January 20, 2004
William Basinski
Wednesday 18th February 2004
Doors 7.30pm
The Horse Hospital is honoured to present
The Anatomy of Melancholy
a concert by
WILLIAM BASINSKI
with special guest, James Elaine
plus UK premiere screening of Melancholia ( Basinski / Elaine ) super8/video 3.5m, 2003.
William James Basinski
William Basinski is a musician, composer, auteur who has worked in experimental media for over twenty years in NYC, expanding the boundaries of the aural landscape. A classically trained clarinetist, he studied jazz saxophone and composition at North Texas State University in the late 70’s. In 1978, inspired by minimalists such as Steve Reich and Brian Eno, he
began developing his own vocabulary using tape loops and old reel to reel tape decks. He developed his meditative, melancholy style experimenting with short
looped melodies played against themselves creating feedback loops. His early studies with piano and tape, from 1980 –82, Variations: A Movement in Chrome Primitive, will be released in September 2002 for the first time on David Tibet’s London label, Durtro.
In 1982, he began experimenting with pulling sound from the airwaves. By sampling short melodies from Muzak radio onto tape loops of varying lengths,
slowing them down, and mixing them together with a symphony of shortwave radio static in real time, he created his Shortwave Music series. A selection of
these pieces was released to critical acclaim in 1998 by Carsten Nicolai’s German avant-garde label, Noton.
The culmination of these studies, the 1983 masterwork, The River, a 90-minute "music of the spheres" will be released on Raster-Noton in May 2002. Using current available cheap technology, Basinski created an "instant" 90 minute video for The River, by running the music through the audio-visualizer program, ArKaos that came with his Apple Powerbook, videotaping the animation off the screen and editing in I-movie.
During the early eighties in NYC, Basinski performed extensively on the saxophone with tape accompaniment. His ecstatic, earthy and cascading style on the tenor saxophone evokes John Coltrane, Gato Barbieri, the sound of the harmonica, or electric guitar, screeching pterodactyls, runaway freight trains. He performed and created installations throughout NYC, at legendary NY art spaces and venues such as Fashion Moda, Just above Midtown/Downtown, The Franklin Furnace, PS122, PS1, The Mudd Club, Danceteria, Exit Art, Thread Waxing Space, BACA, The World Trade Center Plaza for LMCC. Creative Time sponsored a two-night sold-out performance in 1985 at Art in the Anchorage, entitled Flesh Winter, with a set by James Elaine. In Flesh Winter, Basinski performed on the saxophones as a lonely Pan in a post-apocalyptic world of chaos inhabited only by decaying taxidermied animals, dead trees, broken televisions, smoke, fire and the ominous taped background music evoking a world crashing slowly to an end.
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Mr. Basinski lent his formidable saxophone chops to collaborations with numerous bands in NYC, most notably a ten-year stint with the thundering,
avant-garde big band Gretchen Langheld Ensemble, later known as House Afire. As a featured soloist with House Afire, he performed at Art on the Beach with TODT, as well as at The Knitting Factory, Town Hall, Lincoln Center, MOMA to name a few notables. House Afire toured Japan in 1990 to sold-out houses of
enthusiastic avant-jazz fans.
In 1989, after moving from downtown Brooklyn to Williamsburg, Basinski began producing underground music and performance events at his loft, which became known as Arcadia. For eight years, Basinski curated and produced seasonal series’ of performances and events featuring young talent as well as some NYC
legends such as Diamanda Galas and Shelly Hirsch.
Arcadia quickly became known through word-of-mouth as a Gothic wonderworld where beauty and mystery were allowed to develop, and became one of the cornerstones of Williamsburg’s burgeoning art scene. Soon articles in New York Magazine and The Village Voice were proclaiming Williamsburg as "the New Bohemia". Throughout the Nineties, Basinski performed his work in this environment. His haunting song-cycle, Hymns of Oblivion , with obscure, psychedelic lyrics by Jennifer Jaffe of TODT, was developed here over
numerous performances to spellbound audiences. Carle VP Groome likened him to "…a New-Age Sinatra" in DOWNTOWN Magazine after seeing one such performance. As with much of Basinski’s music, in Arcadia, time stops, shifts, slows down, speeds up, enabling the visitor to experience an internal landscape of emotion, beauty, melancholy, timelessness.
Arcadia, featured in the Winter 2000-1 Nest Magazine, is now open to the public on weekends as The Arcadia Collection, a museum of life as art, the latest NYC
roadside attraction, featuring the work of William Basinski , James Elaine, Roger Justice, Maxine Clement and other "outsiders".
After a three-year detour in the music industry producing young bands on a national level, Basinski retired to Arcadia to pursue his own experiments again
and in 1997 began a three-year performance-art experiment in "Beautifying America". Always stylish and with an amazing sense of aesthetics and
decoration, Basinski opened a retail boutique on Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg, called Lady Bird.
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Named after the renowned Texas horticulturist, and with a mission derived from her theme as First Lady, Basinski opened a trendy boutique selling select
vintage and local designer furniture, housewares and clothes. A real retail establishment, Basinski presided over Lady Bird as designer, merchandiser,
window dresser, bookkeeper, as well as stylist, buyer, DJ and cashier.
The windows were a major attraction in Williamsburg, and the shop was written up in numerous style, travel and fashion magazines such as
PAPER, Time Out, New York Magazine, Italian Glamour,
Harpers Bazaar, and The New York Times. Lady Bird was again a cornerstone of the revival of Bedford Avenue, and of Williamsburg in general as a destination. Ebay, Antiques Roadshow, the stock market crash of August 2000, skyrocketing rents and general fatigue brought an end to this experiment at the turn of the century. Basinski is currently writing a novel about this experience.
Basinski continued his experimental electronic works and performed in 1997 at HERE for the Downtown Arts Festival with his electronica group, Life on Mars, in
collaboration with artists, Howard Schwartsburg and Karl Francke. Basinski produced a show at The Kitchen in December 1997 featuring the first performance of Antony and the Johnson’s Orchestra, in which he performed, as well as a twenty minute film, Life on Mars, which he produced with artist James Elaine and composed the music for. In 1998, Basinski and Elaine premiered a new short film, Trailer for 1000 Films at the Kitchen. These two films were featured at the Galerie Fur Zeitgenossische Kunst, Leipzig in their New Forms: Contemporary Electronic Music in the Context of Art series curated by Carsten Nicolai. A CD documentation of this series was released by the museum in 2001 on Raster-noton.
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In September 2000, Basinski produced a film and exhibition for Sideshow Gallery entitled, Fountain, in collaboration with artists James Elaine and Roger
Justice. The mesmerizing 60-minute experimental film received rave reviews, particularly Daniel Baird’s essay in The Brooklyn Rail. A 15-minute ambient video variation, entitled Fountain Sketch was featured in the LA Freewaves Festival of Experimental Media Arts at the Geffen Center at MOCA in November 2000, and received a favorable mention in the LA WEEKLY.
In March 2001 it was shown at Cooper Union in the exhibition entitled Art as Prayer, curated by Tim Rollins, James Romaine, and Mako Fujimura. Basinski
and Elaine were invited to show Trailer for 1000 Films in the 2001 Rotterdam Film Festival, and it was picked up for the ImageForum festival in Japan, where it was shown at museums and theaters in Tokyo, Yokohama, Kyoto and Fukuoka. It was also shown at The Millennium in NYC in March 2001 in Marco Breuer’s Marginalia Screening.
Basinski’s last release, Watermusic, was released on his own label, 2062, in February 2001. A 60-minute, tranquil, shimmering ambient piece created on the
Voyetra Synthesizer over a period of months spanning the turn of the century, Watermusic has received critical acclaim and is available through distributors
in America, Europe and Japan. His new pieces, The Disintegration Loops, were created in August 2001. In the process of archiving and digitizing old loops,
Basinski discovered a group of bucolic loops that began to disintegrate during the recording process.
These pieces seem to portray the life and death of the American pastoral landscape. . .The 6 pieces will be released on 4 cd’s starting in June 2002. A 63 minute video with Disintegration Loop 1.1 had its world premiere at the 2002 Rotterdam International Film Festival. It consists of one static shot of lower
Manhattan shot from his roof in Brooklyn on the evening of September 11th, 2001, as that fateful day turned to night. Basinski has been invited to perform
at the 1st Annual Festival of Experimental, Electronic and Electroacoustic Music in St. Petersburg, Russia in the summer of 2003 as part of the tricentennial celebration. His latest collaboration with artist, James Elaine, a thirty minute ambient film study Variations, was previewed at Tribeca Temporary Gallery in November 2001 and its world premiere at Rotterdam. These two films are
currently touring the festival circuit.
January 19, 2004
All Writing Is Pigshit
The Horse Hospital and The Salon present a special one-off
AN EVENING OF FEROCIOUS INTELLECT
An evening of spoken word and discussion from Adam Parfrey , Peter Sotos and Chris Campion
29th April, 2004. Doors 7.30pm.
Live readings / performances from:
Adam Parfrey - founder of America's most dangerous publishing house
Feral House Books, author of Cult Rapture, editor of the infamous
Apocalypse Culture books, and Extreme Islam. Parfrey's career takes in
contributions to cult magazines such as Exit, appearances on television
programmes such as Disinfomation and film, curatorial programming of
art shows featuring works by Joe Coleman and Charles Manson, and CD
releases. One of the most important figures in radical underground
culture of the last twenty five years, this is a very rare opportunity
to see and hear Parfrey.
Peter Sotos - legendary cult author of Index, Special, Tick, Lazy, and
Total Abuse. The most visceral pornographic writer since de Sade, Sotos
previous lectures in London and Wolverhampton were powerful
explorations of sexual abuse, fantasy, and the media
To mark the publication of Selfish, Little: The
Annotated Lesley Ann Downey, Peter Sotos will be reading from and
discussing the book, this is not to be missed.
Jack Sargeant - cult writer, author of Deathtripping, Naked Lens,
Suture, and many others. Sargeant works as a curator and disseminator
of outlaw and underground culture. He has lectured widely in America,
Australia and Europe since 1999, this is his first London talk since
2002.
plus films.
Clear Cut Press
Thursday January 29th Doors 7.30pm, entrance free
The Clear Cut Press presents an evening of advanced entertainment
featuring
Lisa Robertson reading from The Office for Soft Architecture.
Robert Glück reading from Denny Smith and other stories.
Steve Weiner reading from The Yellow Sailor.
Richard Jensen reading a broad sample of North Pacific American musics.
Matthew Stadler, the editor of Clear Cut Press and literary editor of Nest Magazine, presents new photography by Robert Adams (B&W photographs of industrial logging in Oregon) and Ari Marcopoulos (portrait photos of professional snowboarders), and paintings by Michael Brophy (also concerning the landscapes of industrial logging) using slides and CD-ROM projection.
The Clear Cut Press
Lisa Robertson Reads from The Office for Soft Architecture:
Lisa Robertson is a poet and essayist who recently moved from Vancouver B.C. to Paris. Four books have been published: XEclogue (Tsunami Editions 1993, reissued by New Star, 1999) Debbie: An Epic (1997; nominated for the Governor-General's Award for Poetry), The Weather (2001) (both co-published by New Star in Canada and Reality Street in the UK) and Site Reports and Seven Walks from the Office for Soft Architecture (Clear Cut Press, 2004). Current projects include a book of lyric poems, The Men . In June, on a flotsam-strewn beach near Sydney, she was awarded the 2nd annual Relit Prize ($1 and a raku-fired candle holder) for her collection The Weather.
Robert Glück Reads from Denny Smith and other stories:
Robert Glück is the author of the novels Margery Kempe and Jack the Modernist (both from Serpant's Tail) and three collections of prose and poetry, Reader, Elements of a Coffee Service, and Denny Smith (this last from Clear Cut Press, 2004). Through his own writing and a workshop he taught at San Francisco's Small Press Traffic in the 1980s, Glück helped shape what became known as "New Narrative," a movement that included his friends and colleagues Kathy Acker, Dennis Cooper, and Dodie Bellamy. Michel Foucault esteemed him as one of the world's greatest writers about sex. He edits the online journal Narrativity.
Steve Weiner reads from The Yellow Sailor:
Steve Weiner, is a Canadian novelist and a contributor to The Clear Cut Future. Weiner's two novels are The Yellow Sailor (Overlook, 2003), and The Museum of Love (1994), which was short-listed for Canada's prestigious Giller Prize.
Richard Jensen presents a broad sample of North Pacific American musics:
Richard Jensen, former president of Sub Pop Records and co-founder of Up Records, will curate a mix of pre-recorded regional musics from North Pacific America (The Thermals, Black Cat Orchestra, Harry Smith, etc.)
Matthew Stadler presents new photography and painting from North Pacific America:
Matthew Stadler, the editor of Clear Cut Press and literary editor of Nest Magazine, will present new photography by Robert Adams (B&W photographs of industrial logging in Oregon) and Ari Marcopoulos (portrait photos of professional snowboarders), and paintings by Michael Brophy (also concerning the landscapes of industrial logging) using slides and CD-ROM projection.
Robert Adams is a seminal figure in American landscape photography and a MacArthur Fellow who lives in Astoria Oregon.
Ari Marcopoulos is best known for his photo documentation of the Beastie Boys (Pass the Mic, Powerhouse Books). His work has appeared in the Whitney Biennial and museum shows throughout America, Europe, and Japan.
Michael Brophy is a Portland-based painter whose work is in the Microsoft Collection.
Joined by Clear Cut Press editor Matthew Stadler, Canadian poet Lisa Robertson will read from Site Reports and Seven Walks from the Office for Soft Architecture and San Francisco writer Robert Glück will read from Denny Smith and other stories.
The Clear Cut Press (a new subscription-based press headquartered in the former colonial capitol of Astoria, Oregon) will present two of its authors at public readings in Paris, Amsterdam, and London.
These events are the first in Europe for this young, independent press. Through subscriptions and a network of attentive book stores, Clear Cut Press is building an international readership for the best new writing from North America.
The press was founded and is run by Richard Jensen, an ex-President of SubPop Records and co-founder of Up Records, and Matthew Stadler, a novelist (Allan Stein) and literary editor of Nest Magazine.
(Please contact us if you would like to learn more about these events or our books: clearcut@clearcutpress.com.)
— THE PARTICIPANTS —
Clear Cut Press publishes new research and popular literature—eight original books each year in affordable, softbound, pocket-sized editions. Our authors include Charles D’Ambrosio, Lisa Robertson, Bruce Benderson, Stacey Levine, Robert Glück, Emily White, Matt Briggs, Diana George, and many others. Founded in 2002, the press is headquartered in historic Astoria, Oregon. Clear Cut Press books are available at our web site (www.clearcutpress.com), through bookstores, or by subscription.
Lisa Robertson is a poet and essayist who recently moved from Vancouver B.C. to Paris. Four books have been published: XEclogue (Tsunami Editions 1993, reissued by New Star, 1999) Debbie: An Epic (1997; nominated for the Governor-General's Award for Poetry), The Weather (2001) (both co-published by New Star in Canada and Reality Street in the UK) and Site Reports and Seven Walks from the Office for Soft Architecture (Clear Cut Press, 2004). Current projects include a book of lyric poems, The Men . In June, on a flotsam-strewn beach near Sydney, she was awarded the 2nd annual Relit Prize ($1 and a raku-fired candle holder) for her collection The Weather.
Robert Glück is the author of the novels Margery Kempe and Jack the Modernist (both from Serpant's Tail) and three collections of prose and poetry, Reader, Elements of a Coffee Service, and Denny Smith (this last from Clear Cut Press, 2004). Through his own writing and a workshop he taught at San Francisco's Small Press Traffic in the 1980s, Glück helped shape what became known as "New Narrative," a movement that included his friends and colleagues Kathy Acker, Dennis Cooper, and Dodie Bellamy. Michel Foucault esteemed him as one of the world's greatest writers about sex. He edits the online journal Narrativity.
Hélène Cixous is the noted French author of, among many other books, Sortie, The Laugh of the Medusa, and Coming to Writing. A full account of her titles and accomplishments defies summary here.
Matthew Stadler is the author of four novels, including Landscape: Memory, The Sex Offender, and Allan Stein. He is a past contributor to the short-lived Dutch architecture journal Wiederhall, Frieze Magazine, Arcade, the New York Times, and The Stranger. He is the literary editor of Nest Magazine and editor and co-founder of Clear Cut Press.
Richard Jensen (in absentia) worked at Olympia, Washington's KAOS radio during the 1980s, leading to a fruitful association with Calvin Johnson's fledgling label K Records. Jensen was later hired by Sub Pop Records to run the business operations of their perennially insolvent company. Unusual market conditions in the early 1990s saved the company from ruin and provided Jensen with nine years of employment as their general manager and president. In 1994, he helped to found Up Records with his roommate and friend Chris Takino, working there until Chris's death from leukemia in 2000. His involvement in Clear Cut follows from conversations with Matthew Stadler about poetry and economy.
OTHER CLEARCUT EVENTS
In Paris, on Sunday afternoon January 25th, Canadian poet Lisa Robertson will read from Site Reports and Seven Walks from the Office for Soft Architecture and San Francisco writer Robert Glück will read from Denny Smith and other stories. They are joined by Hélène Cixous in an event organized by Double Change at Galerie Eof, 15 rue St. Fiacre, 2ième arrondisment. 3:00 PM
In Amsterdam, on Tuesday evening January 27th, Robertson and Glück are for a reading at the Mediamatic Supermarkt, Nieuwe Foeliestraat / Rapenburg corner, starting time 8:00 PM.
The events are free and might also feature music, slides, or film, depending on the publisher's good luck and his luggage capacity.
January 18, 2004
HOUSE hospital
Tuesday May 18th Doors 6.30pm
The Horse Hospital, House Industries and House 33 team up for the book launch of House's ten-year retrospective book, House.
House Industries Releases 10-year Retrospective Book
House Industries — an internationally-recognized, independent digital typeface, design and illustration studio — announces the release of its ten-year retrospective book, House.
Partnering with German publisher die gestalten Verlag, House Industries has produced a definitive compendium of its work over the past decade.
The Delaware-based company is known for its distinctly American pop culture aesthetic and exploration of diverse themes ranging from historic Las Vegas signage to the custom car artwork of Ed “Big Daddy” Roth and the lettering of Modern architect Richard Neutra. The company’s devotion to authenticity and craftsmanship has won praise from graphic designers, major advertising agencies and hot rod enthusiasts alike.
Scheduled for release in April 2004, this unabridged chronicle follows House Industries’ ascent from modest beginnings as a two-man graphic design firm to one of the world’s most prolific type foundries. The book features an informative visual history, including hundreds of never-seen-before sketches, photographs, reference material and original illustrations set to an entertaining backdrop of useful creative tips, candid design critiques and hilarious anecdotes.
House Industries’ unique type products can be seen on everything from cereal boxes and fast food packaging to large-circulation magazines and popular television shows. The company’s fonts have become essential tools for designers seeking unique and effective typefaces. As pop culture chronicler Sven Kirsten writes, “They are good at what they do because they not only appreciate art, aesthetics, and style but are also in love with concepts. Their font kits are microcosms of the pop culture they represent. Their products are not just fonts; they’re a lifestyle.”
The linen-bound, 240-page hardcover volume employs six-color printing and spot varnish on a variety of substrates. The accompanying multi-session CD includes five exclusive new House Industries fonts ($150 if sold separately). The CD also features an original performance by the House band and other priceless sound bites.
Signed and numbered editions of House are available directly from House Industries at http://www.houseindustries.com. It is also available at book stores and major online outlets such as amazon.com.
And check out www.house33.com
American Nutria
Saturday 22nd May
An Evening Of Film by Matt McCormick, in the presence of the filmmaker.
Doors 7.30pm Tickets £7 / £5
Matt McCormick lives in Portland Oregon and has been making experimental
films for over twelve years. He is also the founder of Peripheral Produce,
an innovative upstart video distributor specializing in short experimental
work, and the director of the Portland Documentary and eXperimental Film
Festival, Portlands premiere venue for experimental, documentary, and
otherwise obscure contemporary cinema.
Matt's films combine found and original sounds and images to fashion
abstract and witty observations of contemporary culture, and while they
differ greatly in form and structure, they maintain a consistent reactionary
sense to place and environment. His film The Subconscious Art of Graffiti
Removal, an experimental documentary, is a keen observation of how the
process of destroying one art unwittingly creates another, while The
Vyrotonin Decision is a found footage disaster spoof created with scraps of
16mm television clips from the early 70's. Sincerely, Joe P Bear- a sad
love-letter from a heartbroken polar bear, combines found footage with an
original score and voice over, while the abstract Going to the Ocean
contextualizes image with layers of static and noise to create a moody sense
of good-bye.
Matt's films have screened internationally, shown on MTV and Showtime, and
received positive reviews from the likes of The New York Times and Filmmaker
magazine. He has also worked and collaborated with many artists and
musicians, including The Shins, Miranda July, The Postal Service, Calvin
Johnson, and Scared of Chaka. Matt has had three films screen at the
Sundance Film Festival, and has won "best-of" awards at festivals such as
The San Francisco International, The New York Underground, The Chicago
Underground, Ann Arbor, and more than ten others. He has screened at such
venues as the Hirshorn Art Museum and the Lincoln Center, and his film The
Subconscious Art of Graffiti Removal was named as one of the Top 10 Films
of the 2002 by both The Village Voice and Art Forum magazine.
tonight¹s program will include:
American Nutria- 11 minutes, video, 2003
Past and Pending- 6 minutes, video, 2002
The Subconscious Art of Graffiti Removal- 16 minutes, 16mm or video, 2001
Going to the Ocean- 8 minutes, 16mm, 2001
Sincerely, Joe P Bear- 5 minutes, 16mm, 1999
The Vyrotonin Decision, 7 minutes, 16mm 1999
and a few other goodies