Art

Visionaire 53: Sound
A portable record player with over 100 minutes of sound on 5 12" vinyl record picture discs and 2 CDs

Visionaire 53. SOUND consists of five 12-inch vinyl records, imprinted with images (picture discs), containing approximately 100 minutes of sound content featuring audio experiments, unreleased songs, samples, and spoken word pieces. The 5 records are packaged inside a domed case that also houses a custom-made MINI Clubman "Vinyl Killer" Record Player: a battery-operated toy car containing speakers and a needle. As the little car drives along the record's groove, it plays each track, acting as a fully portable record player and sound system. The issue also includes 2 CD's with all the sound content, and a booklet of credits and instructions. Sound is a limited edition of 4,000 numbered copies and retails for a starting price of $250. However SOUND is included in a standard subscription to Visionaire at no additional cost.

Contributors include:
Musicians David Byrne, U2, Michael Stipe, Courtney Love, Liza Minelli, Laurie Anderson, Cat Power, Adrock, Lee Ranaldo, Antony & the Johnsons, Thurston Moore & Kim Gordon (Sonic Youth), Malcolm McLaren, Ryuichi Sakamoto, David Sylvian, Andrew WK, Danger Mouse; Artists Yoko Ono, Cerith Wyn Evans, Helmut Lang, Christian Marclay, Doug Aitken, Robert Wilson, Gary Hill, Sylvie Fleury, Vito Acconci, Mariko Mori, Carl Michael Von Hausswolff; Bands The Knife, Littl'ans, Unkle, Animal Collective, SunnO))), Gang Gang Dance; DJ's Paul D. Miller (DJ Spooky), miss kittin, Trevor Jackson, Towa Tei, Nigo, Hiroshi Fujiwara; Fashion designers Karl Lagerfeld, Alexander McQueen, Stefano Pilati; and many more...including Duncan Laurie and Nalepa.

http://www.visionaireworld.com/sound/

Video of the Shadow Show opening is now avaible. Click the thumbnail below.

Other coverage and reviews of the show on the web are available on the Connecticut Art Scene blog and on courant.com.

Gordon and I powered up yesterday for a long trek across back road Rhode Island & Connecticut to Hartford for the opening of The Shadow Show at Real Art Ways. It featured our first attempt at multi-media art: "ROCKSTAR" (accomplished only with Aerostatic's profound help in music and videography!) Rockstar is a short demonstration of how an ordinary piece of granite capable of producing a self-generated petro-voltaic charge can be used to summon a video and sonic representation of considerable visual complexity and sonic appeal. The over riding intent of the work is to illustrate the capacity of Nature, even in one of its most modest forms, i.e. a small piece of rock, to be capable of profound interaction with people and the environment.

This event was Gordon's first ever experience of being considered an artist in an art show! His name was right there in 4 inch letters at the door!

We were not disappointed in the least in the display. Real Art Ways, was located in a large industrial building in a run down section of Hartford, but sported a huge gallery/performance space with a first class staff. ROCKSTAR had its own dedicated gallery/theater, with a few chairs placed in front of a 10x15 ft. screen, with the rock itself spot lit in the back against the wall. The viewing room was entered through dark curtains. The video resolution and sound rendering was excellent. (We had never seen it above computer screen resolution before!) People seemed to thoroughly enjoy the presentation and actually understand the subject matter! Nature & Aerostatic & Masahiro were properly credited. An opportunity for a live performance with Aerostatic in the future looked promising!

The show itself had three other galleries of mainly well thought out artworks, including three other excellent multi-media pieces. Two performances were held that evening, one, a dance, in our sponsor Liz Keithline's exhibition of hanging wire form sculptures. The sculptures cast delicate shadow forms against three walls, which interacted as shadows with the dancer as she swept through them. The other was a music and poetry event in the gallery cafe. The show was surprisingly well attended, with people still arriving at 8PM when we left. Real Art Ways is a very good place to consider any group multi-media art event.

October 27 - February 3, 2008
Opening Reception Saturday, October 27, 6-8pm

Real Art Ways
56 Arbor St
Hartford, CT 06106

Shadow Show includes work by 16 artists, many from Providence, Rhode Island, and others from Connecticut and New York. The exhibition will explore a range of associations with the word and idea of "shadow." Included will be work in which physical shadows either play an integral part, or the ideas of shadow, as in tail, trace, surveillance, mystery, memory and longing, are explored. The exhibition will work on multiple levels, addressing visual mystery, but also hidden systems in society.

Co-curated by Rhode Island artist Elizabeth Keithline, who originated the idea, and Real Art Ways' Director of Visual Arts, Kristina Newman-Scott, Shadow Show includes painting, sculpture, video, new media, installation, and performance art.

Duncan will screen Rockstar, a short film created in collaboration with Aerostatic.

For more information on the Shadow Show, visit the visual arts page at Real Art Ways.