Review: Autumn Knight vividly reimagines streaming in a post-pandemic-lockdown era

The Walker Art Center wraps up its annual performance festival, “Out There,” Saturday with a commissioned work that acts as a time capsule to the days of COVID-19 lockdown.

Fitting with this year’s theme, “The Future of Theater, Today,” “Autumn Knight Live at the Walker, 2025” uses a tool popularized during the pandemic — live streaming — to meditate on the notion of liveness. Knight spends the majority of the show in the McGuire Theater, while the audience watches a livestream of the performance in the Walker Cinema.

COVID-19 reformulated how we think of what “live” means. Unable to perform in front of in-person audiences, companies presented “live” events ranging from recorded content streamed live, to live performances happening in real time on various platforms, to hybrid experiments that blended live and recorded elements.

Most of that type of streaming performance has been left behind as theaters returned to regular programming, but it’s not completely gone. Look no further than a sporting event or music show at a large arena to see that live video feeds are as popular as ever. And recorded performances available to stream or even see in a theater have become not uncommon.

As for Knight, she asks what can be learned from that era of distanced performance.

Her improvisational work, which opened Thursday, is centered around a 16-foot red oak table, designed by Stephanie Lunieski. The table acts as a working stove, a desk, a vanity, a socializing space and a place for memory to converge with the intensity of the present moment.

There’s not so much a story in “Autumn Knight Live” as much as a series of activities — cooking, drawing, playing and passing the time.

Often, Knight’s various strains of improvisation are paired with sound experiments. The table has microphones strategically placed around it. She swirls ice in her mouth to create a disturbing, earth-shattering sound. Her popcorn making, too, sizzles.

The New York-based artist also weaves in memory and nostalgia through objects as well as a sound design by Levy Lorenzo. Black culture motifs, memes and references to pop culture make up a kaleidoscope of sound that situates the work in the context of Black aesthetics, artistry and humor.

Knight’s performance is filmed by a team of video designers/camera people and video director Ross Karre. They capture overhead shots gazing at the objects Knight has gathered, and medium shots that show the action of the piece.

There are also close-up shots of Knight’s austere face. Her concentration and focus are so intense that she’s infinitely riveting to watch. The subtle articulations of her hands with her white perfectly manicured fingernails are fascinating. She also performs a brief sensuous duet with the table itself.

In the second half of the performance, barriers between the theater and the cinema begin to blur, allowing for more connectivity between the two locations.

As Knight playfully navigates a space that is both domestic and performative, the piece looks to find connection as it tangles with the present moment.

When: 7:30 p.m. Fri. & Sat.

Where: Walker Art Center, 725 Vineland Place, Mpls.

Tickets: $15-$35, 612-375-7600, walkerart.org