The Rodney Graham Band live,
featuring the amazing Rotary Psycho-Opticon
With special guest: Lois
April 11 & April 12, 2008, at 8:00pm
Doors open at 7:30pm
Abrons Arts Center
466 Grand Street, New York City
For tickets see www.publicartfund.org or call 212-980-4575
April 25, 2008, at 8:00pm
Doors open at 7.00 pm
ABC
330 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow
For tickets see www.ticketmaster.co.uk
‘Graham has always kept the question open: Am I a musician trapped in an artist’s mind or an artist trapped in a musician’s body?’
–Kim Gordon, bassist, Sonic Youth
This month, Public Art Fund in New York City and The Common Guild in Glasgow will host performances by Rodney Graham and his band, The Rodney Graham Band live, featuring the amazing Rotary Psycho-Opticon! This spectacular event provides three don’t-miss nights of Graham’s signature blend of rock and roll psychedelia with folk music earnestness. More information on these performances can be found at the Public Art Fund and The Common Guild’s websites: www.publicartfund.org and www.thecommonguild.org.uk
Rodney Graham has been playing music off and on since the late 70’s, shifting his creative practice from music to art and back, as circumstances allow. In the lean times of the early 80’s, he sold off his guitar and music equipment to finance his studio practice, and focused on art during the subsequent years. When he was once again in a place to indulge his musical side, he purchased another guitar and started up all over again. His recent albums include The Bed Bug, Love Buzz (2000), Rock is Hard (2003), and Never Tell a Pal a Hard Luck Story (2005).
Some of his more recent works combine his early interest in sound with his current preoccupation with music, such as the “Western”-style mini-musical, How I Became a Ramblin’ Man (1999). Arising out of Graham’s interest in music videos and historical costume dramas, this 9-minute video manages to be both, a singing Marlboro man, riding off into the sunset. The video is looped so that the cowboy, played by Graham himself, is doomed to ride and ramble until the end of time.
The concerts at the Abrons Arts Center and ABC will be a performances of a different kind, with the artist as himself: part musician, part mad-scientist. Most recently, Graham has been performing solo, which, he says, is “too nerve-racking.” The performances feature the artist with his band, and a mind-blowing backdrop, the amazing Rotary Psycho-Opticon. Inspired by the set of a 1970’s era Belgian TV show that featured live performances by bands like Black Sabbath, the Psycho-Opticon looks something like a cross between a pedal-powered kaleidoscope and a Marcel Duchamp Rotorelief.
About Rodney Graham
Rodney Graham was born in Vancouver in 1949, where he continues to live and work. He studied at the University of British Columbia, originally pursuing a degree in Literature. In the 1970’s he founded new-wave band UJ3RK5 (pronounced “you jerk”) with artists Jeff Wall and Frank Johnston, playing and touring widely. He began exhibiting art internationally in the early 80’s, with exhibitions in such venues as the Johnen & Schöttle Galerie, Cologne, Germany; the Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, The Netherlands; Lisson Gallery, London; Dia Center for the Arts, New York; and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Graham represented Canada at the 1997 Venice Biennale.
The Rodney Graham Band includes Rodney Graham on guitar and vocals, David Carswell on lead guitar and vocals, Beez on bass and vocals, Paddy Ryan on keyboards and vocals, Pete Bourne on drums and Lois Maffeo on vocals and glockenspiel. Maffeo will play the opening set. She is an Olympia, Washington-based singer-songwriter and she records on independent labels K and KillRockStars.
Public Art Fund is New York’s leading presenter of artists’ projects, new commissions, installations and exhibitions in public spaces. Since 1977, Public Art Fund ( www.publicartfund.org ) has worked with over 500 emerging and established artists to produce innovative temporary exhibitions of contemporary art throughout New York City. Public Art Fund is a non-profit art organization supported by generous contributions from individuals, foundations, and corporations, and with funds from National Endowment for the Arts; New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency; and the New York City Department of
Cultural Affairs.
THE COMMON GUILD is a new, Glasgow-based, not-for-profit, visual arts organisation presenting projects, events and exhibitions in diverse locations. Projects are supported by the Scottish Arts Council and Glasgow City Council. The performance is presented as part of the Glasgow international Festival of Contemporary Art, 11 – 27 April 2008. See www.glasgowinternational.org for full programme details, including other Common Guild events.
Ticket Information
Tickets for the New York performance are available online at www.publicartfund.org or by calling 212-980-4575. Tickets for the Glasgow performance are available at www.ticketmaster.co.uk
