Theoretical Music: No Wave, New Music, and the New York Art Scene, 1978-1983
“Theoretical Music: No Wave, New Music, and the New York Art Scene, 1978-1983” is a three-day event organized by art historian Branden W. Joseph and musician David Grubbs to take place at ISSUE Project Room. Its purpose is to examine the intersections as well as the failed encounters of art, music, and cinema in downtown Manhattan from 1978-1983. In addition to an evening of panel discussions (Thursday, Nov. 4) among some of the most notable figures to emerge from the art, music, and film scenes of the time, the event will include a rare screening of James Nares’s no wave epic, Rome ’78 (Wednesday, Nov. 3) and conclude with a concert performance headlined by the first New York appearance in years by the fearless, crucial downtown band, Ut (Friday, Nov. 5).
British-born artist James Nares has lived and worked in New York for more than three decades. He is known both as a painter and as a filmmaker, and his films were the subject of a 2008 retrospective at Anthology Film Archives. Jim Jarmusch described Nares’s films as “luminous jewels scattered in the dirt—as varied and striking as his paintings, his photographs, and his train of thought.” As a painter, Nares uses his mastery of the balance between spontaneity and control to create a single elegant stroke that pulsates with energy, relating to Franz Kline as well as to the cartoon brushstrokes of Roy Lichtenstein. As a musician, Nares played with the Contortions and the Del-Byzanteens.
Panel One
Director Beth B, Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon, contemporary artist Dan Graham, artist/critic John Miller, painter/singer/musician Taro Suzuki, moderated by Branden W. Joseph.
Panel Two
Fashion designer/guitarist Nina Canal, writer/archivist Byron Coley, founder of Love of Life Orchestra (LOLO) Peter Gordon, Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore, author Neb Sublette, moderated by David Grubbs.
11/05 @ 8:00pm – Theoretical Music: UT + Talk Normal
Ut
Ut returns for its first U.S. concert since 1991. Sprung from the downtown No Wave scene, Ut (Nina Canal, Jacqui Ham, Sally Young) originated in New York City in December 1978. They were joined by filmmaker Karen Achenbach in February 1979 before resuming as a three-piece with the original members in May 1980. Migrating to London in ’81, they released records on their own label, Out Records, and then on Blast First/Mute. Ut played what was thought to be their last gig in Paris in March 1990; their next performance was an announced set in London in July 2010. “The raw power and sheer drive of Ut is quite straightforward and unmistakable. This is a true threatening guitar band.” (New York Rocker)
