Had the pleasure of interviewing Gary James Joynes (AKA Clinker), multidisciplinary artist and musician, for the New Music Edmonton podcast “The NO Normal” recently.
It was a really lovely opportunity to talk to Gary about his work – both new and older – and catch up with him about some ideas and influences we share in our respective practices.
The No Normal podcast is now available on Soundcloud and wherever else podcasts are available.
The first episode of 2021 features some great discussions and music. Ian Crutchley, New Music Edmonton Artistic Director, discusses a wide range of topics with the incoming Artistic Directors of New Works Calgary, Rebecca Bruton and Lesley Hinger. They also share some of their own music with us. The second part of this episode is the interview/conversation between me and Gary. There’s also a sneak peak of some of Gary’s forthcoming work, and discussion of his new piece Sonic Suns (((GENESIS))) commissioned by New Music Edmonton, and available on Vimeo.
Give it a listen – The No Normal Podcast has had a great line up so far – lots of interesting ideas and projects!
It’s a VERY odd time to be presenting work to the public – but I am so happy with all the precautions SNAP has in place, and so very happy to sew showing work in their BRAND NEW home!
There’s several things going on for this iteration of MACROMAREAL. Both Scott and I have re-worked existing elements of the project, and I have been busy since the last time this work was shown making a bunch of new prints! So, brand new work for us in a new space – how lucky can you get??
The exhibition will be opening on the evening of September 11, from 7 – 9 pm. This will be a hybrid event: SNAP is pre-booking (free) tickets to see the show in person, and limiting the number of people in the gallery at one time, so that everyone can stay safe AND see the art in person. We will also be online – Scott & I are attending the Opening virtually, so more people can see the work in person if they want to – and anyone else who wants to attend virtually is welcome to do so as well!
Fundy Sine, Cyanotype on Cotton, 2017.
There will also be a socially-distanced LIVE performance of Scott Smallwood’s score “Macromareal Prelude: in Fog and Storm and Sunshine” on Saturday September 12, at 1:00 pm local time, in the immediate neighbourhood of SNAP, outsdoors. We are both extremely happy to be able to work with some excellent local Edmonton musicians for this event, and to be able to present this work live in a safe way. This is a ‘roving’ performance work; the musicians will be moving in the neighbourhood as they play, and will be distanced; we ask that anyone attending keep 2metres or more from any musician(s) they encounter, and PLEASE wear a MASK!
Dress rehearsal for the original performance of Scott’s score in 2017, Parrsboro NS
Scott and I will also be presenting an artists’ talk about the genesis and evolution of the project on Saturday, October 10th, again at 1pm local time. This talk will be presented online.
A collage of various elements of the project as it evolved
And for some added fun: I will be facilitating a cyanotype workshop/demo online for SNAP on Thursday September 17, starting at 6pm.
Caution, Cyanotype on Cotton, 2019
Looking forward to all of this very much – and hope that you can join us for some of it.
Deeply grateful for the serendipity that brought me to this series of video works today.
Especially grateful for this work by Sally Morgan and Lou Sheppard, and Kinetic Studio for the series. So much of the threads of thought and feeling I (and I am sure many, many others) have been experiencing over the last months are encapsulated here.
It’s been head down and ‘getter done’ lately on a number of fronts, and so writing her has fallen by the wayside for a while.
In any case, in the midst of getting various jobs finished in the studio and elsewhere, I received a lovely thing in the mail:
The latest issue of Musicworks, with a great article by Ian Crutchley
It’s always a bit of a thrill for me to see the work of my collaborators & friends showcased – and this article about Scott Smallwood‘s work is well written and wide-ranging.
It’s also really lovely that Ian contacted me for comments fo the article, and that he wound up including some information and pictures from Macromareal – my first collaboration with Scott. Timing was more than fortuitous, as Macromareal (redux) had just closed at the ~Diffuser Gallery at Emily Carr.
A nice moment to look back on the work we did, and a great collaboration – in the midst of working on several things, and looking forward to new adventures.
Happy to say that the video work I did in collaboration with Deborah Carruthers – Slippages & Panelled/Slippages – is in a Group Exhibition at Zygote Gallery in Cleveland OH. Capturing the Aura of the Already Said, curated by Margaret Hart, is on exhibition until April 26th.
An Excerpt of the performance video with synched audio below:
UBC Symphony Orchestra performs Deborah Carruthers’ “slippages” from UBC School of Music on Vimeo.
Here’s a video of the performance of Slippages, edited by Jonathan Girard to show the relationship between the Graphic Score written by Deborah Carruthers & the performance the audience heard.
It was great to be involved in this project; my thanks to Deborah, Jonathan, and John William for being such great collaborators, and for welcoming me in to this project!
If you would like more background on this project, see the blog posts here>, here>, here>, and here> – and the project page HERE>
It’s going to be a really interesting few days, and I am looking forward to meeting the other participants and talking with them about discipline-bridging work. I’ve long held the belief that the ‘divide’ between art & science as disciplines is false and limiting – which is not to say that there aren’t real challenges to be faced when working this way.
But there are so many rich opportunities to be had for artists to stretch themselves and learn to ‘speak science’ a bit better, and pay attention to the precision in research & practice in that discipline – just as there are for scientists to learn how to ‘speak art’ a bit better and open up the potential for co-creation, and approaching their work with fresh eyes (and ears!)
Back in Edmonton now, doing some post-performance and post-Thanksgiving work: the “get yer ducks in a row” for the next work to be done.
Much to be thankful for, as always – being able to make work with talented collaborators, the opportunity to share ideas and approaches here and in person, the tremendous support I receive from my family and friends (without whom none of this would be possible).
So – a brief moment to take stock, and to share a link to the video of the performance shot for Livestream on October 5th.
Click on the IMAGE BELOW to go to the UBC School of Music’s video:
Here’s a great little interview with Jonathan Girard and Deborah Carruthers about Slippages,and some of the thinking behind the work! Getting very very excited to see this all come together tomorrow. Enjoy!
I am delighted to share UBC Orchestra Director Jonathan Girard‘s take on what we are doing:
“Deborah’s gorgeous score presents a thrilling challenge. How do we, as musicians, interpret visual art?” explained Girard.
“We want the music to speak to the cool beauty of the work, but also the ideas behind it: of flux, of change, of loss. Just as the natural world has a life of its own, a kind of agency apart from human influence, we want the music, through improvisation, to have a life of its own that goes above and beyond the performers.”
