Michael Snow
2 Radio Solos by Michael Snow
Five A's, Two C's, One D, One E, Two H's, Three I's, One K, Three L's, One M, Three N's, Two O's, One S, One T, One W
(with Alan Licht and Aki Onda)
Double CD Launch and Signing
Saturday, May 23, 2009, 5:00 – 7:00 PM
Printed Matter is pleased to announce a double launch for Michael Snow's 2 Radio Solos, a CD reissue of the artist's sound art classic, originally issued on cassette in 1989, and Five A's, Two C's, One D, One E, Two H's, Three I's, One K, Three L's, One M, Three N's, Two O's, One S, One T, One W, a release compiling two electronic music concerts by the artist with Alan Licht and Aki Onda. The launch will take place on Saturday, May 23, from 5:00 – 7:00 PM and Michael Snow will be on hand for a signing. Printed Matter is located at 195 Tenth Avenue (between 21st and 22nd Street) in New York City.
Recently reissued by The Blackwood Gallery, 2 Radio Solos by Michael Snow stands out among the artist's vast output. Well known for his visual artwork, films, and videos, the artist has also been active as a jazz pianist and improvisational musician since the mid-50s. 2 Radio Solos finds the artist approaching the radio as an instrument in and of itself, the sole source of two compositions over thirty minutes in length that push the boundaries of composition and the simple act of listening.
Perhaps the work is best described by Snow himself:
"These 2 short-wave pieces are both "played" continuous improvisations. There was no editing, no post-facto electronic alteration. The sounds were found by paying intense attention to fate: tuning in and out and between stations, changing bands, bass, treble and volume. The radio played is a circa 1962 Nordmende (pictured). The gradual change in pitch and speed on SHORT WAVELENGTH is an "accident": batteries were losing power during recording. The tapes were made at night in a remote North Canadian cabin lit by a kerosene lamp..............."
We are also launching a recently released CD on the VICTO label of largely electronic music by the trio of Michael Snow, Aki Onda and Alan Licht (although Onda and Licht will unfortunately not be in attendance.) Five A's, Two C's, One D, One E, Two H's, Three I's, One K, Three L's, One M, Three N's, Two O's, One S, One T, One W is the trio's performance at the International Festival of New Music of Victoriaville (Que, Canada) and at a concert at the Goethe Institute in Toronto.
Michael Snow (1929) is a Canadian artist renowned for his contributions to the fields of visual art, film, video, and music. As a musician he has performed regularly with the group CCMC (which includes the members Paul Dutton and John Oswald, among others) since the mid-70s. He has also collaborated with Larry Dubin, Alan Licht, Christian Marclay, Aki Onda, Charlemagne Palestine, Steve Reich, James Tenney, and Jack Vorvis. His visual art has been presented in retrospectives at the Hara Museum (Tokyo) and his films have been showcased at the Cinémathèque Française and Centre Georges-Pompidou (Paris), Anthology Film Archives and Museum of Modern Art (New York) and L'Institut Lumière (Lyons). Retrospectives of his work in all media were featured simultaneously in 1994 at the Power Plant and the Art Gallery of Ontario (Toronto). A retrospective of his photoworks 1962-99 was presented at the Palais des Beaux Arts (Brussels), touring to Centre national de la photographie (Paris) and MAMCO and Saint-Gervais (Geneva). Additional retrospective exhibitions have been mounted at the Vancouver Art Gallery and the Musée d'art contemporain (Montreal).
2 Radio Solos by Michael Snow is published by The Blackwood Gallery. It retails for $17.00 and is available at Printed Matter's storefront in New York City and online at www.printedmatter.org. Five A's, Two Cs, One D, One E, Two H's, Three I's, One K, Three L's, One M, Three N's, Two O's, One S, One T, One W was released by Victo and is available for $21.00.
Other new and out-of-print Michael Snow publications and records for sale include: CCMC's Accomplices ($16.00), 56 Tree Poems ($38.00), Biographie of the Walking Woman / de la Femme qui Marche ($60.00), CCMC + Christian Marclay ($22.00), CCMC '90 ($30.00), Decisive Moments ($16.00), Des Ecrits 1958 – 2001 ($40.00), CCMC's Free Soap ($20.00), High School ($95.00), Michael Snow Solo Piano Solo Show [3 Phases] ($30.00), Musics for Piano, Whistling, Microphone and Tape Recorder ($125.00), Sinoms ($25.00), Larry Dubin and CCMC: The Great Toronto Drummers Greatest Recordings ($30.00)and CCMC's Volume 5 ($20.00).
Printed Matter, Inc. is an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 1976 by artists and art workers with the mission to foster the appreciation, dissemination, and understanding of artists' books and other artists' publications.
Printed Matter, Inc. has received support, in part, through grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Altria Group Inc, the Milton & Sally Avery Arts Foundation, The Cowles Charitable Trust, the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, The Gesso Foundation, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, the Schoenstadt Family Foundation, The Roy and Niuta Titus Foundation, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and individuals worldwide.
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