sound art – Crosstown Arts

UPDATE: We are sorry to announce that William Basinski at Crosstown Arts has been cancelled. Unfortunately, through no fault of his, William’s flight was cancelled and he is stuck in a city too far from Memphis to make the drive in time for the performance. William and his production crew tried to find alternatives, but all possibilities were exhausted. We know you were looking forward to this performance at least as much as we were, and we apologize for the disappointment and for any inconvenience.

Refunds will be issued for the entire purchase—that includes the ticket price and Eventbrite’s fees.

William Basinski is a classically trained musician and composer who has been working in experimental media for over 30 years in NYC and, most recently, California. Employing obsolete technology and analogue tape loops, his haunting and melancholy soundscapes explore the temporal nature of life and resound with the reverberations of memory and the mystery of time.

His epic 4-disc masterwork, The Disintegration Loops received international critical acclaim and was chosen as one of the top 50 albums of 2004 by Pitchfork Media. The Temporary Residence deluxe LP box-set reissue from 2012 was awarded best re-issue of the year and a score of 10 on Pitchfork. Installations and films made in collaboration with artist-filmmaker, James Elaine have been presented in festivals and museums internationally, and his concerts are presented to sold out crowds around the world.

Basinski was chosen by Music Director, Antony Hegarty to create music for the Robert Wilson opera, The Life and Death of Marina Abramovic which had its world premiere at the Manchester International Festival in July 2011 and toured Europe in 2012 and North America in 2013. Orchestral transcriptions of The Disintegration Loops by Maxim Moston have been performed at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Queen Elizabeth Hall and La Batie Festival in Geneva, Switzerland, Dark Mofo Festival in Hobart Tasmania and most recently Pitchfork Midwinter Festival with the Chicago Philharmonic.

Basinski is currently touring the world in support of his latest work, “On Time Out of Time” which was released on March 8th, 2019 on Temporary Residence/2062/USA.

Displacement: A Deconstructed Sound Journey

Featuring the art of Gil Ngole

This one night only exhibition features sculptures and sound art created by MCA graduate student Gil Ngole. He creates his foam and fabric sculptures quickly to mirror the rate that people in his home of the Republic of the Congo must make their bundles when they are forcefully displaced. Their bundles hold the food, clothes, and necessities they will need to survive away from their homes. His sound art focuses on the noises that displaced people in Central Africa hear while they are fleeing from their homes: the sound of falling feet, explosions, and the rattle of food cans. These noises, coupled with the bundles move the viewers from the role of complacent observer and forces them into an empathetic position where they are experiencing forced displacement. This helps Gil deconstruct the image that western media has put forth about forced displacement. The exhibition will take place on a bus, the location itself emphasizing the theme of movement and transportation that permeates Gil’s work.

Displacement will be on view in the parking lot of Crosstown Art’s Flea Market, as part of Crosstown’s mission to expose the community to diversity and bring diverse communities together.

The exhibition is organized by Sadie Yanckello, Amaris Prechtel and Mohib Khan, with support from the Rhodes College Gallery Management class and a Center for Outreach and Development of the Arts (CODA) Grant.