Urban Ark (Performance Art)

Urban Ark was the name that Wendy-Bird and Dylan came up with for this
Performance Art Work for Harlech Biennale XI - 2014 Published on Sep 7, 2014
International Contemporary Art Wales (ICAW)
Exhibition: "In and Out of the Citadel"
To the song Earth Ship by Dylan Stephens
performed by the Stephens family: (Dylan, Wendy, Kes, Nirvana, Llyr, and Atira)
Sonotubes protected by Rainguard (Note the pun for Rain and God)
Filmed at Garage-Mahal located on Rainbow Lake, Bellingham, Washington.

The theme is a family who are building an Urban Ark to survive the coming catastrophe. It is built from Sonotubes which are cardboard molds used to make concrete pillars. It ends with Wendy trying to contact others, "This is the Urban Ark. Anyone there in outer space. Hello" Then the signal fades.

It is based on the song by Dylan Stephens:
Earth Ship (Published on Aug 20, 2014)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1PrBp4-Abs

Chorus:
Earth Ship, Pleasure trip, People overboard.
The whole world is drowning.
Won't you save us, Lord !
Money quest, Emptiness,
Drifting in the void.
It won't take much
To become an asteroid.

Flood gate,
Can't escape
Sickness of the mind.
It's only the naive
Believe a human could be kind.
Every day
Stories say:
People rape and kill.
We're abused by the news,
Yet we've never had our fill.
(Chorus)

Tick-tock;
Stop the clock;
We're growing old too fast.
Where's the treasured hope
That was always in our past.
Brave knight
Wins the fight,
But she can't be his bride.
We've grown so cynical
That we've even lost our pride.
(Chorus)

Olive branch,
Cosmic dance,
Peace must be proclaimed
And not just to the chosen ones
Of whom the church has named.
True love,
White dove
Flying o'er the sea.
Only with compassion
Can the world be truly free.
(Chorus)

dylanesque, A new music genre?

The Urban dictionary defines "dylanesque" as having the qualities of Bob Dylan. Well, to that I could add to that two other Dylans: the poet Dylan Thomas and me. There is an album out called Dylanesque, but it occurred to me that it was a perfect name for my music genre.

All these years I have had to check the box "folk rock", but there is no "folk" in my songs and as to "rock" what does that mean anymore? Kurt Cobain and the other Seattle groups were not "punk" and the term "alternative" is just a general term for "who knows what you are" so suddenly, and no one knows for sure how, they started to call themselves "grunge" and the rest is history.

As to being Dylan Stephens, I used to be in the top 10 on a search, but no more. There is a body builder, androgyne, and probably even a female, and a person in a sheepskin coat from the 60's - oh that is me! Anyway, I am a Dylan and being named after Dylan Thomas the poet, not Bob Dylan because I am too old, I have a legal right to have a music genre: "dylanesque". I am hoping that it will stick and defeat the mainstream as "grunge" once did. Wish me luck.

My channel is "oldiesbutdillies". These YouTube creations represent my best songs, which were so unique and good that the mainstream ignored them, and you could say that they are 'oldies' from this Dylan and thus 'dillies' - get-it! These illustrated songs are also a new art form in themselves. Thanks for listening and watching.