formalismus

http://www.swingr.be.tt/

I found this while browsing through Swingr's archive of curatorial projects.

awkward exchange

My downstairs neighbor likes to jam the late 90's idm classics. I like walking into the building and hear matmos, aphex, boc, and sometimes kraftwerk. I've been intending to make a mix cd for him because he seemed to have a decent taste in music. So when I found out he was moving, I put a mix together and went downstairs to give it to him. What followed was a very strange transaction. I knocked on the door and he yelled 'who is it?'. I answered its Cole and he repeated 'who is it?' again i stated my name and again he asked who was there and then i wondered if he knew my name and became confused at this increased security measure, so I said 'I'm your neighbor', when i should have said something about living upstairs. We say hi and whatever but never talk at length, but it still surprised me he was this cautious. Finally he opened the door and all I could say was "I made you a mix cd", and his tone flipped into a gay "thats so sweet of you, is it a going away present?" I said yes and it was for Florida and left that awkward scene.

almost cool

Yall read alot of music reviews? I do. If you're tired of pitchfork check out almostcool.org and tinymixtapes.com.
I just spent some time reading almost cool, which is one guy writing about maybe 4 albums a week. So far I trust his judgement, we'll see what happens when I listen to more.

installation view

domestic firefly at Lowlevel Vision
http://www.roxanehopper.com/KKCP.php

installation shot at Low Level Vision

2 channel video installation

zillions album artwork

linoleum cut print on brown paper bag, edition of 35


screen print on cd

zillions

ballpoint pen, marker, tap water, rain water
5" x 7"

firefly

video still, domestic firefly installation

about Domestic Firefly

I'm showing a 2 channel video installation Roxane's basement, aka Low Level Vision aka Vega Estates. We tested it yesterday and it was more intense than I expected. The first video plays for 4 minutes, then is off for 4 minutes. It looks like a shifty op art painting, but is actually a car window sun shade thing for kids. I shot it up close with a wide angle lens to suggest a spacial perspective. The original idea was to create something so optically disorienting that it becomes a visceral sensation. I think this is one tactic to locate the limits of our cognition. I've been into contradictions between the abstract and pragmatic, conceptual and visceral. The juxtopositions experienced are something of an everyday epiphany.

The soundtrack for this video is the first real song i've made. For the most part it is gentle and harmonic, a slow lulling rhythm of hums, whistles, ticks and tones. It subtly increases the hypnotic effect of the imagery. Not that it matters, but I think it is fitting that the source material for the song was a recording of a toy top. I say it doesn't matter because the material is manipulated beyond recognition. However, I find a spinning top to have a fitting relation to the notion of locating the limits of cognition. The 2nd video loops consistently in the space behind the window shade video. It is a field of fireflies shot in rural Iowa. It is very dark but you can barely make out a landscape. The soundtrack is also from this nighttime nature scene, a sometimes melody sometimes cacophony of crickets, sacadas (sp), and 5 species of frogs. The low end of this sound is tweaked in order to add a droning bass of creapiness. Its beautifully unsettling. I'm also giving away about 35 copies of an ambient mix-cd. The cd's are screenprinted and the brown-bag cases and inserts are linoleum cut prints. I'll try to make it available to download. Anyone know how to upload an mp3? or a zip file?

Email me if you want a copy.

Repost from Steve Nyktus
"Cole Pierce has been giving away mixed cd's since 2004. He collects music, burns a mix, decorates a case, and leaves small stacks in public.
There's something about creating a mix cd that is intensely personal, even romantic. It's the kind of thing a person usually does for a close friend, family member, or significant other. That someone would do this on a public scale is curious. In the moment when the mixed album is given away, something personal is shared. Taste is perhaps one of the most intimate ways to identify someone and giving someone a collection like this is a way of revealing that hidden identity. A person might be attracted to the idea of a free cd, but the opportunity to take home a piece of a stranger's life may be more compelling. Yet this is also a very anonymous gift. There is no special thread that pre-exists before the cd is given, or taken. It's still a curiousity as to whether the free mixed cd creates this bond or only further emphasizes its absence."

Vega Estates Presents

Join us for our fourth installment Saturday, September 8th, 6-10pm.

In the Garage: The Addition
Kissing Sisyphus by Kelly Kaczynski

In the Basement: Low-level Vision
Domestic Firefly by Cole Pierce

Next up and last show of the series!!!: Steve Reinke and Selina Trepp, October 13, 6-10pm.

Join us this Saturday as we also celebrate Kelly Kaczynski's birthday!

The Addition and Low-Level Vision, located in the garage and basement of 723 West 16th Street, are a series of one-night only exhibitions featuring Chicago artists. The events will take place on the 2nd Saturday of each month from June through October.

http://www.roxanehopper.com/vegaestates.php

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Vega Estates
Roxane Hopper and Julie Rudder
723 West 16th St.
Chicago, IL 60616
(773) 852-9665
(336) 577-3276