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Bodies of Water 2016
(still shots of transmission station) Live streamed projection, tape loops, live loops, bass, steel guitar, rebuilt amplifier, video (taken in Northern Highland Forest and Black Jacks Wilderness, Wisconsin) Part of The 181 installation/performance Tomorrow Hasn't Been Born Yet, at Taiga Art Space - St. Petersburg, Russia To view video and sound from the Transmission Station: https://vimeo.com/203716249 |
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This piece was inspired by Cyrus Thomas’ incorrect theory (superstition) that “rain follows the plow.” During the 1870s, this idea was used as a justification for westward expansion and settling of the Great Plains, promoting the idea that clearing land and plowing soil released moisture into the sky to create increased rainfall and ultimately fertile abundance of agriculture. It was also believed that smoke from trains, metal in rails and telegraph lines, and vibration from human activity could create clouds, resulting in widespread dynamiting of the plains.
No Where/Now Where consisted of two parts: a sound element and a sculptural element. The layering sounds created a “thundering cloud,” rolling back and forth between two realms of noise. The reverbed bowing of the bass would wash over itself until it had its own momentum, at which point I would step away and let it decay. As the sound washed away I would key in elements from tapes (homemade recordings and field recordings, as well as vocals from choirs) through its pickups. The vocals would be layered to render speech incoherent and speak in tongues. With my recent relocation to Minnesota, I’ve been trying to understand the removal and replacement of the original grasslands prior to the sprawl of America’s manifest destiny. I chose the symbol of the sunflower to hark back to native prairie species, though in this piece, pointing out the manufactured nature that has taken its place. The lighting, in combination with the sound, was meant to be an exorcism of the prairie in its current state. |
No Where/Now Where 2016 (installation view and performance stills) Lights, fake sunflowers (wrapped/dismantled), electric bass, bow, tape loops and live loops Part of The 181 installation/performance The Division of Mounds Exploration, at Vicki Projects - Newburgh, NY |
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This video is an iteration of my piece, Goner (2013), re-edited and removed from focus, and projected to Iowa with live accompanying upright bass and sound loops. It becomes a moment doomed to repeat itself; field recordings loop and change slowly; repetitive and physical bowing of the bass, doubled through delays over itself, hypnotically lock and waiver with exhaustion (the reflection of the headlamp and bass act like will-o-the-wisp throughout the piece). The video is trapped driving a stretch of backroad and treeline near my family's roots in northern Wisconsin - the viewer can never leave the same stretch of road until it finally disappears altogether, slowly becoming an abyss.
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A Quick Snap Where The Heart Lay (stills) 2015 Live performance of upright bass (extended techniques), looped video, live-streaming projection, headlamp, field recordings made by the artist (migratory birds of southern Appalachians; loon in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan) This piece was a contribution for the multi=media perfomance and installation There Is Hope But Not For Us with the 181 Collective, October 9, 2015. Unity Gallery - Maharishi University, Fairfield, Iowa. Using video sharing freeware, members of the collective streamed performances into the gallery to be conducted by artist and leader of the 181, Abby Donovan, in conjunction with her installations. |
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Driving Lights/Droning North 2013, mixed media installation (live sound loop from extended techniques on bass, cheese-cloth, looped projection of prints) |
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Goner 2013 mixed media installation (live sound loop/overtones from bass, video projection, fog machine) |
