The latest exhibit at the Mat Bevel Institute examines machinery and contemporary culture

General Lee Speaking is featured in Mat Bevel's new creation "Work and War" which runs Friday through Sunday at 8 p.m. For more information, call 622-0192.

The poem "Work and War" is just a snippet of the latest production at the Mat Bevel Institute. The show examines the role of machinery in today's society and explores several different takes on it.

Diane Daly, space manager at the Mat Bevel Institute, said "Work and War" is an instance of surrealistic pop-science theater, the main forum Bevel uses to show his work. In this instance, the show is very critical of consumer society.

"The idea is that where we're entering now - the time, especially since Sept. 11- is a lot of talk about freedom," Daly said. "It involves artists and consumers and the freedom of ideas and spending and producing and not taking into account what happens to the rest of the world."

Over 20 sculptures are used in conjunction with recorded music by the Mat Bevel Orchestra and spoken poetry by Bevel.

"'Work and War' is a one-man, many-machined performance," Daly said. "His performance has poetry with sculptures and different personas."

Anna Keefer, doorperson for the Mat Bevel Institute, gives further insight on the history of the sculptures.

"The sculptures are like characters in the story - they exist as themselves but are part of the show," Keefer said.

All of Bevel's sculptures are created from garbage he finds in local area dumpsters, or old trash that is donated to the institute. Each sculpture in the show is considered a character with a history that the audience learns about through other characters and their motivations and the plotline.

"It's a double entendre history," Keefer said. "Each character has a history because of the place it came from before it became trash, and it gets a history (as a character) that we learn about through performance."

The Mat Bevel Institute was opened in 1992 under the wing of sculptor and performance artist Ned Schaper (a.k.a. Mat Bevel).

Schaper is this year's recipient of the Arizona Arts Award, presented through the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona in May.

The institute has been operating as a non-profit organization since 1998 with the purpose of being a community fortress for the visionary arts. It rents its space out to other artists and performing groups, though most of the work featured is Schaper's.

Keefer, who has known Bevel for 14 years, said Bevel is very eclectic and so are the institute and its productions.

"It's definitely not like anything else you'll see in Tucson," Keefer said. "Theatrically, the costumes, concepts and themes are unique."

Keefer said "Work and War" is the best show Bevel has ever done.

"It's the strongest show that Ned (Schaper) has ever performed," Keefer said. "His visual stuff is amazing - there's the poetry, the words, the meaning and the music. It's cohesive and extremely insightful in a current way."

"Work and War" runs Nov. 23 through Nov. 25 at the Mat Bevel Institute, 530 N. Stone Ave. Tickets are $7 per person or $20 for groups of four over the Thanksgiving weekend. For more information, call 622-0192.