Got an email asking to let students know about an event going on at the Art Institute on October 6th. It’s free, but registration is required. When it asks if you want to purchase separate admission tickets, just click NO. The new Assistant Director of Lectures and Performance Programs at the AIC is Michael Green. He used to do the programming for the Tuesday night performance series at the MCA. He’s really supportive of local artists working with sound/technology/interactivity… Maybe he’s going to do something similar at the AIC, which would be exciting!
From Michael…
"About the program: Members of the Chicago band Disappears, along with musician Justin Walter and video artist Nick Cointea, are doing an improvised, multimedia performance in response to The New Contemporary.
Using a smart phone, members of the band filmed select artworks that are currently on view in the contemporary galleries. These somewhat low-fi images serve in turn as material which the band will base an improvised music performance around.
The video footage will be put through video synths to create some “weather” for the different players to react to. Nick Cointea will play the footage through a number of different monitors which will be stacked on stage with the performances — the different artworks will shift back and forth between the monitors. Apart from a series of pre-developed cues which are built around the ideas of phase and cell music, the performance will be completely improvised (a sort of conversation between musicians about the works displayed). Instrumentation includes electric guitar, modular synths, drums, and EVI.
This performance will be the first of what I hope to be a series of responses by local artists to this major new collection (and installation) of contemporary art at the Art Institute."