Center for Afrofuturist Studies artist-in-residence seeks Luther Vandross performances in Iowa City for project

Ever wanted to play a famous musician?

Iowa Citians have that chance this weekend by channeling the late singer-songwriter Luther Vandross.

Fans, the “Luther-curious,” and everyone else are invited Gabe’s Iowa City and the Englert Theatre Saturday, Sunday and Monday to be filmed singing, lip-synching or freestyling short sections of Vandross’ songs.

Doing so makes them part of a research-and-film project from Center for Afrofuturist Studies artist-in-residence L. Franklin Gilliam, who uses both female and plural pronouns, who is in Iowa City for a residence this month.

Gilliam is an artist, educator and strategist based in New York whose creative work has included film, video art, installation and more, according to her website. Gilliam is the senior design and strategy officer at the Lambent Foundation, which provides grants that support artistic and cultural practices in Nairobi, New Orleans and New York City.

Gilliam, in an interview with the Press-Citizen, said she thought about Vandross as a performer and a cultural icon for a few years prior to their Iowa City artist-in-residency.

Vandross was an eight-time Grammy Award winner and acclaimed R&B artist whose career spanned decades until he died in 2005. The singer-songwriter and producer is known for hits like “Never Too Much” and “Here and Now” and his distinctive, beloved voice.

“In my mind, he reaches wider and I’m trying to test that out a little bit,” Gilliam said. “Are there more people (that) when they hear about him, have something to say and what is that? Do we learn anything about how we present ourselves and how we judge one another and how we see art by trying to inhabit his persona for even a few minutes or talk about it for even a few minutes?”

This particular project on Vandross isn’t due to Gilliam being a lifelong fan of the artist.

In fact, Gilliam wasn't a big fan of Vandross while he was alive. Gilliam recalled “Never Too Much” being a popular song in the 1980s, or his version of “A House is Not a Home,” things she said that most people know about the legendary R&B artist.

Gilliam thought of him as a bit of a tragic figure.  

“One day, I was walking to my studio in Brooklyn, and just the algorithm dropped this Luther Vandross song into my ears, and I was walking and listening, and I was just thinking, like, ‘Who is this person?’” Gilliam said.

Gilliam had just bits and pieces of who Vandross was and wanted to investigate further.

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Though Gilliam’s research leads them to believe this will be a film project, it is not a biopic or documentary.

As an artist not making a large feature film, it’s more interesting for Gilliam to think about how to use sound and images and explore what the building blocks of a performance, of an interpretation, are. Gilliam will use those elements to craft together a final product.

For example, Gilliam is exploring how the space of a stage may have been complicated for Vandross. It was a place that he was comfortable in but her research has revealed how difficult it can be for background singers to transition to foreground.

“There's just different elements of the life of a performer that I'm interested in,” Gilliam said.

‘You want people to come in and play for a little bit’: How to participate in this Luther Vandross film project

Inviting people to perform a Vandross song, asking them what they know about him and why they chose it and recording it all help Gilliam to pursue the next phase in her project.

“That is more about figuring out ways to suggest the larger ideas and kinds of feelings that I uncovered from the research and I felt that that sort of day when I just was listening to the music and walking and thinking about what it meant to be making this music in the 80s and the 90s and the early aughts, when there were no performers who were out and gay,” Gilliam said. “Music was so separated into R&B and popular music, and you really had to be careful about how you marketed yourself.”

Part of the project explores who else might know or be fascinated by Vandross, exploring questions like whether Vandross’ reach ended with Gilliam’s generation or not.

“It felt like inviting people to explore and try out his songs might be a way to do that and to see whether, in addition to these locations, collaborations, in Iowa City, might there be people there who might want to inhabit or be Luther or be a part of the project along with me,” Gilliam said.

Gilliam has a few people that have worked with her on this project back in Brooklyn. Gilliam wondered whether to bring them to Iowa City or first see what’s there.

Gilliam opted for the latter, wanting to do something a bit different.

People that are interested in participating in this project can visit the project’s website, https://www.eventcreate.com/e/thelutherproject, to schedule a time to perform at either the Englert Theatre or Gabe’s.

Gilliam is prepared to work with both fans — someone who may come in prepared with a favorite song of theirs — to someone who may simply know a song of his because a relative enjoys Vandross’ music.

The artist-in-residence will be there to help guide people to think about Vandross’ different personas throughout his career and provide different songs that are reflective of them.

This audition of sorts is meant to be accessible and not something anyone has to prepare for.

“You want people to come in and play a little bit and see what they learn about themselves and what they learn about him and see how it helps me and my small crew figure out more about what's interesting to people, and how we might represent that in the next phase of the project when we're shooting in a bit more traditional manner,” Gilliam said.

Exploring the ‘plight’ artists like Luther Vandross may have experienced

The research that Gilliam has done on Vandross examines his struggles as an artist. Gilliam said he was “very precise” about his craft, someone with a beautiful voice and a real knack for arranging music and collaborating with other people.

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Someone who may have been challenged in getting his work to be seen as the work that it was, something that artists of color or from unrepresented groups experience.

Or at least that’s what Gilliam’s artist father, Sam, experienced in his life, and something she recognized in Vandross.

Through research, Gilliam discovered Vandross’ rich experience working with Roberta Flack, Bette Midler, Aretha Franklin and many more even during his time as a backup singer.

“I have a lot of respect and inherent empathy for anyone who sees their work in a very specific way and feels as if other people aren't seeing it that way,” Gilliam said.

While they don’t know if that was true for Vandross, Gilliam has read interviews where Vandross discussed feeling like he never found someone on the business side of things to help take his work to the heights he wanted.

“It’s the plight of any artists but it can really specifically be something that Black artists, artists of color, artists from a group that might be underestimated might face it, particularly if you're in the Avant Garde, if you're trying something new and studying and trying to improve your craft in a very particular way,” Gilliam said.

Paris Barraza covers entertainment, lifestyle and arts at the Iowa City Press-Citizen. Reach her at PBarraza@press-citizen.com or (319) 519-9731. Follow her on Twitter @ParisBarraza.