Vancouver International Centre for Contemporary Asian Art

How To Feed A Piano

 

A Project by David Khang with Candice Hopkins
Hank Bull & Joomi Seo on piano
Curated by Makiko Hara

Performance/Opening: Friday, May 16, 8:00pm / Doors open: 7:30pm
Tickets: Students $5/ Centre A members $5/ General public $10
Exhibition: Saturday, May 17- Saturday, May 24

Panel Discussion: Wednesday, May 21, 7pm
Panelists: Larissa Lai, Rinaldo Walcott
Moderator: Candice Hopkins
Exhibition Catalogue with essays by Candice Hopkins, Larissa Lai, and Rinaldo Walcott will be released at a future date.

This project is part of the Asian Heritage Month .

“How To Feed A Piano” is the final installment of a performance tryptich based on La Monte Young’s Compositions 1960 conceptualized by David Khang.
A piano on stage will be “fed hay and water,” while accompanied by the pianists. The piano then becomes the portal through which the artist encounters a horse. The horse, the horserider, and the artist become one “drawing” unit on a large canvas, a gesture that deliberately evokes Yves Klein’s Anthropométrie (1960). The horse is lead, not by a classic “Marlboro Man” cowboy, but rather, an experienced First Nations horsewoman – in effect, an “Indian Cowgirl”.

These inversions along multiple axes exemplify how Young’s minimalist compositions become “readymade” departure points for divergent readings. Rather than attempting to execute Fluxus performances with historical verity (is this even possible?), the La Monte Young Project Series is a way to re-imagine their poetic and political potentials through tangential and hyperbolic readings.

Photos from the performance:

By William Ting
http://gallery.mac.com/william.ting/100435

By Steve Lemay
http://web.mac.com/lemaystudios/CentreA_-_How_to_Feed_A_Piano/

This project was made possible through generous support by
The Canada Council for the Arts
British Columbia Arts Council
City of Vancouver
Franklin Furnace Fund for Performance Art

Special Thanks for material and technical support by:
Manuel A. Bernaschek & Showcase Pianos
Gerry O’Neil & Stanley Park Horse-Drawn Tours
Elia Kirby & The Great Northern Way Scene Shop
Garry Gottfriedson
Robyn Volk