news |
"Franny (and Zooey) for Piano Duet". Tuesday, September 20th, 2011"Franny (and Zooey) for Piano Duet"
Franny and Zooey for Piano Duet is a work conceived as a performance of two pianists, one male and one female, performing a musical composition based on every element of punctuation in J.D. Salinger's short stories, Franny and Zooey. This will be the premiere of "Franny". Suggested Reading. Opening reception: Saturday, July 23, 6-9 p.m. Presented by The Fellows of Contemporary ArtSuggested Reading is an exhibition that is inspired by literature. It features LA-based artists Marya Alford, Candice Marya Alford creates a duet for piano based on the punctuation marks in J.D. Salinger’s Franny and Zooey; Candice A limited-edition publication will accompany the show and will include writing by Sarah Balcomb, Teresa Carmody, There will also be two public programs during the run of the exhibition: Franny and Zooey for Piano Duet: September 20th at the 20th Century Women's Club in Eagle Rock, CA. Catalogue release party/afternoon of readings: September 24, FoCA exhibition space For more information: Chronologies of History, 1921-2005Location: Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools, Inspiration Park. Former site of the Ambassador Hotel. For this project I have been able to develop a work that has given thoughtful consideration to the social, historical and political history of this site within Los Angeles and within the world. After working through many ideas for this site, I came to a work that does not stand as a visual presence but instead an auditory one. When researching this site, I came to a history involved primarily within celebrities, political figures, and musicians. The Ambassador Hotel and the Cocoanut Grove stood as a foundation for many talented, upcoming stars. This new learning center that now takes it’s place, can be recognized in a similar vain, as a starting point for many gifted, ambitious students. I wanted to create a work that maintained this site as such and always kept it’s history present throughout the life of the new learning center. Starting in the 1930’s the Cocoanut Grove had its own radio broadcast equipment and would live broadcast many concerts and shows to the Los Angeles area, such as Bing Crosby and The Rhythm Boys. People would hear these on the radio and increasingly assemble at the Grove for these performances. At the time this was a new technology and allowed for a sort of advertising for the Ambassador. It created an air of excitement. I have created two benches each with an audio component. The artwork is located in two areas of the RFK Inspiration Park along Wilshire Blvd adjacent to the Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools. Each bench site has one speaker and motion detector installed beside it on a concrete pedestal. (The concrete pedestal was not designed or created by the artist. It was built and designed by LAUSD and Hensel Phelps.) The speaker is connected to the motion detector and then connected (via underground wiring) to a sound amplifier system (enclosed in the electrical room). When a person walks up to the bench the motion detector senses their presence sending a relay to the speaker to turn on. The amplifier continuously plays the sound files on loop. Therefore if someone sits for 5 minutes listening, then gets up to get lunch and returns the sound will be at a different time in the sound file. The sound emitted is only heard while seated on the bench or around the immediate vicinity of the bench. The volume of both speakers can be adjusted on the sound amplifier in the electrical room. The duration of the motion detectors can also be adjusted. This refers to the amount of time the speaker stays on after it is triggered by movement. Currently it is set at approximately 7 minutes, meaning the speaker will remain on for 7 minutes after being triggered by motion. The sound portion of the artwork is a collection of sound derived from the Ambassador Hotel and Cocoanut Grove. Instead of being a ‘tour’ of the site (in the literal sense), it functions as a documentary collage of music, interviews, newspaper articles, speeches and stories of the Ambassador site. Examples of the different sounds are: The Freddy Martin Orchestra, Judy Garland’s At the Grove (album recorded live at the Grove), The Gus Arnheim Band, Sammy Davis Jr.’s At the Cocoanut Grove (album also recorded live at the Grove), Bing Crosby and The Rhythm Boys, portions of Robert F. Kennedy’s final speech at the Ambassador Hotel, recorded radio broadcasts from the Cocoanut Grove, newspaper articles found on the Grove and Hotel, and various interviews and stories from those who worked, performed or visited the Ambassador Hotel. The sound is edited in sections with linking relationships to different edits based on subject or date. All music used has been recorded at the Cocoanut Grove. The total duration of the sound artwork is approximately 8 hours total. Each bench has the same sound file. The bench design is an adaptation of an original bench found at the Ambassador Hotel. I was interested in keeping something reminiscent of the original while also having a structure that spoke to its present time. The back and armrests have been "removed" from the design and the lines of the original design are cleaned up. Each top of the two benches differs in pattern and is created from sandblasted black granite. The tops are based on different patterns found at the Ambassador, one a concentric square tile found near the swimming pool and the other, an art deco design found within the Cocoanut Grove. The base of each bench is identical to one another composed of stainless steel and powder coated white. This work speaks to the original foundation of the hotel and the Cocoanut Grove. The artwork presents an audio historical account of the site based in celebrities and entertainers, but also gives a personal account from those who visited the site from their private memories. It is my hope that the public can enjoy this artwork, taking time to sit and listen to the sounds, remembering back to a time that was once present at the space they now sit. East Bench
West Bench
Original Ambassador Hotel Benches
Session_7_Words at Am Nuden Da, LondonSession_7_Words at Am Nuden Da, London An exhibition dedicated to words, conceived with LA based journal Material (L). Am Nuden Da is pleased to present an exhibition focused on artists’ use of the written word. The nature of the exhibition in many respects owes its being to the conceptual art of the 1960s. Here, the denial of object is emphasised by the operations of modern logistics – the email allows for artworks to be virtually ‘shipped’ from all over the world, leaving and arriving as nothing but thought. The mechanisms of information technology seems somewhat like a logical extension of the conceptual project of previous generations. Session_7_Words includes works by artists of several generations, presenting an insight into what written language constitutes within a broad range of contemporary art practices. The levelling parameters of presentation that have been imposed by the curators are intended to set such generational concerns aside and open the works up for a more general study. The exhibition is curated by Am Nuden Da and Material to coincide with the launch of Material (Issue 2) at London’s Whitechapel Gallery on Thursday 3rd December. _____________________ Material, first published in 2007 is an annual LA based journal of writing by artists. _____________________ Am Nuden Da is an independent artist-run space in East London. Am Nuden Da Upcoming Show: In Real Time ASDF March 28th 4-8pmIN REAL TIME ASDF Saturday 28 March 4–8pm With Mylinh Nguyen sitting in Capricious and David Horvitz chatting live from Golden Age in Chicago, ASDF will make available an ephemeral show of 48 artists existing for only 4 hours. Each art work will be available, one at a time, for only 5 minutes. The works will be sized to print and available for download (also including instructions so that viewers may print the works using basic consumer technologies). After the 4 hours are up all the original files will be deleted. Be there in person & online! www.letsmeetinreallife.com
|
