Introducing new works by Nathan McNinch and by Joshua Bonnetta\, in conjunction with two pieces released in 1976 by Joan La Barbara\, the artworks in Sans Song investigate t he tools and instruments of vocal sonic production and reception.
In 1976\, during a time when she was the leading practitioner of ‘extended voc al techniques’\, American singer\, Joan La Barbara released the album Voice is the Original Instrument. Sans Song will feature two of the tracks from this important work: Circular Song and Voice Piece: One-Note Internal Reson ance Investigation. These works elaborate a on physical and dynamic space b y dealing with breath and various articulations of one single pitch respect ively.
Nathan McNinch is a Montreal based artist liv ing in Vancouver while completing his Master of Fine Arts degree at the Uni versity of British Columbia. His kinetic\, installation and sonic sculpture s have been described as “explorations of personal memories conceived as po etic mechanical structures”. i remember how frail your hands had become / a nd the quiet of waiting (2012) features McNinch’s typically “crude” constru ctions using every-day materials\, the strange subtlety and gracefulness of which are epitomised in this new work.
Joshua Bonnetta works with film\, video and sound in various modes of exhibition\, perf ormance and installation. His work deals with memory\, sound and technologi es in a manner that surpasses nostalgia and implicates multiple histories o f the work simultaneously. Evensong (2012) is a hushed\, vibrating work tha t uses recordings contoured and filtered by the structure and material of a rchitecture. The resonant qualities and reverberations created in a massive architectural space include vocal iterations and song that\, in Evensong\, have lost discernibility.
This combination of vocal works from the 1 970s with contemporary sonic and kinetic sculptures allows for an investiga tion of form and physicality through the exploration of resonance\, breath and corporeality in vocal production and reception.
Sans Song is cura ted by Jenny Walton\, a candidate to the Masters Degree in Critical and Curatorial Studies at The University of British Columbia.
This exhibition will feature in the 2012 Vancouver Gallery Hop on Saturd ay April 28th\, including a talk with the curator at Western Front at 3:30p m.
Photo: Top image - Joshua Bonnetta\, Evensong\, 2012\, sculptu
ral sound installation.
Middle image - Nathan McNinch\, i remember how
frail your hands had become and the quiet of waiting\, 2012\, kinetic scul
pture.
Bottom image - Joan LaBarbara\, Voice is the Original Instrumen
t\, 1976\, vinyl LP.
Supported by: Killy Foundation\; Audain Endowment for Curatorial Studies through the UBC Department of Art History \, Visual Art and Theory\; Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery.
The Western Front gratefully acknowledges the support of the Canada Cou ncil for the Arts\, the BC Arts Council through the Government of British C olumbia\, the City of Vancouver\, our members and volunteers. The Western F ront is a member of the Pacific Association of Artist-Run Centres (PAARC) a nd the Independent Media Arts Alliance (IMAA).
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