Arto Lindsay "untitled" (colored filters) 2013. Image courtesy South China Morning Post

They say Hong Kong is a cultural desert, a city that only welcomes commercial high-brow art. Though I don’t completely disagree, that cliche is slowly  disappearing and for a performance curator coming from New York’s vibrant art scene, it is exciting to break through new grounds. I wouldn’t have missed the chance to create a massive public art project– an Art Basel commission, for the launch of its inaugural edition in Hong Kong. When I was asked to produce such an event, it seemed just a perfect fit, perhaps even a dream project, as I’ve been an admirer of the progressiveness of its cultural programming (think Basel Miami’s Oceanfront Nights and Art Parcours), and an excuse for me to work with many talented artists and performers all at once.

Cedric Maridet at Art Basel Hong Kong

Cedric Maridet "Messages from the Outer World" 2013, with CU Choir (image courtesy Art Basel)

Nadim Abbas: Barricades 2013

Heague Yang "Sonicwears" 2013. Kung Chi Shing performing solo.

Angela Su "Une Charogne" 2013

Alice Ma Dance Group

Kung Chi Shing

Otomo Yoshihide

Shane Aspegren (Parade soundtrack compositions with Arto Lindsay)

Otomo Yoshihide (left), Filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul and artist Ming Wong (right) courtesy Art Forum

photography © courtesy Sam Davol

Pop-ups–boutique, market or museum have entered the psyche of hip New Yorkers, but if you are really lucky, you will have experienced the pop-up library known as the Uni Project.

Part-library, part-performance space, the Uni Project, a portable library kiosk with curated cubes, popped up on a stretch of waterfront at the Gantry State Park in Long Island City, Queens on the first day of fall. The blustery weather wrestled with the portable bookshelves and seats, but passersby, especially the short, cute variety with parents hovering close by, intuitively browsed, read and celebrated books, played games and explored portable worm bins for indoor composting.

photography © courtesy Sam Davol

The objective of Leslie and Sam Davol’s non-profit initiative is to unite a community through reading and learning. By partnering with the Queen’s Library and the Friends of the Hunters Point Library on the locale which will be the dedication site for the new library branch on October 5, 2012,  they gave the emerging neighborhood in Hunters Point, directly across from the United Nations on the East River, a taste of the future library branch.

Writer David St.-Lascaux shares, “When I was a child, bookmobiles brought the wonder of books – which are, after all, doors to learning about everything, the telling of our stories, and the magic of imagination – to my neighborhood. Now the Uni Project promises to bring the wonder of books to children in the nurturing company of their parents and caregivers. The Uni Project is truly a kinder-garten where books are the earth in which young minds flower.”

photo © courtesy Allen Joseph Epstein

With the help of local community leaders, their self-aware family members, and volunteer librarians, the founders of the Uni Project clearly understand that libraries are communities and about communities.  Unifying communities with books is a worthwhile cause.

photo © courtesy Allen Joseph Epstein

Piet-Jan van Rossum with Paul Clipson (Photos by Louie Metzner)

Subtwine – Entwine’s speakeasy-like downstairs space that has hosted musical-artists-in-residence such as Toucan (as profiled in the New York Times), video art exhibitions curated by CoWorkers Projects— for a limited time is home to the West Village’s only ongoing experimental sound art event, KINEMATIC Thursdays. Presented by Yulia Topchiy of CoWorker Projects, Kinematic Thursdays is curated by Helen Homan Wu of Opalnest. This is such a unique series of events blending video art, experimental music and sound art that I asked Helen for a bit of the backstory.

Noveller

Heike Baranowsky 'Monfahrt' (courtesy of Galerie Barbara Weiss, Berlin)

Helen founded Opalnest to provide exposure for artists — artists who work with time-based media — that do not necessarily fit into the typical art gallery structure here in the U.S.  She explains that in European cities like Berlin, interdisciplinary contemporary art such as sound art is a robust, thriving genre regularly reviewed and written about by theorists in the same manner of the traditional fine art disciplines of painting or sculpture.

Gill Arno

Opalnest produces events both locally and internationally. Recent projects include satellite events for the New York Armory Show (including an event with Audio Visual Arts for Passing Stranger, an East Village “soundwalk” created Pejk Malinovski, narrated by Jim Jarmusch), a group exhibition of new media artists in Hong Kong, and an experimental sound art event in Mainland China. The daughter of a classical musician (father, flute) who spent her childhood on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, Helen steeps herself in the worlds of contemporary (and often interdisciplinary) video and sound artists, frequenting gallery openings, music and sound performances at venues like Roulette,  Issue Project Room and The Kitchen, and regularly schedules in-person studio visits.

Paul Clipson

Why create this sound exploration showcase at Entwine? Helen thrives on mixing diverse artists and audiences, creating events that cross boundaries, offering innovative, of-the-moment art that engages, startles, delights and surprises. Helen also mentioned that as Subtwine is a somewhat under-the-radar spot (and literally, under Entwine) at the nexus of the West Village/Meatpacking District, it feels organic to the overall Kinematic experience.

JUNE 14 – JULY 19, 2012
7:30pm Thursdays
Subtwine @Entwine, 765 Washington Street

Check here for a complete schedule and links to the participating artists.

Loren Connors, Julien Langendorff, Jim Jarmusch, Hiraku Suzuki (photo: Louie Metzner. courtesy of Opalnest)

Hiraku Suzuki (photo: Louie Metzner)

Photo: Amy Mitten

Hiraku Suzuki (photo: Amy Mitten)

Loren Connors (photo: Amy Mitten)

Julien Langendorff (photo: Amy Mitten)

Hiraku Suzuki (photo: Amy Mitten)

(photo: Amy Mitten)

Helen Homan Wu (Opalnest), Jim Jarmusch, Jozef van Wissum (photo: Amy Mitten)

Printed Matter (photo: Amy Mitten)

Printed Matter (photo: Louie Metzner)

Loren Connors, Helen Homan Wu, Julien Langendorff, Hiraku Suzuki (photo: Amy Mitten)

All photos courtesy of Opalnest

Rachel De Joode, Seeing the Future, a skype-performance, 2011

A young, naked man stares at us, reacting in real-time via webcam; his image is projected onto a typical artist’s canvas and easel a few meters away. Every few minutes he speaks to us. Sometimes I hear what he says, “a woman walks across the room” or “the man with a blue jacket just moved towards the back”. Other times the Internet connection is too weak and his words become fragmented. But the audience understands he is watching us. We continue standing in front of him immobilized, it is awkward and the tension is real.

This performance entitled “Seeing The Future” by Rachel De Joode was a highlight of the opening at The Future Gallery last Friday. The event celebrated the sixth edition of PWR PAPER, a “phuturist” publication focused on art and design. The performance transported the character “Brennan” who is ten hours ahead of us back into the gallery space. Drawing attention to the collapse of present and future time De Joode’s concept seems fitting considering the name of the gallery and PWR PAPER’s tagline.

PWR PAPER , 2010-2011

PWR PAPER publications are usually one large, newsprint foldout and feature artists from the post-internet arts community. Friday’s event saw the launch of a bound book with over one hundred and fifty pages of artworks and writings.  Featuring more than twenty-six artists, the exhibition also included work by Aaron Graham, Andreas Banderas, Ben Schumacher, Carson Fish-Vittori, Martin Kohout, Oregon Painting Society, Sarah Hartnett and Travess Smalley. Many of the exhibiting artists regularly contribute to PWR PAPER. This publication and exhibition bring together an expansive group of artists, intermingling “phuturistic” perspectives on technology and culture.

Entire feed HERE

Ben Frost, Daniel Bjarnason, Sinfonietta Cracovia with film manipulations by Brian Eno & Nick Robertson (Photos: Stephen Cardinale for Unsound Festival)

It has been a highly provocative and musically charged past week and a half. For those who have been following Artcards Review, I’ve been covering Unsound Festival 2011 here in NYC since its opening on April 1st.  And yesterday was the final wrap up of an entire week and a half of experimental music and sonic arts events. The shows were aesthetically diverse and seemed to have opened up new pathways for a lot of local sound art enthusiasts. Besides igniting interest through cross-cultural collaborations, audiences also got a chance to get a closer look at the artists’ practices through “conversations” during Unsound Labs. In retrospect, Unsound 2011 seemed to have a much less focus on electronic music per se, with a more diverse palette on genres ranging from Iceland’s Ben Frost and Sinfonietta Cracovia, to Lustmord and Deaf Center, both deep, dark, and ambient in its own ways, to the Bunker nights of techno music to the finale disco party by local hosts Kiss & Tell. Even though I wanted to attend it all (trust me, I penciled it all in my calendar), I would not have been able to write this recap if I did. But apparently Stephen Cardinale, Unsound’s official photographer shot through the entire week of events, and here it is below.

Ben Frost at Alice Tully Hall

Daniel Bjarnason and Ben Frost at Alice Tully Hall

Anna Zaradny at ISSUE PROJECT ROOM

HATI + Z'ev at ISSUE PROJECT ROOM

Deaf Center at Judson Church

Sinfonietta Cracovia at Judson Church

MERCE at ISSUE PROJECT ROOM

Morton Subotnick / Atom TM / Visuals: Lillevan at David Rubenstein Atrium, Lincoln Center

Morton Subotnick / Visuals: Lillevan at David Rubenstein Atrium, Lincoln Center

Robert Piotrowicz at Littlefield

Harald Grosskopf at Le Poisson Rouge

Lustmord at Abron Arts Center

http://www.unsound.pl/en

Unsound Festival New York is presented by Fundacja Tone, the Polish Cultural Institute in New York and the Goethe-Institut New York

As we approach the horizon of the 2011 Unsound Music Festival NY, I can feel the anticipation building up. If you are a fan of electronic music and sonic arts, like I am, you probably know that Europe (particularly Germany) is the place to be. Beginning April 1st, New York folks will be in for a treat.  It was only until a few weeks ago that the 2011 program has been announced, but it was well worth the wait.  Last year’s line-up was amazing, but this year’s will not disappoint. The Festival officially opens on April 6th, with a preliminary week of screenings and lectures opening on April 1st under Unsound Festival NY Labs.

View full program and artists here.

Photo: HW

When I saw “The Reader” for the first time, I gave in to it completely, and undeniably, I was in tears. Little did I know that the subtle orchestra, which provoked my emotions, was music composed by one of America’s youngest classical composers, Nico Muhly. He also lives right here in New York City. Although his work is based on classical traditions, his renditions and variations in rhythms are highly contemporary, which makes it compatible with a broad genre of music. Nico has worked for Phillip Glass from 1999 to 2008. His collaborators include Bjork, Jónsi of Sigur Rós, Grizzly Bear, and Anthony and the Johnsons. Besides “The Reader” (2008), he also scored for the film “Joshua” (2007). I recently saw his latest piece “Tell the Way” at St. Ann’s Warehouse, which is “loosely based on medieval and colonial English travel narratives, the work draws from American folk sources, prayers for the Royal Navy, early colonial diaries, Mandeville, Herodotus and Marco Polo”.  Commissioned by Brooklyn Youth Chorus, the ensemble included an eclectic mix of talents: a 45-member choir, guitarist Bryce Dessner, British singer Bishi, the unexpected appearance of a sitar, Nico’s sense of humor, and of course, him playing the piano throughout. His full length albums include Speaks Volumes (2007) and Mothertongue (2008), both released under the artist-run label Bedroom Community.  In the midst of writing two operas, I was fortunate to get a brief interview with the artist.

Helen Homan Wu:  How did “Tell The Way” come about?
Nico Muhly: Tell the Way is the fourth piece I’ve written for the BYC. I have enjoyed working with them in the past, but we’ve always just done single, sort of one-off pieces.  As an hour long piece, Tell the Way was an opportunity to really command their entire musicianship.  Selfish on my part, but I think ultimately rewarding for them.

HW:  What is it about children’s choir that keeps appearing in your work?
NM:  I was a boy chorister, so the sound of children’s voices is very important to the emotional makeup of my own musicianship.

HW:  You studied English Literature at Columbia, how does that affect your music compositions?
NM:  I always begin a piece by thinking about text, rather than notes.  Text, or language, or a little turn of phrase for me is a great starting-point.  The notes come later.

HW:  Do you go by any general rules when you compose?
NM:  No, but I go by about sixty specifc ones I invent for each piece.  Each piece has its own little talmudic obsessions.  Tell the Way, for instance, always starts like a Journey song!

HW:  You worked with Philip Glass, one of the most prolific and influential composers of our time. You’ve probably gained plenty of insights from that experience, can you share some with our readers?
NM:  He is one of the few composers I know who provides other people with health care.  It’s amazing.  His operation is as much a social one as a musical one.  He is also very much not allowed to take a day off.  He is as obliged to his employees as they are to him.  It’s a beautiful system.

HW:  What was it like working with Bjork?
NM: She is amazing.  She has such a top-down view of a project, despite the number of collaborators.  She’s somebody who can have her hands in the dirt of a project but also soar above and get a bird’s eye view.  A total inspiration.

HW:  You started the music label Bedroom Communities with Valgeir Sigurðsson, and Ben Frost.  How do you see the role of a music label today?
NM:  I think that labels are important because they act as a curatorial gesture that connects musicians.  So, for instance, people who like Ben’s music might not otherwise have access to mine were it not for the structure of the label.  Similarly, Valgeir, Ben and I all love working with each other, and the label provides a structure for that to happen more.

HW:  What are you working on now?
NM: I’m writing two operas!  Isn’t that enough!?!?

WEBSITE
nicomuhly.com

Photos: Gabriella Radujko

In an extraordinary performance of “Inuksuit” at the Park Avenue Armory in New York, composer John Luther Adams turned noise into “site-determined” music.  Describing the Armory as an environment like no other, Adams accepted the challenge of scaling a performance, which originally premiered outdoors at the Banff Centre in the Canadian Rockies, for the “pristine emptiness” of the 55,000 square foot Wade Thompson Drill Hall.

Musicians commenced by playing simple instruments, some made of paper or wood, sensitizing the ears of the audience as sandpaper discs were rubbed, conch shells and megaphones blown, whirly tubes twisted, and bullroarers whipped. In sharp contrast to the stationary stone sentinels scattered throughout the Arctic, which are believed to have been used for navigation and for which the work is named, the audience, unencumbered with fixed seating, was free to walk, sit, or lie on the hardwood floor.  Exhibiting interest in the musicians, their eyes tracked them as they slowly walked, instruments in hand, from the hall’s center to hallways and staircases of the first and second floors.

Over 70 percussionists, similarly scattered throughout the Armory, advanced the performance with thunderous noise – frighteningly strident at times; beating multi-tiered cymbals, tom-toms and tam-tams with increasing intensity, sound rising into the balloon shed, musicians engulfed by an ever moving audience that listened, looked, and learned kinesthetically.

A softened light via clerestories synchronized an approaching dusk with piccolos, glockenspiels and triangles, twinkling as they summoned night. Anticipation of the end of yet another day grew as did recognition of transformation.  Adams had not only found the music “in the armory” but the spirit of communitas as well.