In 'Kannapolis,' mixing music, film and emotion

A blend of collaboration, experimentation and nostalgia, "Kannapolis: A Moving Portrait" is a live performance piece that combines decades-old film footage shot by portrait photographer H. Lee Waters, film direction by Finn Taylor and original music by Jenny Scheinman.

The performance comes to the University of North Carolina Wilmington's Kenan Auditorium on Wednesday, Jan. 23 as part of the UNCW Presents series.

The footage in "Kannapolis" — shot in 118 small towns in the southeastern U.S. between 1936 and 1943 — blends into the lively tone of Scheinman’s violin and lyrics to create evocative movement. There’s a paradox to the film footage itself, as when the innocent charm of a black-and-white shot of a boy showing off yo-yo tricks collides with a fast-paced walking man wearing glasses.

Layers of color and black-and-white film combine with Scheinman’s music to push an emotional nerve without giving a name to the emotion itself.

The footage also matches Scheinman’s lyrics. The time period of Waters’ film is given a sonic home in the song “City of Looms” where she croons, “I can share my cooties with who I please.”

On the other end of the spectrum there’s “Silver Ribbons.” In a YouTube video, Scheinman described the intent of the song as “being in the theater and watching a movie and watching moments that are immortalized and lost … It prepares people to leave the theater and (to go) into the light outside the theater.”

The show takes its title from the city of Kannapolis northeast of Charlotte, known as “the city of looms,” where some of Waters' footage was shot. And that’s what you have with "Kannapolis: A Moving Portrait" a weaving together of different mediums that become a collective piece.

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Want to go?

What: Jenny Scheinman’s Kannapolis: A Moving Portrait

When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 23

Where: Kenan Auditorium, UNCW campus

Info: Tickets are $20-$50.

Details: 910-962-3500 or UNCW/edu/Presents