The score consists of three square images and transparencies with musical staves that are to be layed over the images. There is a variety of image/score combinations and orientations, which gives the performer a choice in how they would like to interact with the piece. Below is an example of one of those ways.
There will also be a silent auction featuring work by Scott Benzel, Andrea Bowers, Rodney McMillian, Chris Kallmyer, Cindy Bernard, Krystal Krunch, Martin Kersels, Michael Smith, Simone Forti, Louise Lawler, Kori Newkirk, Julian Hoeber, Heather Rasmussen, Renée Petropoulos, Roy Dowell, Lari Pittman, Stephanie Taylor, Taft Green, Alice Konitz, and James Welling.
I've been thinking about Marina Abramovic's manifesto recently. Not her recent MOCA Gala controversy, but the written manifesto itself. Here's a video of her reading it aloud in Florence. Below that is the text, re-posted from Il Grande Vetro.
1. An artist’s conduct in his life:
An artist should not lie to himself or others
An artist should not steal ideas from other artists
An artist should not compromise for themselves or in regards to the art market
An artist should not kill other human beings
An artist should not make themselves into an idol
An artist should not make themselves into an idol
An artist should not make themselves into an idol
2. An artist’s relation to his love life:
An artist should avoid falling in love with another artist
An artist should avoid falling in love with another artist
An artist should avoid falling in love with another artist
3. An artist’s relation to the erotic:
An artist should develop an erotic point of view on the world
An artist should be erotic
An artist should be erotic
An artist should be erotic
4. An artist’s relation to suffering:
An artist should suffer
From the suffering comes the best work
Suffering brings transformation
Through the suffering an artist transcends their spirit
Through the suffering an artist transcends their spirit
Through the suffering an artist transcends their spirit
5. An artist’s relation to depression:
An artist should not be depressed
Depression is a disease and should be cured
Depression is not productive for an artist
Depression is not productive for an artist
Depression is not productive for an artist
6. An artist’s relation to suicide:
Suicide is a crime against life
An artist should not commit suicide
An artist should not commit suicide
An artist should not commit suicide
7. An artist’s relation to inspiration:
An artist should look deep inside themselves for inspiration
The deeper they look inside themselves, the more universal they become
The artist is universe
The artist is universe
The artist is universe
8. An artist’s relation to self-control:
The artist should not have self-c ontrol about his life
The artist should have total self-control about his work
The artist should not have self-control about his life
The artist should have total self-control about his work
9. An artist’s relation with transparency:
The artist should give and receive at the same time
Transparency means receptive
Transparency means to give
Transparency means to receive
Transparency means receptive
Transparency means to give
Transparency means to receive
Transparency means receptive
Transparency means to give
Transparency means to receive
10. An artist’s relation to symbols:
An artist creates his own symbols
Symbols are an artist’s language
The language must then be translated
Sometimes it is difficult to find the key
Sometimes it is difficult to find the key
Sometimes it is difficult to find the key
11. An artist’s relation to silence:
An artist has to understand silence
An artist has to create a space for silence to enter his work
Silence is like an island in the middle of a turbulent ocean
Silence is like an island in the middle of a turbulent ocean
Silence is like an island in the middle of a turbulent ocean
12. An artist’s relation to solitude:
An artist must make time for the long periods of solitude
Solitude is extremely important
Away from home
Away from the studio
Away from family
Away from friends
An artist should stay for long periods of time at waterfalls
An artist should stay for long periods of time at exploding volcanoes
An artist should stay for long periods of time looking at the fast running rivers
An artist should stay for long periods of time looking at the horizon where the ocean and sky meet
An artist should stay for long periods of time looking at the stars in the night sky
13. An artist’s conduct in relation to work:
An artist should avoid going to the studio every day
An artist should not treat his work schedule as a bank employee does
An artist should explore life and work only when an idea comes to him in a dream or during the day as a vision that arises as a surprise
An artist should not repeat himself
An artist should not overproduce
An artist should avoid his own art pollution
An artist should avoid his own art pollution
An artist should avoid his own art pollution
14. An artist’s possessions:
Buddhist monks advise that it is best to have nine possessions in their life:
1 robe for the summer
1 robe for the winter
1 pair of shoes
1 begging bowl for food
1 mosquito net
1 prayer book
1 umbrella
1 mat to sleep on
1 pair of glasses if needed
An artist should decide for himself the minimum personal possessions they should have
An artist should have more and more of less and less
An artist should have more and more of less and less
An artist should have more and more of less and less
15. A list of an artist’s friends:
An artist should have friends that lift their spirits
An artist should have friends that lift their spirits
An artist should have friends that lift their spirits
16. A list of an artist’s enemies:
Enemies are very important
The Dalai Lama has said that it is easy to have compassion with friends but much more difficult to have compassion with enemies
An artist has to learn to forgive
An artist has to learn to forgive
An artist has to learn to forgive
17. Different death scenarios:
An artist has to be aware of his own mortality
For an artist, it is not only important how he lives his life but also how he dies
An artist should look at the symbols of his work for the signs of different death scenarios
An artist should die consciously without fear
An artist should die consciously without fear
An artist should die consciously without fear
18. Different funeral scenarios:
An artist should give instructions before the funeral so that everything is done the way he wants it
The funeral is the artist’s last art piece before leaving
The funeral is the artist’s last art piece before leaving
The funeral is the artist’s last art piece before leaving
When I was a kid, my mind was blown when my family rented a VHS tape of Jason and the Argonauts, featuring animation by Ray Harryhausen and music by Bernard Herrmann. Here it is on Dailymotion:
Harryhausen passed away on Tuesday, and undeniably left a huge legacy behind. Here is The Ray Harryhausen Chronicles, a documentary about him. If memory serves me, it was included as an extra on the7th Voyage of Sinbad DVD.
Responding to a perceived dearth of experimental music reviews in Los Angeles, James Klopfleisch has taken it upon himself to create several audio reviews.
On Saturday night, The Eclipse Quartet played a show at Boston Court as part of Microfest. Unfortunately, I couldn't be there to hear it, so instead I went to their show on Sunday, 04/28 at Artshare. The two concerts had two pieces in common: Lou Harrison's String Quartet Set and Ben Johnston's String Quartet #4 (Amazing Grace). On Sunday they played Ken Walicki's nada Brahma, which was replaced by Kyle Gann's Love Scene on Saturday.
The Harrison quartet, like much of his music, holds my interest in how surprisingly effective it is. When sculpting something so straightforward, austere, and often plaintive, it is the craft and nuanced detail that really gives the music the level of quality one expects from a Lou Harrison piece. His contrapuntal writing is finely constructed, sounding even more so by his diverse contextualizations - couched in medieval Palestinian songs, French baroque rondos, Turkish rhythms, and introverted melodies.
Ben Johnston's Amazing Grace is a fascinating piece, starting as extremely straightforward and slowly drifting down the microtonal rabbit hole through a series of variations on the theme of Amazing Grace. It sounds like an appeal to the mass public, slowly guiding them with extremely familiar melodic material towards the gilded heights of just intoned clouds.
Ken Walicki's nada Brahma had little in common with the other two pieces, though it laid claim to a transcontinental leaning, similar the Harrison. Written for the Kronos Quartet in 1997, it sounded like it was written for the Kronos Quartet in 1997 - incorporating amplified string quartet and and electronic rhythm track to portray the overlap of rock and Indian influences.
I was sad to miss the Kyle Gann, as I find his tuning systems to be quite interesting. If anyone has any thoughts on that piece, please do share them in the comments!
Both evenings sounded like they would be tremendous undertakings, as the Johnston quartet alone is extremely difficult. Nonetheless, The Eclipse Quartet were able to approach the music on Sunday with skill and delicacy. It is exciting and rare to hear some of these pieces live, as it is to hear ensembles like this take it upon themselves to champion this music.
Street parking is available along Jefferson Blvd., but come prepared for a steep climb up the Overlook stairs. Limited parking is available at the top of the hill for $6.00. Carpooling is strongly encouraged.
"The Baldwin Park Scenic Overlook is unique in the greater Los Angeles area and California State Park system. A historically complex site, the Overlook offers 360 degree views of the Los Angeles Basin as it resides at the juncture of industry and parkland / preserve. Adjacent to the location of the 1963 Baldwin Hills Dam break and just north of an active oil field, the park was the site of a decade long development battle which was successful in fending off a 230-home development, but failed to stop the flat topping of the hill. Parts of the park have been regraded and in certain ways the land still looks as though it's recovering from the earlier violence."(Christopher Hawthorne, Los Angeles Times).
