WHITE BOX presents: WHITE NOISE II

Saturday, November 3, 7pm

Membrane Seeding

Michael Northam

View photos of the performance

Membrane Seeding

The series of works that make up Membrane Seeding was produced mainly during residences in Belgium and Estonia , and represent a return to the artist’s roots in the visual arts. Ten years of making acousmatic (sound-only) works have produced a new technique for the production of the video aspects of Membrane Seeding; they are the results of applying the same compositional logic from his acousmatic work to the visual field. Many sounds in these works are from field recordings, and so likewise are the images. These visual elements, ranging from Brussels city parks, Swiss forests, the ocean at St. Malo in France , and details from the body of the performance artist Jane Remm are woven together with the audio recordings to produce stochastic fields of perception. These sequences mimic the morphology we find in nature, where apparently complex systems are governed by relatively simple sets of rules. The title, Membrane Seeding, hints at Northam’s utilitarian hope that, after spending some time with the work, people are seeded with new ideas. The concrete raw materials that Northam has gathered together for us are intended to alter and augment our perceptions, and to act as ‘compost’ to nurture the seeds of our own internal gardens.

Michael Northam

Since his earliest memory, being born in the western desert state of Utah , Michael Northam (aka mnortham) has been intimately and directly inspired by vast geographies, severe weather and and other impressive natural events and places. This life long research/fascination into the phenomena of perception faced with intimidating scales (large or small) continues to the foundation of his work with sound and images.

His work is the continuation of more than 15 years active art-life-travel which has brought him to visit, work with, and learn from over 90 artists from over 50 locations in 25 countries. Through these various experiences he has woven a complex tapestry of influences into a very personal intuitive process of creation. He continues to rediscover relations between material and vibratory structures via a continual activity in graphic design, photography and visual installations parallel to working with sound. As well as practicing links between 'experiential sound' and traditional 'musical' approaches, such as the study of Kirana style raga singing with Michael Stirling (the last student of Pandit Pran Nath) and most recently dabbling with shakuhachi.

He has established studios, organized events, made his own way independent of institutions and nationality now for over ten years through relocations between several countries. By now his work has been presented in over 15 countries with CDs published on four continents. He is ever surprised to discover new listeners and collectors of his music in the most disparate places. from Japan to Lapland , from Moscow to Montana .

This exhibition is generously supported by the Greenwall Foundation.

Additional support for White Noise IIwas received from the Experimental Television Center 's Presentation Funds program. The Experimental Television Center 's Presentation Funds program is supported by the New York State Council on the Arts.

The New Composers Series has received generous support from the New York State Music Fund, established by the New York State Attorney General at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors and is produced by White Box with the collaboration of the Electronic Music Foundation and in association with Diapason Sound Art Gallery and New Wilderness Foundation Inc.

White Box is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Your donations are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law.

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