines.

I use acrylic paint, but a lot of people will use house paint.

It just depends the durability that you want.

When I get ready to do a barn quilt, I sit down and look through images online and then pick out ones that my eye's drawn to.

It could be just for color, it could be for pattern.

One of my barn quotes was inspired by my grandmother.

When I was a child, my grandmother made me a Sunbonnet Sue quilt and I just loved it and I've always kept it.

I have it as an adult.

So.

this winter for her Christmas present, I painted her a Sunbonnet Sue barn quilt that she can hang in her home.

For aspiring barn quilters, I would tell them to pick out designs of images or patterns that they love, that inspire them, and to not worry about it being perfect.

Just make something that they enjoy and that's the only person that they need to please.

As for my students and my work, I hope it inspires somebody else to try something new.

When I started this project with my students, they had never done a barn quilt before, but now they are pleased with what they have.

They have given them to their parents, their family members, or reminds their family members of something that was important to them.

So, as long as it's made a connection with somebody, that's my goal.

(cheerful gentle music) (light upbeat music) - And that wraps it up for this edition of "Artistic Horizons."

For more arts and culture, visit wpbstv.org.

Until next time, I'm Mark Cernero.

Thanks for watching.

(light upbeat music) (bright music)