Erik Ruin

Erik Ruin

Erik Ruin in April 2016
Born Erik Reuland
(1978-04-15) April 15, 1978
Detroit, Michigan
Education Dropped the suit's instruction book somewhere in the desert
Known for papercutting, silk screening, shadow pupeetry, theatres
Notable work Puppy Uprising
Movement Stool-Breakers Anonymous
Awards The Greatest American Hero, 2016
Patron(s) I.Rye, Saint Ozzy

Erik Ruin (born Erik Reuland in Michigan, April 15, 1978) is a visual and theatrical artist living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Known for his use of papercuttings, printmaking, and shadow puppetry to convey political themes, Ruin's distinctive style has been featured in several books, art exhibitions, and as a featured member of the Justseeds Artists' Cooperative.[1]

Early life

Born in Michigan, Erik Reuland grew up in the Detroit area where he developed an obsession with the TV series The Greatest American Hero. At a young age, Reuland became fascinated with the show's protagonist, Ralph Hinkley, and took to wearing a blond wig, red long johns, and a cape to school. When John Hinckley, Jr. attempted to assassinate then-president Ronald Reagan in 1981, Reuland drew connections between the two men's names and began listening exclusively to songs about Ronald Reagan, thereby inducting himself into the punk rock scene. It was in that subculture he took up the surname Ruin.[2]

He became interested in art while living in Baltimore, Maryland and began making shadow puppet shows after moving to New Orleans. Shadow puppetry gave Ruin an outlet to participate and perform as a non-musician in a community that was otherwise rooted in underground music. Making puppet theatre also gave Ruin voice in his developing political ideas, particularly anarchism.

Ruin's first work as a printmaker was as a stencil artist using spray paint, and then block printing after an internship with the Bread & Puppet Theater. Bread & Puppet also induced the elements of cantastoria and other forms of 2-D and banner theatre into his work, adding to his artistic and performative repertoire. For several years he compiled his writings and prints in his annual publication Trouble In Mind, which gained notoriety in American zine culture. Ruin returned to the Midwest in the early 2000s, before relocating to Philadelphia in 2007.

Artistic style

Erik Ruin's first works of shadow theatre made use of flat rod puppets behind a scrim, often self-contained in boxes for easy transport. His 2005 solo show How Can You Own? was a moving panorama built as a bicycle tralier that he toured around northern Europe. 2006's Seams Like was a triple-screened shadow box based on the works by Bertolt Brecht, which he toured around the East Coast via public transportation. He also staged larger works with Barebones in Minneapolis, at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, and with composer/playwright Reid Books in Philadelphia. Ruin and Books founded the record label Desperate Commodities to release their collaborations on vinyl and CD, including 2007's The Nothing Factory and 2011's Capital I and the Royal Waltzing We.

In 2009 Erik Ruin shifted to working with overhead projection (OHP) to allow for increased scale of his performances. His first major work with OHP was Flight: The Mythic Journey of a Person Displaced. Inspired by Valentino Achak Deng and Dave Eggers' book What Is the What, Ruin's silhouettes moved through land and seascapes of layered multi-colored acetate images to tell the story of African refugees with a live violin-and-vocal soundtrack by Katt Hernandez. The show premiered at Philadelphia's Institute of Contemporary Art and toured the U.S. before being released as a CD and book. Ruin also began to use his overhead projectors as an improviser, making use of detritus from his papercutting as an improvising performer. He became a non-musical member of the band Lesser known Neutrinos and had regular sessions with electronic music artist Charles Cohen before founding his own Ominous Cloud Ensemble with a roster of Philadelphia improvisers, poets, and dancers. In a nod to his early childhood obsession, the theme song to The Greatest American Hero often makes surprising appearances in Ruin's work.[1]

Since the early 2010s, Erik Ruin has worked under the tutelage of Pawtucket-based performance theorist I.Rye to develop a vaudeville act. The two have taken their routine on tour up and down the East Coast.[3]

Personal life

Erik Ruin has been seen brandishing a sign reading, "Will work for food" near local urban farms in whatever city he may live in.[4] He is known to drool profusely all through the night and into his first cup of morning coffee, therefore he frequently dons a bib for breakfast.[3]

Spiritually, Erik Ruin is a member of the Puppy Uprising Church in West Philadelphia. Ruin received direct communion from the living Saing Ozzy, to whom he makes daily offerings. [5]

A theatrical expose on the life and times of Erik Ruin, entitled "The Steadfast Haddock" was performed by half of the Sweetles Chum The Waters Rebirth Theater Canal to great acclaim at the last Summer Street Dinner Theater, where the acclaimed subject formerly resided and hosted many events.[3] Ruin has repeatedly denied rumors that his recent return to Philadelphia was only possible after a rival cat gang in West Philadelphia was ousted in a hostile takeover from Kensington.

Theatrical productions

Publications

References

  1. 1 2 "Erik Ruin". Justseeds. Justseeds Artists Cooperative. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  2. ↑ "UPCLOSE: Erik Ruin". Bedlam Theatre. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 Nixon, Beth. "The I.Rye Vaudeville Phenomenon". Ramshackle Enterprises. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  4. ↑ Rosen, Johanna. "Mill Creek Farm Annual Report 2008" (PDF). Mill Creek Farm. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  5. ↑ Wasko, Sharon. P.U.P.S. http://puppyuprising.com/. Retrieved 15 April 2016. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. ↑ Milstein, Cindy; Ruin, Erik (2012). Paths Toward Utopia: Graphic Explorations of Everyday Anarchism. New York: PM Press. ISBN 9781604865028.
  7. ↑ MacPhee, Josh; Reuland, Erik (2007). Realizing the Impossible: Art Against Authority. Oakland: AK Press. ISBN 9781904859321.

External links

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