World Financial Center Inaugurates New Performance Space
with Cutting Edge Installation-Performance Series Fusing Sound, Video, Art & Music
PLAYVISION
NEW YORK - The World Financial Center Arts & Events is inaugurating a new 200-seat performance space in its Courtyard Gallery, 220 Vesey Street, that will be dedicated to innovative and experimental visual art, performance art and music.
"The new performance space opens with an installation-performance series with artists who fuse sound, visual art and musical performance entitled PlayVision," said Debra Simon, Artistic Director of World Financial Center Arts & Events, the largest arts program in Lower Manhattan. "The inaugural series is curated by composer/performer Ben Neill and features a roster of leading international artists who are working in this exciting field."
Composer Ben Neill and video artist Bill Jones launch the new space Wednesday, May 3, at 8:00pm; video artist Christian Marclay and the trios of Elliott Sharp and Okkyung Lee Wednesday, May 17, at 8:00pm; The Books Wednesday, May 24, at 8:00pm; and Tmema (Golan Levin and Zachary Lieberman) Wednesday, May 31, at 8:00pm.
PlayVision performances are free, ticketed events. Tickets will be distributed two per person on a first-come, first-served basis beginning at 5pm in the Winter Garden on day of show. Seating is limited.
Download full info and bios: WFCPlayvisionPR.pdf
May 3
MUSIC CONCERT
BEN NEILL + BILL JONES
Ben Neill is a composer/performer and designer of the mutantrumpet,
a unique acoustic/electronic instrument. Along with his visual collaborator Bill Jones, Neill has developed a "playable" form of cinema in which he plays video images live. For this show Neill presents XIX, a new series of music/interactive video pieces based on samples of 19th century music and art, featuring bassist John Conte and drummer Jim Mussen.
May 4 - May 27
VISUAL ARTS
RODNEY GRAHAM
REVERIE INTERUPTED BY THE POLICE
Thursday–Saturday, 2–8pm
Rodney Graham, best known for his short films and visual work which often incorporate sound and original music, is active as a songwriter, musical performer and internationally renowned visual artist. Graham's production skills rival those of Hollywood films, but it is his use of looping, repetition and enigmatic narratives that make his work as provocative as it is seductive. In the New York City premiere of A Reverie Interrupted by the Police, Graham portrays a handcuffed prisoner performing John Cage-style piano music while guarded by a policeman.
May 17
MUSIC CONCERT
CHRISTIAN MARCLAY
feat. ELLIOT SHARP trio + OKKYUNG LEE trio
Christian Marclay has created a remarkable body of artistic work that explores the intersection of sight and sound. In his recent piece Screen Play, a collaged film serves as a projected score to be interpreted by two trios led by Elliott Sharp and Okkyung Lee. New York Times art critic Roberta Smith described the work as "an extraordinary evening of looking and listening."
May 24
MUSIC CONCERT
THE BOOKS
The Books, one of the most original bands to emerge in recent years, "remain at the bleeding edge of pop innovation, even if it is more hummable than you'd expect," writes Billboard Magazine. Their eclectic mix of folk, electronic, low tech and digital sounds is immediately compelling and highly unique. In performance they seamlessly integrate sampled film and video with their musical show, creating an intimate, lyrical experience from wide-ranging source material.
May 31
MUSIC CONCERT
TMEMA (GOLAN LEVIN + ZACHARY LIEBERMAN)
TMEMA is the collaborative team of Golan Levin and Zachary Lieberman. Working together since 2002, Tmema develops interactive performances and installations, web-based information visualizations and experimental software systems. Among the pieces performed are The Manual Input Sessions, a series of audiovisual vignettes probing the expressive possibilities of hand and finger gestures using a combination of customized interactive software, analog overhead projectors and digital computer video projectors.
