I CARE IF YOU LISTEN

5 questions to Kevin James (composer)

Composer Kevin James will be presenting a Cage related project (modelled on Cage’s own 49 Waltzes for the Five Boroughs), 100 Waltzes for John Cage at the DiMenna Center for Classical Music from August 21, to the 23rd. He kindly took some time to answer 5 questions about it…

What is 100 Waltzes for John Cage?

100 Waltzes for John Cage is an homage written on the centennial of this iconic figure, and it is a tenderly rendered postcard to him from the city he loved so much. More specifically 100 Waltzes for John Cage is a randomly-evolving soundscape made up of 9 transient iPad-equipped musicians, 100 waltzes, quad speakers & audio from 147 New York City locations in a sublime expression of “the 10,000 things”.

OK, so let’s break that down a little. Cage actually didn’t like the word “random”. He preferred “indeterminacy” and “chance operations”. But we’ve got these nine musicians with ipads (that’s three trios worth). And on their ipads are slides with fragments of music from 100 different waltzes. (The fragments were chosen using chance operations of the i-ching – it involves zillions of coin tosses. We did it using a computer). So before the slides were made, the i-ching determined the page number, bar number, staff number, and number of bars to be included. Here’s where we get to the “random” part – the slide show on the ipad is controlled by a randomizing algorithm (I swear I didn’t make that word up) which determines how long that particular slide remains visible to the individual musician and the order that the slides appear.

Kevin James on a field recording trip to Time Square

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Phil Kline’s dreamcitynine at Lincoln Center Out of Doors

“Composer Phil Kline (Unsilent Night) draws upon the words and voices of Jim Jarmusch, Philip Glass, Meredith Monk, Bill T. Jones, Susie Ibarra, and Nona Hendryx, among sixty writers, artists, and musicians, for a GPS-based work inspired by Indeterminacy, Cage’s collection of one-minute epiphanies. This special event features percussionists dispersed throughout Lincoln Center’s Hearst Plaza in a live world-premiere performance of Phil Kline’s dreamcitynine.”

Commissioned by Lincoln Center Out of Doors.

Embedding is cool. Crediting is really cool.

Video + Editing: Thomas Deneuville
Opening animation: Daniel Thompson at DTWebart (http://www.dtwebart.com)

Hanging out with Florent Ghys | Hang #5

Fifth installment in our Hang video series: Florent Ghys.

Florent Ghys is a composer and upright bass player from Bordeaux, France. He studied ethno-musicology with a focus on Arabic contemporary music in Université de Bordeaux 3, and classical contrabass in Paris with Thierry Barbé. He is currently a graduate student at New York University, studying composition with Julia Wolfe.

WNYC’s John Schaefer recently said about Florent Ghys that he “creates a kind of post-minimalist chamber music using unusual phasing and overdubbing.”  Florent received us in his Bed-Stuy apartment in Brooklyn and performed Nappe Brodée.

Florent’s new ensemble Bonjour is having its debut concert on May 26, as part of Kathleen Supove’s Music with a View at the Flea Theater in Tribeca. And it’s free. And you should go.

Embedding is cool. Crediting is really cool.

Video + Editing + Translation: Thomas Deneuville
Opening animation: Daniel Thompson at DTWebart (http://www.dtwebart.com)

© 2012 I Care if You Listen

5 questions to Katherine Knight (Painter)

Two weeks ago I was in Solomons, MD (my girlfriend had an art opening for a group show of portraits) where I met Katherine Knight, a Washington DC based painter. We started talking about craft and technology and she had to be interviewed on these pages…

During our conversation you mentioned using your iPhone in your creative process/practice. Can you tell me how? Do you consider getting an iPad?

It’s becoming a cliché, but I would say that my iPhone has completely changed my life; particularly the way I conduct research for my studio. Prior to the iPhone, my research tools consisted of my digital camera for taking reference photos, a sketchbook for studies and compositional ideas, my computer for internet research and Photoshop (which I’d use to compose some of the more complicated paintings), a Wacom tablet and drawing stylus, color media (watercolor, gouache, or acrylic paint) for color studies, and various different types of paper for specific tasks. Now I can do all of that on my iPhone. I’ve given up a little in quality- the camera is not as good, and the drawings are a bit clumsy, but it’s certainly sufficient for research, and I’ve gained so much in flexibility. Plus I think the technology is only going to improve. I don’t have to carry as much stuff around with me anymore, and I spend a lot less time at my desk. Before, I would have to consciously put on my Artist Hat. I’d have to think ‘I’m going to the zoo today, better take the camera in case I see something I want to use’. The iPhone is with me all the time, and allows me to easily take my research with me wherever I go, without forethought.  I never used to be one of those artists doing sketches all the time out in public. What interests me most is color, and it’s quite a hassle (and sometimes prohibitively messy) to carry color media around with you- even if it’s only colored pencils. The very first thing I did with my iPhone was download a drawing app (ArtStudio), and now I can do color studies absolutely anywhere. I’ve drawn on the Metro between stops, in the car on road-trips, in class while my students are working, even at night in the dark. I can work in full color in museums, directly in front of the paintings- it’s amazing. I’m becoming much more fluent with color, which is helpful when I’m back in front of my easel.

As for the iPad, I caved! My husband and I just bought one to share (which is difficult, but we’re managing). It is a MUCH more advanced machine, and having the bigger screen makes it much easier to work with. But because of its size it’s still not quite as spontaneous as the iPhone. I’m looking forward to having it in class, in museums, and on trips. Ultimately I think it will be nice to have both.

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