Anya M. Wassenberg's Blog: Art & Culture Maven, page 9

Maasaï Dance In The Contemporary World | dance Immersion presents Kenya’s Fernando Anuang’a

With material from a media release

Maasaï Dance In The Contemporary World
dance Immersion presents Kenya’s Fernando Anuang’a
January 19 & 20, 2023 in Toronto

He'll also be teaching workshops on January 16 & 17

Get Tickets Here

Toronto's dance Immersion presents Kenya’s Fernando Anuang’a performing his contemporary Maasaï dance solo TRADITIONAL FUTURE in its North American premiere. The performances take place January 19 & 20, and will include an artist talk.

Fernando Anuang’a (Photo courtesy of the artist)Dancer/Choreogrpher Fernando Anuang’a

Fernando Anuang’a began his journey into dance in 1990 as a member of the renowned Rarewatts Maasaï dancers in Kenya. He drew inspiration from Maasaï traditional dance, which is combined with song. With it, he created a unique dance language that blends the traditional with contemporary dance.

Self-taught to that point, he attended masterclasses with choreographer Carolyn Carlson to further his skills. 

His dance career has taken him from Kenya to France, where he performed his solo dance works at the National Dance Center of Angelin PRELJOCAJ – Pavillon Noir in France and the Centre Chorégraphique National of Carolyn CARLSON, Colisée in Roubaix.

 
Fernando Anuang’a has choreographed and performed his work throughout Africa, Europe and Asia. He'll be making his North American premiere in Toronto.
Fernando worked on his piece “Traditional Future” at renowned choreographer Wayne MacGregor's studio AKILI in LAMU, produced by Pierre Cardin. The premiere performance was staged at Musée du Quai Branly in Paris and Espace Cardin, in 2011. 
In it, Fernando explores the question: How do we evolve tradition toward modernity without obliterating its tracks, without betraying one’s roots?
Bringing Maasaï dance into the 21st century with integrity is his passion. The image of the Maasaï jump tradition has been exploited; Fernando’s practice instead infuses this cultural vertical energy with evolving Maasaï undulation gestures. TRADITIONAL FUTURE was the third solo piece he choreographed. In it, he stays loyal to the Moran (Maasaï warrior) tradition as a symbolic root, while finding a deeper energy and more liberating form of self-expression to bring the tradition into the future.
Traditional Future CreditsPerformer, Choreographer & Soundscape Designer: Fernando Anuang’aMusic: Traditional Maasaï vocals with contemporary soundscapeToronto Presentation: dance ImmersionProduction Manager: Charissa WilcoxStage Manager: Patricia Anuang’aTechnical Crew & Box Office: The Theatre Centre Fernando Anuang’a (Photo courtesy of the artist)PerformancesVenue -The Theatre Centre, 1115 Queen St W, Toronto, ON
Friday, January 19, 2024:Pre-Show Reception – 7:15 PMPerformance & Artist Talk – 8:00 PM
Saturday, January 20, 2024:Performance & Artist Talk – 8:00 PMGet tickets HERE .Workshops – Dance with Fernando!Learn Contemporary Maasaï dance with Kenya’s Fernando Anuang’a.
Workshops will take place at Canada’s National Ballet School – Studio 4D – 400 Jarvis St, Toronto, ON M4Y 2G6
Master Class for Advanced Dancers Tuesday, January 16, 20241:00 – 4:00pm [3 hours]$30
Beginner/Open Level ClassTuesday, January 16, 20247:00 – 9:00pm [2 hours]$20Click HERE to register for the workshops.From a performance at La Réunion for Souffle Danse ton océan Festival 26 Nov 2023

Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre presents WINTERSONG — dances for a sacred season December 8 to 10

From a media release

Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre presents
WINTERSONG — dances for a sacred season
December 8 to 10 at Harbourfront Toronto

Get Tickets Here

NOVEMBER 2023 (Toronto) - Celebrating 35 years of illuminating the solstice through dance, Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre presents WINTERSONG—dances for a sacred season. Featuring a World Premiere by Hanna Kiel, plus works by Jera Wolfe, Santee Smith, Carol Anderson and Colin Connor, WINTERSONG warms the hearts of family audiences with a breathtaking tapestry of seasonal dance inspired by the world’s rich solstice traditions.

Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre presents WINTERSONG (Photo: David Hou)

Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre is a Toronto based repertory company of exceptional next-generation artists founded in 1980 by Artistic Director Deborah Lundmark and Managing Director Michael deConinck Smith. Highlights include appearances at Toronto’s Princess of Wales and Royal Alexandra Theatres, five invitations to the Canada Dance Festival and tours to Singapore, Malaysia, China, Scotland and NYC. CCDT has been featured at Fall For Dance North, Toronto’s premiere international dance festival, and Harbourfront Centre’s inaugural International Junior Festival.       

Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre presents WINTERSONG (Photo: David Hou)
 The Programme 

A Sonata of Shadows (World Premiere)—Choreography by Hanna Kiel

Music by Adam Campbell

“This composition delves into the aftermath of the solstice, examining its connection to our lives and the lessons we derive from it. There are moments when it feels like this darkness will never dissipate. However, as in the natural cycle, daylight inevitably returns. This piece explores the profound nuances of these dark moments, delving into the feeling that they might persist indefinitely.” —Hanna Kiel

Hanna Kiel is a Dora award winner, a founder and artistic director of Human Body Expression, and a resident choreographer at Canada’s Ballet Jorgen.

Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre presents WINTERSONG (Photo: David Hou)Star Dreamer (2011)—Choreography by Santee Smith

Music by Cris Derksen

“Star Dreamer celebrates the traditional story of the Seven Dancers and significance of the Pleiades to the Iroquoian Midwinter Ceremonies. During the winter solstice Shooting Star dreams the Seven Dancers into existence. Dancing and swirling in unison, they transform into the brightest stars in the sky while he falls back to Earth.” —Santee Smith

Santee Smith / Tekaronhiáhkhwa is a multidisciplinary artist and the founder and artistic director of Kaha:wi Dance Theatre.

Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre presents WINTERSONG (Photo: David Hou)Embers (2019)—Choreography by Jera Wolfe

Music by Luke Howard, Lior, Shards

“When I think about the winter solstice I am taken to my time spent in Winnipeg. I remember the cold winters that brought me and others together. We would gather together indoors to stay warm. We would eat, play music and enjoy each other’s company. It was the warmth of us coming together that brought comfort to the harsh and unforgiving winters.” — Jera Wolfe

Jera Wolfe is a Dora award winner whose choreographic credits include the National Ballet of Canada, Canada's Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers, and Red Sky Performance.

Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre presents WINTERSONG (Photo: David Hou)THAW (2022)—Choreography by Colin Connor

Music by Patrick Grant

“THAW is a celebration of ice thawing and changing into rushing Spring rivers. It is also a celebration of these young dancers finally emerging from the cold of pandemic distance and isolation into the warmth of closeness and being truly with each other again.” —Colin Connor

Colin Connor is an award-winning choreographer and former artistic director of the American legacy José Limón Dance Company.

Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre presents WINTERSONG (Photo: David Hou)Nowell Sing We (1988)—Choreography by Carol Anderson      

Music by Kirk Elliott 

Driven by the celebratory briskness of medieval carols arranged by Kirk Elliott, Nowell Sing We sets two-dimensional imagery – familiar from medieval art – into motion. Since its creation in 1988 for the inaugural WinterSong, every CCDT company member has danced in this piece. 

A founding member and Artistic Director of Dancemakers, Carol Anderson subsequently went on to create ten works for CCDT as the company’s most prolific guest artist. She is a celebrated writer on the subject of Canadian dance and recipient of the Dance Ontario Award.

Indie Pop Q&A: Sharl

Indie Pop Q&A: Sharl

Stream the album Clichés on Spotify HERE

Australian-born, and now based in London, pop artist Sharl is a classically trained musician turned pop songsmith. Her music combines upbeat electro pop with lyrics that come from the heart.

Sharl - Photo Credit: Josh Fahmi

Her debut music video has won film festival awards, and she's an avid advocate for Asian representation in the music industry.

I asked her a few questions after the release of her debut album Clichés. 

How did you get your start in music? When did you know it was something you wanted to pursue?

Music was a huge part of my life since a young age, I learned the piano and violin starting at the age of 3 and quickly fell in love with many genres of music which came to shape my influences today. Pop music was my ultimate passion throughout my teenage years and I was fascinated by the recording process. I happened to sign to a small local indie label and that gave me the opportunity to start making my own original music professionally. This was years ago and I now work independently which is great to have total creative freedom.

I can hear a number of influences in your new single - the classical music you studied, also the classic orchestral pop of the 1970s, K-pop - how did you come up with your musical style? What are/were your musical inspirations?

Those are all inspirations and I think they have subconsciously shaped what comes out when I write, especially melodically. I’ve always admired Taylor Swift’s songwriting and ability to capture a picture and emotions through her lyrics. I also love production which captures the essence of a mood itself so I am also inspired by different sounds and beats.

Do you have a favourite (or maybe more than one) current music artist? What kind of music do you listen to?

Right now I’ve been listening to Larissa Lambert and loving the laid-back, chill sweet RnB sound. I’m usually into all kinds of pop, electropop and RnB influenced music though.

There is a huge pop industry in Korea and through Asia, with only a few of the top artists making internationally. At the same time, there is little representation for any Asian artists outside of Asia. What reason do you think there is for that imbalance?

I think it’s a mixture of fewer Asian people pursuing that path, and lack of support for it.

How important is representation in pop culture?

It’s incredibly important as representation across media pervades every aspect of our culture, what people believe and how they behave.

Lack of diversity means that opportunities are restricted for groups of people. There can be bias against them, and they may be unable to reach their full potential or live in the way which would be most authentic to them.

So I hope to see strong representation across all groups in pop culture in the future and the world certainly looks like it’s made great movement in this direction already.

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Neoclassical | Cellist Ian Maksin's New Album Amor Renatus (Rebith of Love) & North American Tour

Neoclassical
Cellist Ian Maksin: Amor Renatus (Rebith of Love)
(October 10, 2023 / Independent)
& North American Tour

Stream/Download The Album Find Tour Dates & Tickets

If music has healing properties, it's what the world needs most. That's the message of cellist and composer Ian Maksin.

Speaking on the album, Ian Maksin shares, “AMOR RENATUS is a reflection on the tragic ongoing events in Ukraine, Middle East, and other parts of the world. It delves deep into the darkest recesses of the human soul, unearthing a myriad of feelings universal to all wars: grief, indignation, fear, and despair. 

“As the journey continues, the music guides the listener through a path to redemption and a spiritual transformation, allowing them to ultimately find peace, comfort, and empowerment.  As artists, we are fortunate to have music as the most powerful means of emotional healing and be able to offer it as medicine for the soul to the listener as well.”

The pieces are written for cello enhanced with a loop pedal and electronics. Percussion rounds out the sound on some of the tracks, including a Mongolian frame drum and West African djembe. 

When he tours, it's much more than scheduled performances. He's travelled with other musicians he's met along the way, participated in spontaneous jams, and raised money for charity.

A portion of the proceeds from his will be directed to For Wellbeing, a non-profit organization that provides humanitarian aid in the regions of Ukraine most affected by war.  Maksin has been supporting this charitable organization since March 2022 as part of his Cello for Peace tour of over 200 concerts in North America and Europe. 

Ian MaksinIan Maksin

A cellist, composer and singer who can perform in more than 30 languages, Ian Maksin has been travelling and touring, and that has resulted in new music. His music combines different genres, contemporary and traditional modes, taking inspiration from the music of the world. 

Ian was born in Leningrad to a multinational family, and he began to play guitar and piano at 3. By 6, he was studying the cello at the School for Gifted Children in Moscow. At 16, he continued his studies at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City and Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. 

His path initially seemed set for a conventional career in Western classical music, and he worked within the genre for several years, including a three-year stint with the New World Symphony in Miami. He eventually decided to branch out into everything from rock and blues to jazz and global beats.  

Ian turns his diverse experiences in performing into compositions that blend all his influences into a unique style. He sings in Ukrainian, Polish, Russian, English, Farsi, Armenian, French, Italian, Arabic, Hebrew, Mongolian, and Bambara, among others. 

The Album

The album consists of a Prologue in four acts, Requiem (also four), Epilogue in three movements, and Postlude. If you had to put it all under one umbrella, these days, you'd call it neoclassical.

The Prologue begins with a plaintive and contemplative mood.  His music is melodic and expressive, modern, yet timeless. I'm reminded of the music of the Impressionists, late Romanticism - let's say late 19th to early 20th century. By the final movement, it's a playful tango-esque piece.

As it progresses from movement to movement, the music seems to gather strength. The tech he uses produces a full and seamless sound that ranges from a solo voice to accompaniment in two or more parts. 

The Requiem is perfect Halloween listening, from the whirling melody of the first movement, Requiem Aeternum, to the Mediterranean influences of Tube Mirum, the second, the cinematic scope of Dies Irae (with its eerie harmonics), and strongly rhythmic.

The Epilogue is more sombre in tone, with droning electronics underneath an affective cello melody. It's thoroughly contemporary in its aesthetic, with an emotional heart. Amor Renatus emerges as the second movement of the Epilogue, a moody composition that juxtaposes plucked and bowed cello strings. The piece finishes with a distinctly hopeful tone in Ortis Solis, the last movement.

Urbs Aurum, the Postlude, continues in an emotional and more hopeful tone. With something of a baroque flavour, contrapuntal voices come together in harmony. 

Ian's music has a sense of invention that keeps it fresh, even with sounds and elements that are steeped in various traditions. It's delightful listening for anyone with eclectic tastes in instrumental music.  

The Tour

The current leg of his tour began in September in Arizona, with dates set to December, so far.... Stay tuned AT THE LINK for more TBA.

Dates:

October 28: Boston MAOctober 29: Somerset NJNovember 2: Philadelphia PANovember 3: Washington DCNovember 5: New York, NYNovember 8: Toronto ONNovember 9: Ottawa ONNovember 10: Quebec QCNovember 12: Montreal QCNovember 18: San Francisco CANovember 19:  Los Angeles CADecember 3:  Chicago ILDecember 8: Minneapolis MN

Kent Monkman's Iskonikan On View At Art Toronto 2023 October 26 To 29 2023

From a media release

Kent Monkman Announces Iskonikan
On view at Art Toronto 2023
October 26 to 29Tickets to Art Toronto At The Link

Kent's work will be at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Booth #B34

Toronto, ON, October 19 2023 – Kent Monkman is pleased to present iskonikan at Art Toronto 2023, on view in Booth #B34 at Metro Toronto Convention Centre from October 26 – 29, 2023. iskonikan is a Cree word for “Indian reserve” that when translated literally means left-over land. Monkman’s exhibition at Art Toronto 2023 references the limiting of Indigenous sovereignty to reserve lands with a new installation and a selection of paintings from his 2022 Being Legendary series. The project also introduces two new editions of Monkman’s work: an unlimited, free risograph poster and a limited edition silk screen print. 50% of the proceeds from the print’s sale will be donated to nēhiyawak Language Experience, a nonprofit organization that hosts an annual Cree language camp focusing on producing authentic language engagement and uplifting nēhiyaw (Cree) identity, including ways of knowing and being.

Kent Monkman, Giants Walked the Earth, 2022. Acrylic on canvas, 27 in. x 42.5 in.

“Reserves were specifically defined to dispossess and control First Nations people,” says Kent Monkman. “After European settlers arrived and spread across Turtle Island, we signed agreements to share the land with them. Our ancestors believed we were entering into a kinship relationship with them, making us all treaty people. These treaties stated that our land was not to be sold or given away, yet most Indigenous lands have been stolen, encroached upon, or embezzled. Today, most reserves are located in remote areas, far from the urban centres that were once Indigenous people’s meeting, living, hunting, agricultural and trading places. Many of us have been forcibly moved to remote areas that European settlers viewed as the leftovers. This dispossession and land theft has created many barriers to how we thrive in today’s world.”

In the middle of the iskonikan booth is mêmêkwêsiwak Trading Post, a miniature version of a prototypical “Indian Trading Post” partially hidden behind tall grasses on what appears to be a slice of land — the “World’s Smallest Reserve.” A cut-out roof reveals a white-cube exhibition of small paintings — a series of portraits of Cree legendary beings known as the mêmêkwêsiwak (the little people), who appeared in Monkman’s Being Legendary exhibition at the Royal Ontario Museum earlier this year.

Kent Monkman, The mîmîkwîsiwak Remember the Giants, 2022. Acrylic on canvas, 18.5 in. x 29 in.

Surrounding the trading post on the walls of the booth are studies for several of the paintings from Being Legendary that reinforce Indigenous presence on Turtle Island for 100,000 years — much longer than settlers’ theories of human presence in the Americas. The paintings from Being Legendary explore the complexities of Indigenous knowledge systems, including the science embedded in Indigenous ways of knowing and the deep and extensive relationship of Indigenous peoples to the land.

Historically, trading posts were places where Indigenous peoples and settlers across Turtle Island bought, sold, and traded furs and commodity items. Monkman’s siting of a miniature trading post in a booth at Art Toronto 2023 is a meta reference to the commercial buying and selling of art. With its play on scale, mêmêkwêsiwak Trading Post emphasises that Indigenous territories have been reduced to small slices of land. Its function as a mobile gallery, small enough to travel anywhere on Turtle Island, implies that treaty rights and Indigenous sovereignty should extend beyond the limits of iskonikan.

Kent Monkman, Constellation of Knowledge, 2022. Acrylic on canvas, 93 in. x 124 in.ABOUT KENT MONKMAN

Kent Monkman (b. 1965) is an interdisciplinary Cree visual artist. A member of Fisher River Cree Nation in Treaty 5 Territory (Manitoba), he lives and works in New York and on treaty territory in Ontario. Known for his thought-provoking interventions into Western European and American art history, Monkman explores themes of colonization, sexuality, loss, and resilience—the complexities of historic and contemporary Indigenous experiences—across painting, film/video, performance, and installation. Monkman’s gender-fluid alter ego Miss Chief Eagle Testickle often appears in his work as a time-travelling, shape-shifting, supernatural being who reverses the colonial gaze to challenge received notions of history and Indigenous peoples.

Monkman’s painting and installation works have been exhibited at institutions such as The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal; Musée d’artcontemporain de Montréal; The National Gallery of Canada; The Royal Ontario Museum; Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art; Hayward Gallery; Witte de With Centre for Contemporary Art; Musée d’art Contemporain de Rochechouart; Maison Rouge; Philbrook Museum of Art; Palais de Tokyo; and the Hood Museum at Dartmouth College. He has created site-specific performances at The Metropolitan Museum of Art; The Royal Ontario Museum; Compton Verney, Warwickshire; and The Denver Art Museum. Monkman has had two nationally touring solo exhibitions, Shame and Prejudice: A Story of Resilience (2017-2020), and The Triumph of Mischief (2007-2010).

Monkman’s short film and video works, made with his long-time collaborator Gisèle Gordon, have screened at festivals such as the Berlinale (2007, 2008) and the Toronto International Film Festival (2007, 2015). Monkman co-wrote, with Gordon, The Memoirs of Miss Chief Eagle Testickle: A True and Exact Accounting of the History of Turtle Island, a two-volume edition featuring Monkman’s artwork to be published in November of 2023. Monkman is the recipient of the Ontario Premier’s Award for Excellence in the Arts (2017), an honorary doctorate degree from OCAD University (2017), the Indspire Award (2014), and the Hnatyshyn Foundation Visual Arts Award (2014) and was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2023.

Monkman has self-represented on treaty territory since 2018 and hosts studio visits by appointment in New York and Toronto. Learn more at www.kentmonkman.com.

From a recent show:

Smoke and Mirrors: Magical Thinking in Contemporary Art At the Boca Raton Museum Opens November 18 through May 12

 From a media release

Smoke and Mirrors: Magical Thinking in Contemporary Art
At the Boca Raton Museum
Opens to the General Public on November 18 through May 12

Pre-opening night fundraiser November 17 - check it out [HERE]

As South Florida's museums from Palm Beach to Miami present their highly anticipated offerings for Art Basel Season, the Boca Raton Museum of Art is especially poised to lead the pack with a one-two-punch this year: the world premiere of the Teiger Award-winning exhibition Smoke and Mirrors: Magical Thinking in Contemporary Art, and the sleek new high-speed rail station just blocks from the Museum's front door, luring visitors with a quick escape off the beaten path from the art fairs. 

Imponderable, (film still) by Tony Oursler (5-D feature length film, 90 minutes).

The new group show was originated by Kathleen Goncharov, the Museum's Senior Curator, and features 30 contemporary artists.

This is the only exhibition in South Florida (and in the entire Southeast U.S.) to win the prestigious Teiger Foundation 2023 Grant Award for Curator-Led Projects – among only 13 museum shows selected nationwide in the Single Exhibition category, recognizing boundary-pushing curatorial work.  

The works in this exhibition crack through the looking glass of illusion and beliefs. While performative magic is certainly celebrated here, many of these artists are acclaimed for tackling the thorny issues of disinformation, hoaxes, cults, conspiracy theories, "alternative facts," and the rise of deceptive artificial technologies in our culture.

When exposed, these deepfakes often reveal a greater truth. 

According to the Teiger Foundation site, the competition “Acknowledges the uncertainty, fear, and loss in our time of enormous change and supports innovative curatorial work committed to experimentation and creativity in exhibitions, championing curators who engage in the pressing conversations of our time. Curators are thinkers and leaders who play multiple, changing roles in their communities.”

The exhibition is anchored by an entire gallery of phantasmagorical installations by the globally acclaimed artist Tony Oursler, celebrated for asking the pressing question: what happens when the occult is confronted by its mirror image of technology? 

Among the 30 artists are: Urs Fischer, Alfredo Jaar, Jim Shaw, Sarah Charlesworth, Glenn Kaino, Christian Jankowski, Kristin Lucas, Jane Hammond, Gavin Turk, Michael Ray Charles, Faisal Abdu'Allah, Mark Thomas Gibson, Robin Tewes, Jeanette Andrews, Stephen Berkman, Jose Alvarez (D.O.P.A.), Jacob Hicks, and The Yes Men.

This timely exploration pulls back the curtain on modern-day deceptions, often perpetrated for political or financial gain – before our very eyes. 

Today’s hoaxes, and the blatant lies posted on social media, are often fabricated with new technology yet have earlier precedents in America’s history. 

Merma, by Tony Oursler (fiberglass, resin, acrylic paint, glitter, fake hair, gemstones, video projection, sound). Performance by Dominique Bousquet.

The exhibition’s temporal twist juxtaposes parallels between our current struggles and the same peculiar fascinations with magical thinking during the late 1800s and early 1900s – when the deadly flu pandemic and World War I created an epidemic of fake mediums, seances, and the golden age of stage magic. 

Fast-forward to today, and these artists investigate how the trauma of our own pandemic, climate change, political extremism, violence, and the disruption of societal norms are spurring belief and fascination with the paranormal.

An explosive increase in supernatural characters in popular culture, and dangerous hoaxes that are proving difficult to discredit, are rampant again now. 

“Our City is honored by this national acclaim, and that this museum exhibition is the only one in the entire Southeastern U.S. selected by the Teiger Foundation 2023 Grant Award for Curator-Led Projects in the single exhibition category,” says Scott Singer, the Mayor of Boca Raton. “We are proud of the stellar team at the Boca Raton Museum of Art for shining the national spotlight on South Florida’s museum scene.”

 “The caliber of the contemporary artists in this exhibition is earning major attention for the new season at the Boca Raton Museum of Art,” says Irvin Lippman, the Executive Director of the Museum.

“The correlation between magic and artmaking has always loomed large, and this exhibition takes this idea one step further, revealing strong connections between today and earlier periods in history when crises led to magical thinking. Art itself is a process of alchemy, transforming physical medium into illusions of beauty, messages that have the power to both inspire and manipulate audiences,” adds Lippman.

Cracks through the looking glass of illusion and beliefs. 

Levitating Woman, by Sarah Charlesworth (Cibachrome with lacquered wood frame). Courtesy of Paula Cooper Gallery. ©The Estate of Sarah Charlesworth.Highlights from the Exhibition

The largest gallery in the exhibition is transformed by Tony Oursler into an otherworldly landscape titled Creature Features. 

The Museum has commissioned several new installations by Oursler, exploring what the artist calls the “delicate balance between creativity, mysticism and scientific ingenuity.” Based on American folklore, legends, and hoaxes likened to today’s urban myths, viewers will walk into a dream world where the artist’s collection of the unbelievable comes to life. 

Tony Oursler is one of the world’s foremost pioneers of video art, working with moving images, installation and projection.

His inspirations include conspiracy, mysticism, narrative evolution and facial recognition technologies. Viewers are often disoriented and disarmed upon entering his installations.

Oursler’s video art is celebrated for transcending traditional screens, TV monitors and surfaces. His work jumps out at viewers via visual experimentation, described by his gallerists as harking back to camera obscura and psychedelia – through the surreal environments he creates with bots and intimate digital effigies, optical devices, sculptures, and ethereal talking automatons. 

Central to Oursler’s work is his endless fascination with how technology impacts humanity. For several decades, the artist has amassed a vast archive of more than 3,000 historical materials pertaining to the paranormal fringes, pseudo-science that connects to cults, and the intersection of science and the occult. 

The realms of magic and illusion are generationally embedded into the artist’s DNA. Oursler’s grandfather was a magician who exposed trickery used in seances by the Spiritualists of his era, who lied to desperate widows yearning to communicate with relatives who died in World War I. 

Oursler’s father founded the magazine Angels on Earth, about spiritual encounters. The artist’s spirit world fascination also includes his admiration for mediums and mystics who never charged for their services, falling outside the realm of financial fraud. 

Imponderable, (film still) by Tony Oursler (5-D feature length film, 90 minutes).

In 2000, Oursler was awarded the U.S. Art Critics Association ICA New Media Award. Oursler has been selected for solo exhibitions throughout the United States and is currently one of America’s most internationally exhibited artists (with solo shows in more than 25 countries).

Imponderable, Oursler’s cinematic 5-D experience, has only been exhibited at MoMA in New York and was created using Pepper’s Ghost, a mirror illusion technique first used in the 1800s in theatrical ghost plays.

Other installations in Oursler’s Creature Features landscape include: Fairy (a fantasy projection of a performance by Katiana Rangel); Cardiff Giant (Oursler’s never-before-seen life-size recreation of one of the most famous archaeological hoaxes in American history); Flatwoods Monster (a re-living of the 1952 legendary UFO extraterrestrial folklore encounter); Alice Cooper Head (inspired by The Amazing Randi’s infamous creations for Alice Cooper’s concert tour in the 1970s); Crystals (created in part with artificial intelligence, exploring the digital divine, 5-D technology, near-death experiences, and hallucinogenic states); Charles Doyle Fairy Painting (based on his fantastical paintings of Victorian-era fairies and other fantasy themes); and Merma (described as “beautiful in a horrifying way”). 

Parallels between our current struggles and the same peculiar fascinations with magical thinking during the late 1800s and early 1900s.

The original Cardiff Giant at the Farmers' Museum in Cooperstown, New York, where it is still displayed (Photo by Martin Lewison/CC2.0).

The trauma of our own pandemic, climate change, political extremism, and violence are spurring belief and fascination with the paranormal.

Francesca Panetta and Halsey Burgund’s installation In Event of Moon Disaster

Francesca Panetta and Halsey Burgund’s installation In Event of Moon Disaster was made using sophisticated deepfake technology. In 1969 most of the world celebrated the Apollo 11 crew’s first successful moon landing, the exceptions being conspiracy theorists claiming it was all staged. In this work, Panetta and Burgund ask: what would have happened if the mission had gone wrong? 

Their Moon Disaster installation reimagines this seminal event to illustrate the possibilities of deep-fake technologies. In this alternative history, visitors will time-travel to a Florida living room where Richard Nixon appears on a television set to announce the tragedy.

Dow Does the Right Thing - a media hoax by The Yes Men:

“We hope our work will spark critical awareness among the public. We want them to be alert to what is possible with today’s technology, to explore their own susceptibility, and to be ready to question what they see and hear as we enter a future fraught with challenges over the question of truth,” said Francesca Panetta. 
The spirit of the beloved magician, author and actor, Ricky Jay is also prominent in this exhibition. He was famous for tricks in which he threw playing cards, and was able to pierce a watermelon with a playing card from 160 feet.
The artist Glenn Kaino tips his hat to Ricky Jay by creating a large-scale wall portrait of Ricky Jay by throwing cards that will puncture and adhere to the museum wall, forming the shape of the famous magician’s face.
This throwing cards trick is one of Ricky Jay’s stage mysteries, and can only be installed at museums by special preparators with no other witnesses around, to avoid revealing the late magician’s secrets. 
The celebrated artists/activists duo known as The Yes Men have been exposing corporate malfeasance since the early 1990s, by convincingly impersonating government officials, corporate officers, and salesmen at real-life events. 
In addition to videos of the pair’s many hoaxes, their installation features the inflatable Survivaball, an imagined “new Halliburton product” The Yes Men presented at an insurance conference about catastrophic loss, tricking the attendees of the conference into believing it was all real.  Two timely experiences will confront museumgoers in this exhibition: one is an artwork by Jacob Hicks utilizing ChatGPT Artificial Intelligence, and the other is a video about deepfakes edited by the Museum team.
The new artwork by Hicks allows viewers to ask questions to a virtual magician and receive answers generated by the ChatGPT A.I. Jacob Hicks trained the ChatGPT A.I. to imagine itself as an ancient entity capable of telling the future, to be aware that it is an art project, and to be aware that Hicks wants it to present as a false persona.
From The Magician, by Jacob Hicks. Video, computer with internet connection, black electric candles, computer tablet, crystal bubble vase, table (2023).
The ChatGPT A.I. is trained to imagine itself as an ancient entity capable of telling the future, to be aware that it is an art project, and to present as a false persona.
For the deepfakes video encounter, the Museum team will regularly update a video screen titled DEEPFAKE-O-RAMA with the latest deepfakes in the political news cycle during the run of the exhibition.  
The Museum commissioned the artist Jeanette Andrews (also a professional magician) to create a new interactive work titled magi.cia.n inspired by the recently declassified CIA Manual of Trickery and Deception, written by two professional magicians. 
She created a “clean room” in the museum – an enclosed, transparent box with two holes equipped with gloves used by the viewer to flip through a blank journal that visually transforms into a magic book and then into a spy craft technical manual before one’s very eyes. 
Jeannette Andrews. Photograph by Saverio Truglia.
The installation, surrounded by black curtains, also includes a video in which Andrews oscillates between her intricate sleight-of-hand as a stage magician, and then, into a CIA agent that uses the same skills for espionage in the real world. Both of her parallel realms rely on learning secret information, rehearsing until she gets it just right, and split-second timing. 
The Illusionist, by Jose Alvarez (D.O.P.A.). Acrylic, colored pencil, ink, pastel, handmade paper, feathers, quills and collage on paper ( 2021).

Also featured is a major video artwork by Christian Jankowski titled Magic Numbers ruminating on the parallels between magic tricks and the world of finance, and the very real power of illusion; Lindsey White’s leg of the famous illusionist Harry Blackstone suspended from the ceiling; Faisal Abdu’Allah’s Duppy Conqueror II, an Afro-Caribbean conjuror spirit; Gavin Turk’s video recreation of the infamous 18th-century Mechanical Turk, a chess-playing automaton; the late Sarah Charlesworth’s entire Natural Magic suite of eleven large color photographs; a self-portrait by Alfredo Jaar dressed up as a magician; and the fantastical photographs by Stephen Berkman, where he resurrects a vanished world of imaginary characters using period photographic lenses from the 1800s and an archaic glass plate process. The Amazing Randi The exhibition also features an homage to one of the most notorious investigators of the paranormal, James Randi (a.k.a. The Amazing Randi, 1928-2020). 
Randi lived near the Boca Raton Museum with his husband and life partner of 34 years, the artist Jose Alvarez D.O.P.A. 

Randi was known for sponsoring the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge, offering one million dollars to anyone who could prove a supernatural or paranormal ability under agreed-upon scientific testing criteria. More than a thousand people applied to this challenge between 1964 and 2015, but none were successful.
Randi originally defined himself as a conjuror, and began his career as a professional stage magician and escape-artist in 1946.
In later years, he preferred to call himself a skeptical educator, and was a MacArthur Fellow "Genius Grant" winner. He maintained that magicians are honest liars because the audience is in on the deception.
The section in the Smoke and Mirrors exhibition honoring the life of The Amazing Randi includes ephemera from his storied career, including his numerous television appearances on NBC's Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and never-before-seen curiosities from Randi’s life-long collection of arcana, including his tour with the wildly theatrical 1970s rock star Alice Cooper. Two of Jose Alvarez D.O.P.A.’s magic-related paintings are featured in the exhibition.

The PBS film An Honest Liar, documented Randi’s investigations to expose charlatans. 
From the film’s PBS website: “He discovered that faith healers, fortune tellers, and psychics were using his beloved magic tricks to swindle money from the credulous. Randi devoted his life to exposing con artists with wit and over-the-top showmanship all his own."
"An acolyte of Harry Houdini, Randi became a famed magician-turned-debunker, with a series of unparalleled investigations and elaborate hoaxes. His grand schemes fooled scientists, the news media, and a gullible public, but always in service of demonstrating the importance of skepticism and the dangers of magical thinking.”
Trial by Fire by Sarah Charlesworth (Cibachrome with lacquered wood frame). ©The Estate of Sarah Charlesworth. Courtesy of Paula Cooper Gallery.

Classical Invention | Black Dog String Quartet: A Thousand Times Brighter (Independent / 28 April 2023)

Classical Invention
Black Dog String Quartet: A Thousand Times Brighter
(Independent / 28 April 2023)

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Vancouver's Black Dog String Quartet bring Western classical music and contemporary sensibilities together with dramatic flair and virtuosic technique. Contemporary vocalists add a contrasting element to the dazzling classical musicianship.

Their 2023 release A Thousand Times Brighter includes nine new compositions. 

"These songs present the quartet in an unique role: the quartet as a band, forming the energetic core of the music, with support on some tracks from upright bass, drums, and brass instruments. The composition reflects our collective interests in contemporary composition, fiddle, folk, and pop music. Recognizable pop forms are mixed with extended instrumental sections, unexpected textures, and extended string techniques. There are stylistic elements borrowed from fiddle music, contemporary classical, Romantic-period art song (especially German Lieder), contemporary folk, and Balinese gamelan.

"The album's primary thematic material is ecology and the natural world. The songs explore specific western Canadian environments such as the interior plateau, the coastal rainforest, and the prairies, as well as our human relationship with these places. Woven through this imagery is a narrative of deeply personal reflections on mental health, intimacy, and dreams."

The Black Dog String Quartet was formed in 2007, and the group has appeared on the recordings of artists such as 54-40, Marianas Trench, Bleeding Through, among others. The individual members of the quartet have performed live on stage with acts such as Rod Stewart, Kanye West, Sting, Michael Buble, Mariah Carey, The Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and Video Games Live.

All The Pretty Little Horses puts the traditional lullabye into a swell of strings that rise and fall with the words. Drums in a rapid-fire jazzy mode are the bottom layer to Two.  The effect is something like musical theatre in its dramatic intensity. In A Dream could also be in a staged production. Call it art song without the operatic style.

How I Remember It is a standout on the release, with its jazzy syncopations on bass and drums. The vocals offer a conventional song structure against the increasingly complex web of string lines. Thompson is a folk song with a lush arrangement of strings, and a story of love lost. 

Black Dog String QuartetIn Memoriam

During the production of "A Thousand Times Brighter", Black Dog String Quartet experienced a significant tragedy when their producer/engineer, Olivia Quan, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly of natural causes at just 25 years old. She had nearly finished mixing the album at the time - the final adjustments were done by her colleague, Tom Dobrzanski. 

"Olivia was a young audio engineering phenom, having already worked on multiple Juno-nominated recordings, and the BDSQ considered her a friend. We had specifically selected her to work on this project with us after having worked with her as a session quartet on multiple other artists' albums."

Olivia's colleagues and family set up the Olivia Quan Award for Audio Excellence through Music BC in her memory. The remaining fees we owed her at the time of her passing were donated to this scholarship fund for promising young engineers. "A Thousand Times Brighter" is dedicated to Olivia and the olive tree imagery on the cover is a nod to her (as the name Olivia means 'olive tree'). 

Personnel: Elyse Jacobson, violin | Molly MacKinnon, violin | John Kastelic, viola | Doug Gorkoff, cello (with John Kastelic, Chelsea Rose, and Naomi Kavka on lead vocals) 

Websites:

Official Website: blackdogstringquartet.comFacebook: facebook.com/blackdogstringquartetInstagram: instagram.com/blackdogquartet

Guitar Meets Erhu | Rock Of Asia: TAMI (Independent / June 16th 2023)

Guitar Meets Erhu
Rock Of Asia: TAMI
(Independent / June 16th 2023)

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Tokyo-based Rock Of Asia blend East and West, with a repertoire of traditional Japanese music in addition to its original and cover songs.

Nikki Matsumoto performed rock music as a pro in the United States for about 15 years before returning to Tokyo to form Rock Of Asia. The band blends Western instruments like the guitar and violin with Eastern instruments like the koto, shamisen, sho, and erhu.

The result is driving rock with an unexpected sound. Kizen Ohyama's virtuosic Shakuhachi, a Japanese bamboo flute, is a particularly lovely addition to the mix. 

The lyrics are in English, and Nikki's vocals are melodic when needed, and harsh enough for the rockier parts. Four-Legged Requiem has a jazzy edge and insistent rhythm, overlaid by layers of melody.

There are eight tracks on the album, each presenting a different face to the fusion mix. 

Sunbright turns to traditional Japanese melodies for inspiration, mixed with a bit of North American folk rock. The erhu and violin weave in and out of the Shakuhachi.

Capital In Your Vein leans into Western jazz, pop and rock with a gloss of Japanese instrumentation to make it interesting. Eastern Eyes is a standout track with a driving heart that showcases the violin as a rock instrument. 

It's an original sound that should appeal to eclectic tastes.

Official Website: rockofasia.comFacebook: www.facebook.com/rockofasia

Personnel: Nikki Matsumoto (Vocals, Biwa, Sanshin, Guitars, Bass, Programming & Percussions); Yasuhisa Murase (Acoustic Guitar）; Kizen Ohyama (Shakuhachi); Yuki Ishii (Violin)

Neoclassical Piano | Frank Clare: Admiratio Magna (Independent / January 4, 2023)

Neoclassical Piano
Frank Clare: Admiratio Magna
(Independent / January 4, 2023) 

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Neoclassical musician and composer Frank Clare delivers his debut album Admiratio Magna. It's inspired by Clare's appreciation for 19th century classical music, as well as his love of philosophy, science, and mindfulness, as he explains in a statement.

"I started piano at a late age, 15, and was never good at playing other people's music. But I loved music and wanted to play, so I started composing."

The music of the 19th century spans classicism and romanticism, and Clare's style adds the sensibility of a minimalist - only as many notes as are required for the effect. 

"Admiratio Magna is Latin for The Big Surprise. What blows me away is that anything exists at all. Matter. You, me. Washing machines.The Grand Canyon, the Milky Way. Chocolate croissants. Anything. Everything. The Big Surprise. From nothing to everything and back again. Admiratio Magna.".

It's an interesting premise, and results in a very contemporary expression. Patterns and snippets of melody and pure tone weave together with an eclectic sensibility. Clare leads the listener into his compositions with a skilful sense of structure - so skilful that it seems nonchalant. 

"I use notes to make music.  I also use notes to make space to dream in. 

"Part One, Vox Intus Omnia is Latin for The Voice Behind Everything. It's inner, still, heartbeat and breath. The space between heartbeat and breath.  The verge.  

"Part Two, La Grande Sorpresa is inspired by Italian opera: melodramatic, rhapsodic and grand. It's ignition, excitement, catastrophe, and what's left after there's nothing left.  

"Part Three, Apotheosis, starts with L'Extase, influenced by French music, creativity, frivolity, individuality, the battle between fun and responsibility, re-creation and the pure joy of being alive.  Die Apotheose is culmination, transformation, transfiguration.  Inspired by German classical music, it's foreboding, dramatic, apocalyptic, apotheotic.  Goodbye Hello brings us back to just after the end and just before the beginning."

The seven tracks should please fans of relaxing and meditative piano music and contemporary neoclassical in general.

Websites: 

Official Website: https://www.frankclare.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100012297945488 Instagram: Frank Clare 

Multi-layered Instrumental Music | MVI (Mark Vickness Interconnected): In The Rain Shadow (Independent / May 15, 2023)

Multi-layered Instrumental Music
MVI (Mark Vickness Interconnected): In The Rain Shadow
(Independent / May 15, 2023)

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MVI, or Mark Vickness Interconnected, is a project of invention for the titular acoustic guitar virtuoso. On In The Rain Shadow, the collective has produced a multi-layered concept album of instrumental music.

"Most of the music on In The Rain Shadow takes its inspiration from moving to the high desert (California's Owens Valley) in late 2020. We live literally in the rain shadow, which is a meteorological term meaning on the sheltered side of a mountain range where there is less precipitation because of the wind patterns. 

"Most of the titles on this recording are taken from geological or meteorological features we experience daily. These compositions are intended to reflect a new appreciation for the opportunity to absorb the wonders of living in the rain shadow. It is humbling, awesome, peaceful, thrilling, tranquil and beautiful."

The nine tracks are named after the natural surroundings - The Gorge, Alluvial Fans, Roadrunner. The instrumentation is lush and subtly intertwines the various voices. Each gets a chance to shine within the mix.

The mood is generally upbeat, from the speedy rhythms of folky High Desert to the jazzy groove of The Gorge and gentle flow of Alluvial Fans. There are many different elements in the music.

The ensemble has grown to become a 7-member collective, each bringing varied influences to the music, from jazz to progressive rock to classical and more.

MVI Interconnected

"MVI is intended to reflect musically the idea that we are all part of one incredibly diverse human family. As a composer, this is my dream ensemble. Each musician is an accomplished soloist adept at many different types of music. They all bring an astounding breadth and depth of musical understanding and experience. 

"There is almost no style of music we cannot draw from. We have a classical trio (violin, cello, oboe), a jazz quartet, percussion instruments from almost every continent and virtuoso players capable of playing pretty much anything I put in front of them from funk to raga style improvisation, from interwoven counterpoint to rock power chords, from a fast Irish 12/8 romp to an ambient textural tapestry and more – they do it all with ease and with an infectious energy that is palpable on every track. I could not be more grateful to be able to work with these remarkable musicians!"

Stillness (for Will) is a standout track. Its meditative opening gives way to a vibrant polyrhythm underneath a soaring solos by the oboe and violin. 

After early training at the piano, Mark switched to acoustic fingerstyle guitar, and from performer to composer. He holds bachelors and masters degress in composition, and has studied classical piano, guitar, sitar, and tabla. Along with many years as a performer, he's composed film and dance scores.

The album should please fans of classical music, jazz and global jazz, and and fusions thereof.

Personnel: Mark Vickness/guitar; Mads Tolling/violin; Matt Renzi/winds; Joseph Hebert/cello; Dan Feiszli/bass; Ty Burhoe/tabla; MB Gordy/percussion

Online:

Websites: www.markvickness.comOfficial Website: www.markvickness.comFacebook: www.facebook.com/mark.vickness/Instagram: mvi_interconnected

The release has included a series of live HD videos.