Canyon Candy

Canyon Candy is a site-specific installation and immersive soundscape bringing to life a Western-themed music video collaboration between filmmaker Mike Anderson and the band Javelin. Canyon Candy features the debut screening of a 16-minute film of the same title by Mike Anderson, the result of a year-long collaboration between the artist and the band Javelin. Spaghetti westerns, cowboy fashion, and the sights and sounds of the Wild West inspired the band to create a themed song suite released on 7-inch vinyl. Anderson's installation at the Clocktower transports the viewer into the set of the film through a sprawling installation in the Main Gallery. Beginning with an entrance through a wind-washed cabin, followed by a winding walk in the canyon’s termite hills and cactus fields, visitors will encounter coyotes, campsites, big sky, and vignette sequences from the film. All paths lead to a saloon-style theater space featuring the full Canyon Candyfilm – the ideal cowboy den after a long walk through the canyon, complete with strawbale seating, gingham tablecloths, and sasparilla. Javelin has created a multi-channel surround-sound environment embedded in Anderson’s installation, both recreating the film's ambiance and animating the canyon’s vistas through sound effects including crickets, howling winds, and yodeling.

"It’s not often that you experience a film before you get the chance to watch it, but Art International Radio’s immersive exhibit Canyon Candy, walks you through scene after scene of giant flowering cacti emerging from dead bodies, before it spits you out at a wide-open theater space, where you can watch the action that caused the cacti reincarnation in the first place." - Lindsey Davis for Woman Around Town Organized by Alanna Heiss, Curator; Joe Ahearn, Director of Installation, and David Weinstein, Producer. Led by George Langford and Tom Van Buskirk, Javelin is a Brooklyn-based music, audio art, and visual art duo that has toured internationally at numerous venues and art institutions, including the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum. Signed to David Byrne’s record label Luaka Bop in 2010, Javelin has since released the critically acclaimed album No Mas. Javelin are best known as natural improvisers who are able to turn field-recorded and found sound samples into catchy melodies that are both dance songs and audio art. Mike Anderson is a Brooklyn-based filmmaker and producer. Since his graduation from the Rhode Island School of Design, he has produced many films and music videos and collaborated with bands including Javelin, Callers, and Balmorhea. His work has been screened in numerous art, music, and film festivals including the Triple Threat Film Festival hosted simultaneously in Sydney, Berlin, and New York, as well as the Newport Folk Festival.

Living Live: The Art of the Soundtrack

Devon E Levins of Morricone Youth (East Village Radio) and Fabio Roberti of Strength Through Failure (WFMU Radio) talk soundtrack history, technique, gossip, and treasure hunting followed by 2+ hours of amazing scores they picked specially for us. The Clocktower's David Weinstein and Jeannie Hopper co-host with artist Peter Coffin who co-curated this radio series as part of his Living exhibition at Red Bull Studios in the summer of 2014. Radio veterans Levins and Roberti are experienced chroniclers and analysts of film scores and film lore with encyclopedic knowledge and terrific collections. They discuss historic trends in the field, handpick winners and losers and assess the current scene. The conversation is followed by an eclectic music selection tilting toward the more obscure work and including the greats. Here is the astounding list of tracks on this program: Opening: Stu Phillips and the Sandpipers - Beyond the Valley of the Dolls - S/T Prelude: Javelin - Canyon Candy - Luakabop Fabio Roberti: Kunihiko Murai - Yajugari M-14 - Hanzo the Razor Leonard Rosenmen - March of the Apes - Beneath the Planet of the Apes Jean-Pierre Mirouze - Tivoli by Night - Le Marriage Collectif Piero Piccioni - Charms - Camille 2000 Walter Kubiczeck - Tentakel - Das Unisichtbare Visier