New Works Residencies
Judy Dunaway
Judy Dunaway for compositions that will complete a body of work to be released on a CD from Composers Recordings, Inc. The compositions incorporate a 16″ round latex balloon along with other (more or less) conventional instruments. The new pieces will include a duet with the renowned Yasunao Tone along with improvisational work. Dunaway’s balloons exhibit a surprising range and a variety of pitches which are controlled by the amount of pressure the artist exerts with her hands.
Tirtza Even
Tirtza Even for “Color Blind,” the third installment of an interactive multimedia series which explores the visual representation of the tension between public and private space. Even’s goal in this work is to “capture the constant infiltration of public into private, the rare moments during which an individual carves a personal space within a public arena.” “Color Blind” will be shown in 1997 at the Postmasters Gallery in New York.
Jose Halac
Jose Halac for a new suite of compositions for his ensemble, Scream. Halac seeks to enhance the expressive possibilities of his performances by exploring MAX, a computer-based language using MIDI and featuring endless combinations and algorithms serving virtually any style of composition. Scream has 1997 concert dates in Argentina, Spain, and in New York at Roulette.
Ken Jacobs
Ken Jacobs for development of his “Nervous System” CD-ROM. Initially, Jacobs will work on “From Muybridge to Brooklyn Bridge,” a series of diverse short pieces utilizing early photo and film materials. The collection reflects Jacobs’ ideas regarding cinema’s reshaping of the human mind during this last century. “What was still now moves, and what moved now takes on 3-D volume,” notes the artist. “I look forward to inviting others to actively particpate in this rich cinema offshoot with, hopefully, unlimited results and applications.”
Jeanne Liotta
Jeanne Liotta for the interactive multimedia project “Optical Promises,” a playful look at the relationships between light, desire, and the technological fetishes derived from the making of images. Set in a bordello at the turn-of-the-century, “Optical Promises” will evoke both the era of early cinema and the transgressive power of secret pleasures. In this work, Liotta promises, “one will be able to experience the metaphysical thrill of optical phenomenon through the use of the modern medium.”
Cynthia Lovett
Cynthia Lovett for visual and audio work on an installation which explores the relationship between the “found” object and the “created” object. Lovett hopes to generate “a sense of dissonance between images and/or sounds that are widely available and those that are deeply specific.” Attracted to technology because of its dual nature (art tool and communicator), Lovett will explore the possibility of developing a corresponding CD-ROM. An initial exhibition is planned at Downtown Community TV Center.
Kristin Lucas
Kristin Lucas for sound design of an interactive audio/video performace which Lucas will initially stage at an outdoor drive-in theatre during the VideoTensions Video Festival in Tuscon, Arizona. “Through the course of the performance,” Lucas comments, “I will contextualize the complexity of my position as a woman toward the progress of automated society. I’ll render a new landscape for women which advocates technological intervention as an alternative to the familiar role of laborer to machine.” The performance in Tuscon will be recorded and aired at a later date on cable access television. Several other live performances are scheduled.
Thomas Poole
Thomas Poole for post-production video and audio work for a dcomentary entitled “Not Channel Zero’s Grassroots Video Cookbook” which examines the influences and effects of media on people of color in America. Poole writes, “The program will focus the vital need for people of color to train our communities in the life-skill of deciphering the frequently racist, sexist and homophobic messages being propagated within today’s market-driven media.” Poole hopes to air the “Cookbook” on cable access stations and other free speech television in the fall.
James Pugliese
James Pugliese for the continuing development of his original composition techniques using piezo-type pickups placed on found metal and percussion instruments. Using small guitar effects and volume pedals, Pugliese processes and blends these effects into unique combinations which, ultimately, he plans to upload on his webpages for public listening. Other public performances of Pugliese’s work include a fall concert at Queen’s College and a broadcast on the independent East Orange radio station WFMU.
Dave Soldier
Dave Soldier for his compositions for the opera “Naked Revolution,” which will premiere June 12-14 at the Walker Arts Center in Minneapolis and run for three weeks in October at New York’s Kitchen. Scored for a ten piece orchestra, Soldier’s work will be performed by the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra and includes Russian Orthodox religious music, American hymns of William Billings and the shape note singers, Russian army choral music and African-American work songs. “Naked Revolution” is based on the historical significance of falling statues. “Above all,” writes Soldier, “the opera is the portrait of a moment when everything changes. Revolutionaries may consider themselves conservative or doctrinaire, but when the statues start falling, nothing is the same.”
Ken Montgomery
Ken Montgomery for the creation of a new sound work for CD which will air on WKCR with Tony Coulter and WFMU with Fabio Roberti. Since 1992, Montgomery has been recording sounds from his immediate environment: moths, termites, frogs, cars, trains, refrigerators, toasters, coffee machines, drain pipes, etc. His new work will incorporate (and enhance and manipulate) this collection. “I’m interested in exploring my tendency to reject technology by finding more primitive and acoustic sources for my compositions, while simultaneously relying on technology for recording, manipulation, editing and distribution.”
Christopher Kondek
Christopher Kondek for post-production audio and video work on his 20 minute video, “The Life and Miracles of Saint Godelieve of Gistel,” a dramatization of a true story: In the 11th century, Godelieve was strangled by her husband Bertulf’s s henchmen at his orders after a period of abuse at the hands of Bertulf’s mother. The henchmen later confessed, Bertulf guiltily donated his lands to the church, and Godelieve is now the patron saint of sore throats. Kondek will use retouched video, superimposition, blue screen techniques, 3D modeling software and animation to realize his project. He hopes to show his finished piece in the fall at Electronic Arts Intermix.