November 22, 2007
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November 20, 2007
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November 19, 2007
Max Eastley @ Pritzker Pavilion
As part of the Chicago Humanities Festival (which ran from Oct 27 through Nov 11) Max Eastley provided live accompaniment to a video he worked on with David Buckland called Artic . Using a the homemade monochord electo-acoustic instrument called simply “Arc” he created haunting all encompassing drones that mixed well with the sound and vision of ships and icebergs in the high artic.
If you are like I was about a week ago you maybe asking “who is Max Eastley?” I have to say that for all the ambient music I listen to and read about I am not sure how he slipped under my radar. Plainly put he is one of the masters of ambient electro-accoustic music. A painter and sound sculptor (see youtube for some examples) he apparently started out making music on Eno’s Obscure Music and has since continued to refine and perfect his sound.
You may now be asking yourself “how is one a master of ambient music?” This is where the importance of seeing live music comes in. Watching Eastley tease the sounds out of this monochord so effortlessly and with such freedom was impressive. Never was it too loud or too soft, neither were there tones picked that clashed with the video or its self contained soundtrack. He looked neither frantic but rather one with both the video and the instrument. It was a tough call figuring out his delicate balance. At times, I would watch him perform only to remind myself that I should watch the video and vice versa.
The video itself was somewhat interesting. Juxtaposing footage of scenic and sprawling arctic ice flows with words that stabbed at the heart of American consumerism and carelessness, the video was fairly engaging for its duration. The only other thing that was superimposed over the footage was the image of a naked pregnant woman walking. For most of the film I was confused by the meaning of this but afterwards while thinking about the piece as a whole it started to make sense. I will save my interpretations for a later date, but I welcome anyone else who saw the piece to chime in with her/his 2¢. The raw footage was taken during one of three expeditions that Cape Farewell has led into the high arctic. The purpose of this organization is to:bring artists, scientists and educators together to collectively address and raise awareness about climate change.The video and soundtrack are only one of the many pieces of art to come from these trips.
Overall, this was a unique was to spend a saturday evening outside. Its great that the city sponsors events like this. It was fitting that it shown ourdoors, even though Chicago in mid-November is nowhere near as cold as the artic. The snap in the air completed the ambiance.
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November 18, 2007
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November 9, 2007
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November 5, 2007
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