New Musical Instruments

On April 12, 2012 at The Clocktower Gallery, artist Eve Essex and Clocktower Gallery Director Alanna Heiss gathered a group of music enthusiasts from different backgrounds and experiences together for casual but topical discussion on the evolving art of instrument building and how design can open, automate, or constrain the sounds created.

Participants:

Mika Taanila, Finnish filmmaker and artist, directed "The Future Is Not What It Used To Be" a documentary film about Erkki Kurenniemi.

Patrick Noeker, formerly of the bands Liars, These are Powers and n0 things, has explored his solo project persona RAFT since 2002, and demonstrates his custom adapted electric guitar in this segment.

Leslie Ross, performer, sound-installation artist, bassoonist and instrument-maker, has been exploring and experimenting with sound for over 25 years and gives a demonstration on this program.

Annie O’Hayon curates a music series at the Standard East village nad is an event curator and planner of media strategies for a wide variety of entertainment companies and not-for-profit foundations.

Also on hand and participating from the sidelines were musician Brian Kelly, composer/performer Sabisha Friedberg, arts patron Amy Guttman, and Clocktower staff members Joe Ahearn, Beatrice Johnson, and David Weinstein.

Some questions addressed in this conversation include
Does technology extend virtuosity?
Can you design an instrument with a correct or ideal use in mind?
Do new instruments result in primitive uses of language?
Can new instruments accelerate the invention of new forms of music?

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