Current, 2019
Current is a musical program organized and performed by Jennifer Blyth, pianist and Professor of Music at Dickinson College. The program also included vocals by James Martin, Assistant Professor of Music at Dickinson College, and accompaniment by Kurt Fowler(cello)and Jennie Oh Brown (flute) of the Heare Ensemble.
Blyth designed the program as a response to the an exhibition of photographs by Edward Burtynsky, titled Water, at the Dickinson College Trout Gallery (originally organized by the New Orleans Museum of Art). Burtynsky's images address our complex relationship with water and, as he notes, "stimulate a process of thinking about something essential to our survival; something we often take for granted—until it’s gone.”
In response, Blyth's program considers how "music provides a context for advancing an understanding of damaged ecologies, of injured worlds (literally and metaphorically) when we deliberately position our audiences within them."
I was thrilled–and a bit daunted–when Jen approached me about the possibility of bringing a time-based element to the program. I spent the summer of 2019 responding to 17 of the 18 compositions (the first piece was performed without visual accompaniment)in the program with a running time of 98 minutes. The resulting works are a mix of processes including stop motion animation (using oil paint as well as cut paper), hand altered 16mm film and digitally manipulated video(from original and found sources). The pieces move between abstraction and representation as they respond to the themes, tempos, and textures of the music.
Blyth designed the program as a response to the an exhibition of photographs by Edward Burtynsky, titled Water, at the Dickinson College Trout Gallery (originally organized by the New Orleans Museum of Art). Burtynsky's images address our complex relationship with water and, as he notes, "stimulate a process of thinking about something essential to our survival; something we often take for granted—until it’s gone.”
In response, Blyth's program considers how "music provides a context for advancing an understanding of damaged ecologies, of injured worlds (literally and metaphorically) when we deliberately position our audiences within them."
I was thrilled–and a bit daunted–when Jen approached me about the possibility of bringing a time-based element to the program. I spent the summer of 2019 responding to 17 of the 18 compositions (the first piece was performed without visual accompaniment)in the program with a running time of 98 minutes. The resulting works are a mix of processes including stop motion animation (using oil paint as well as cut paper), hand altered 16mm film and digitally manipulated video(from original and found sources). The pieces move between abstraction and representation as they respond to the themes, tempos, and textures of the music.
Old and Lost Rivers by Tobias Picker; Performed by Jennifer Blyth, video by Todd Arsenault
Une Barque sur l'ocean-by Maurice Ravel (arranged by Greg Strohman); Performed by Jennifer Blyth (piano)with Heare Ensemble(Kurt Fowler and Jennie Oh Brown), video by Todd Arsenault
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Jennifer Blyth (piano), James Martin (vocals)
The Flood by Eve Beglarian; Performed by Jennifer Blyth (piano) and James Martin (spoken word), video by Todd Arsenault
Down by the Riverside by Frederic Rzewski; Performed by Jennifer Blyth (piano), James Martin (vocals), video by Todd Arsenault
Guaguanco by Eric Griswold; Performed by Jennifer Blyth, video by Todd Arsenault
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