Sunday, March 4, 2012

Thomas Ankersmit: an avant-garde music performance at the Graham Foundation/Chicago

A phone photo of Thomas Ankersmit using his computer in performance at the Graham Foundation/Chicago. Photo is courtesy of Lampo via Twitter.

On Saturday night (02.25.12) under the auspices of Lampo and the Graham Foundation I attended a hour-long, solo improvisational auditory art composition performed by Thomas Ankersmit of the Netherlands. The new performance piece could be characterized as an assemblage of painting and dance in electronic sound that’s orchestrated with precision. The compositional impact of Ankersmit’s musical sounds seem to range from whimsical to rowdy and is highly organized chaos. Additionally, the performance had emotional intensity and energy—indicative of experimentation.

Lampo is an organization based in Chicago, “that promotes and supports artists working in electronic and electro acoustic music, free improvisation, sound art and other new forms.” Here’s information taken from Lampo’s website:
Lampo and the Graham Foundation are pleased to welcome Thomas Ankersmit as he performs new work for the Serge analogue modular synthesizer, an instrument originally developed by Serge Tcherepnin at CalArts in the 1970s.

Ankersmit has been artist in residence at CalArts since December, where the historic synthesizers were restored for him to work with. …[At the Graham Foundation], he’ll play his own Serge modular live, paired with sampled material from the old Serge synths, processed in real-time, all in quad.

Thomas Ankersmit (b. 1979, Leiden, the Netherlands) is a musician and installation artist based in Berlin and Amsterdam. His main instruments are the Serge analogue modular synthesizer, computer and alto saxophone. He works frequently with New York minimalist Phill Niblock. Other collaborators include electroacoustic artists Valerio Tricoli (spin their acclaimed “Forma II” on Pan) and Kevin Drumm. Ankersmit performed at Lampo in September 2008.

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