Sunday, April 21, 2024 • 3 p.m.
Wexner Center for the Arts Galleries
Columbus, OH
PROGRAM
Say Can You for piccolo and electronics
Allison Loggins-Hull
Meagan Gaskill, piccolo
Thunderbomb
Jason Nippert
World Premiere
Sofia Geelhood, flute
Laura Pitner, oboe
Mason Williams, clarinet
Lucas Swiderski, bassoon
Olivia Boden, horn
A Man with a Gun Lives Here
II. There are Thieves About
III. A Man with a Gun Lives Here
Steve Snowden
Matt Hanson, percussion
Tres Perkins, percussion
Haydn Veith, percussion
Syrinx
Claude Debussy
Karis Brennan, flute
Time for Marimba
Minoru Miki
Ben Kerger, marimba
The Wound
Jake Heggie
Xiao Liu, voice
Ed Bak, piano
Jesus is Coming
Jacob TV
The Woodshed Reed Quintet
Lauren Kowal, oboe
Destiny Malave, clarinet
Austin Spillman, saxophone
Dustin Gourley, bassoon
Mason Williams, bass clarinet
Atenteben
Bob Becker
Ohio State Percussion Ensemble
Evelyn Fitzgerald
Brody Fogle
Peter Kindt
TJ Mann
Mary Paydock
Adam Quinn
Polly Regan
Artist Statements
Meagan Gaskill
Say Can You for piccolo and electronics | Allison Loggins-Hull
Allison Loggins-Hull's work, Say Can You challenges American patriotism and reflects on how people create a sense of community and pride in their country amidst political, natural, and human disasters. Her work provides space to reflect on Maldoror's themes of creating cultural identity after colonialism and how these themes impact people in the United States. Loggins-Hull and Maldoror both challenge their listeners and viewers to reflect on what it will mean to decolonize culture today.
Sara Maldoror's exhibit Decolonizing Culture highlights the efforts of new governments and peoples in two African countries to foster a postcolonial culture infused with African traditions and the spirit of revolution. Maldoror's and Soñ Gweha's media highlight stories of cultural exchange and reclaiming through the lens of food.
Say Can You was written by black American composer, Allison Loggins-Hull. The work explores ideas of home, country, and patriotism in the 21st century and includes off-putting nods to "The Star Spangled Banner" in a minor key. The piece reflects on how a nation can create identity and patriotism while coming to terms with the colonial roots of its history. By incorporating nods to "The Star Spangled Banner" and nods to American fife and drum music, Loggins-Hull uses patriotic music as a lens for reflection and reclaiming. She seeks to unravel the patriotism of the United States which ignores and sometimes even celebrates America's colonial roots and the damage both past and present that this colonization has caused.
Maldoror and Loggins-Hull both explore developing culture, identity, and pride in a country after colonization. Loggins-Hull's work for piccolo and electronics pair perfectly Maldoror's Decolonizing Culture exhibit because the piece allows for contemplation on Maldoror's themes and specifically how these themes impact us here in Columbus, Ohio as residents of a colonized country.
Olivia Boden
Thunderbomb | Jason Nippert
Our proposed selection, Thunderbomb, connects with the Wexner Center for the Arts’ gallery Beauty Amid Violence through a piece that is erratic and interruptive, yet still presents beauty in those sounds. We interpreted the title of our selection as referring to the thunder crash bomb, a name for one of the first bombs or hand grenades in the history of gunpowder warfare. These references are heard throughout the piece by the sudden contrast in dynamics and the sense of anxiety as the piece progresses. When considering how this selection connects to Sarah Maldoror’s gallery Beauty Amid Violence, we noted that the harshness of individual parts separately but all together created beauty. For example, there are phrases in our selection that on their own may sound uncomfortable or even painful to the listener, like the shrill pitch of the extended clarinet trill or the jet whistle from the flute, but when combined with the other instruments, these parts are just embellishments of the overall phrase. In a similar way, Maldoror’s filmmaking showed the pain and violence from African slavery and African resistance fighters, and showing these events through her film brought together communities to bring about social change.
This performance is the World Premiere of this piece. The connection with the exhibit as a whole is that it would be the first display of both the exhibit and this composition. This piece would give the listener a feel of discomfort while they are viewing the gallery about violence; consequently this combined artistic experience would aim to leave the visitor feeling uneasy and wanting to connect with others about their shared experience of the art. We hope to show through Thunderbomb that amidst sensations of discomfort or images of violence that beauty can be found through appreciation of the works as a whole.
Tres Perkins
A Man With a Gun Lives Here | Steve Snowden
When one’s life has been completely disrupted, changed, or manipulated by current social changes, the innate resources of human communication and interaction become even more important. Sarah Maldoror often portrays ordinary people as revolutionary protagonists, heroes and heroines, and individuals who raise up and help those around them. It is important that characters like this have their stories told to the world, as Maldoror has done in an inspiring way through her film and art.
People like the characters Maldoror has created must exist in all capacities around the world, to help those impacted by the daily grindstone of life. From another perspective, a person that is homeless, or a hobo, and without a sanctuary to retire themselves from daily life, needs the aspect of community prevalent somewhere in their inner world. A musical, artistic depiction of this perspective is the percussion trio, A Man with a Gun Lives Here, composed by Steve Snowden.
From a whole analysis, Snowden’s work embodies the unique idea of the “Hobo Code,” which was a code system of symbols in which nomadic hobos communicated with one another during the Great Depression. As many of these individuals were illiterate, the symbols were well understood by the hobos, but may have appeared like random markings to others. This code and means of communication became a strong foundation in building a community, working to keep one another safe, fed, and in work. An important aspect of Sarah Maldoror’s work is the everyday revolutionary that combats injustice and helps others along the way.
Relating to the Tricontinental Cinema Exhibit, a serious contemplation for Melvin Edwards’s sculpture Homage to the Poet Léon-Gontran Damas (1978–81) is the exploration of identity, the language used to describe this aspect, and the stories told through language. The exhibit considers the passage of time or transition between locations that the metal shapes undergo. All these aspects are what a traveling nomad might expect to consider in their daily life. How they traveled, how long they traveled, and where they traveled to make up who they are, as well as how they have helped others along the way. Many words and phrases are derogatory to people of this social hierarchy, but their stories matter no less.
Written for minimal percussion, the piece incorporates many unorthodox percussion techniques, such as bowing items, blowing into objects, or dropping items on the instrument. Different movements represent different pieces of information. For example, the symbol associated with movement two represents the information, “there are thieves about.” Much like how Sarah Maldoror incorporates different depictions and artistic influences in her work, Snowden borrows musical elements from other instruments to create unique performance attributes in this work.
The interconnectedness that results from borrowing different forms of art are common themes in Sarah Maldoror’s work and Steve Snowden’s percussion trio. The deep meaning and diverse execution of Snowden’s work highlight many themes that are prevalent in Maldoror’s work and other artists response to her work, found in the Tricontinental Cinema Exhibit.
Karis Brennan
Syrinx | Claude Debussy
As an artist and a musician, I see a clear connection between the artwork of Sarah Maldoror and Debussy’s Syrinx. As an art and music double major, this is such a phenomenal opportunity to bridge my two worlds with each other. Moldoror was largely influenced by the avant-garde movements of art, these largely include surrealism, cubism, futurism, and impressionism. Interestingly, Debussy was regarded as a leader in the impressionistic music movement (even though he despised the term openly and regarded it as an insult!), and his music and her artwork overlap in multiple areas.
Syrinx was originally written for the play Psyche by Gabriel Mourey. The piece was later given its name from the Greek myth about the nymph Syrinx. In the myth, she is a forest maiden of extreme beauty. One day Pan the God of the Wild sees her, and being well known for his unreasonable urges, he decides that he must have her. He chases her through the woods for days. In desperation and exhaustion Syrinx runs to the river's edge calling for her father the River God Ladon and her sisters’ help. Pan has caught up and just as her reaches to enclose her body, she is liberated through her form being turned into wild marsh reeds. Out of sexual frustration, Pan destroys the pipe reeds, crushing them into pieces. While moping on the side of the river he hears the sound of the wind through the reeds and forms his nine-reed pipe calling it the Syrinx. She is free, somewhat.
The piece, while causing much confusion and controversy, is still somewhat of a mystery. One quick search will bring up hundreds of flutists arguing their opinions on the matter. To me, I believe the performer ultimately has to decide what they want to believe for themself. For me, I let the piece reflect this section of the myth that I have retold here. By doing this, I can easily connect emotionally to Syrinx herself and the desperation and pain in her story. It is a piece about conflict, fear, and emancipation.
This reading of the piece is not only enriching for the performer but also very clearly ties with the work of Maldoror, feeling like a natural continuum to her work in Gallery A.
I also enjoyed the connection of her work intersecting so many different media and types of art, in a way that Syrinx does as well. This was shown most clearly with the film portraits on Aime Cesaire. The focus of Gallery A is The Language of Emancipation. Syrinx is an experience of liberation from an oppressive male power, while Maldoror’s work is about the liberation from colonial forces in power through the 1800s. Each also reflects on the time after liberation, the permanent interaction with the oppressor. Maldoror and her subjects literally speak the language of their oppressors, and Syrinx is forever a pipe to serve Pan. To me, these works are in clear conversation with each other.
Ben Kerger
Time for Marimba | Minoru Miki
Minoru Miki's Time for Marimba is a seminal work for the medium and one that has remained a poignant and haunting piece that demands interpretation. Lacking any programmatic notes or writing from the composer, it is left to the performer to find meaning within it. For myself, the piece is intense, forlorn, sarcastic, and reflective. These four ideas may appear to seem contradictory (or perhaps, paradoxical) but I believe if one is to listen to the work, my characterization will make sense. Considering the title, the piece depicts "time": the incessant, unceasing movement into an unknown future. Its primary theme — a dissonant six-note sequence — opens the piece and returns throughout, reminding us of the incessant nature of time's natural progression. The variations, often funny, dramatic — or what I would consider romantic — interrupt this pattern, and appear to leave as soon as they appear, never to be repeated throughout the work. The piece itself ends with the six-note sequence returning once more before a loud, low musical statement on the bottom end of the instrument finishes the work.
To me, this musical structuring of "time" directly applies itself to much of Sarah Maldoror's art — particularly that in Gallery A, The Language of Emancipation. The passage and alteration of African culture and language by colonialist powers was one that is inherently defined by time. Certainly in the time that native languages were adapted — and that cultural traditions were developed — but also in the awful remarkable pace at which European colonialist powers set out to eradicate or assimilate those things. When considering the learning guide for the galleries, it asks the viewer to consider the way "the metal shapes convey the passage of time or a transition between locations?" In considering this question, Maldoror's art in Gallery A attempts to convey the exact passage of time I consider here, the return to African traditions (despite colonialist influence) that are themselves established by time; in fact — to me — if there is anything that defines a tradition, it is time. It appears to me that Maldoror's art in Gallery A is focused on this idea, and it is reflected through her focusing lens on the "Négritude" movement, a return to African cultural traditions and language, the African diaspora, the multiple ways that "time" intersects between these things. Time is the crossroads for Maldoror's interests here, and perhaps as it is for everything, the one power we are all subject to.
Xiao Liu
The Wound | Jake Heggie
The Wound is a slow, tender lullaby about birth and the sharing of legacy. It confides a story of a woman's wound when she has a baby. The quickened womb, sickened body, huge hunger and heavy limbs... She swells because the world is in her belly. The birth of a baby is not the end of the wound; she doesn't carry the sorrow but moves on.
In Gallery B, Everyday Revolutionaries, Sarah Maldoror shows her interest of struggled women. The film about their true lives brings awareness toward their wounds. Also, in Maya Mihindou's "An Obscure Wound", she presents wounds of different facets on different levels. Wounds should be seen and be respected, whether it belongs to a man or a woman.
When looking at those wounds existing in the real world, I feel sorry for I can only be a observer of them. But at the same time, I am so glad that I see their wounds. It's not a good idea to praise the wound but at least we can be aware of that. The Wound displays the details of a woman's wound but does not stop on the wound. Just as the composer said about this piece, "She chooses to remember the good, though a current of sorrow and hurt will always be part of what makes a woman." I'd like to change the last few words. "... a current of sorrow and hurt will always be part of what makes a woman and also a human being." Everyone's wound should be seen.
Austin Spillman
Jesus is Coming | Jacob TV
Jesus is Coming by Jacob TV is a piece written for reed quintet and electronics. The piece was composed in 2003 by the Dutch avant-pop composer as a response to the tragedy of 9/11. The electronics in the piece feature the sound bites of an evangelical street preacher, two talking babies, and a Salvation Army choir. Jacob TV`s reaction to 9/11 includes coming to terms with the event itself as well as exploring ideas of what humans do or don't do after a tragic event occurs. In Gallery D: Beauty Amid Violence, Hoyo's work Oro Negro and Comercio Triangular demonstrate how slaves are treated as commodities for sale. Through these works and with several other works in the exhibit, we can better understand the transatlantic slave trade and the effect it had on African and Afro-Cuban cultures both then and now. Similarly, Jesus is Coming deals with the impact that 9/11 had immediately, which continues to this day.
Maldoror's films often contain themes of pain or tragedy, but highlighted ideas of community and coming together for support. Jesus is Coming has sound motifs of a street preacher spreading hateful messages after the events of 9/11 on the streets of New York City. Then, the piece abruptly cuts off the preacher with uplifting sounds of the Salvation Army Choir. This section shows the hope for the future and how communities come together in times of tragedy to support one another.
Mary Paydock
Atenteben | Bob Becker
Atenteben by Bob Becker shares easily perceptible connections to the works of Sarah Maldoror as well as some less obvious relationships. Specific to Exhibit D’s Beauty Amid Violence, this piece celebrates beautiful melodies from the atenteben flute ensemble of Ghana and rhythms found in traditional African drumming in a light-hearted and upbeat approach. The interconnectivity and independence in the voicing conveys a greater message to represent Sarah Maldoror’s work and life.
In discussing colonialism, it is important that the musical works presented alongside this exhibit are genuine and appropriate within the space. Bob Becker, a prolific American composer and performer in the percussive world, may not have seemed like an obvious choice. However, Becker displays a genuine curiosity in cultural engagement. In his Percussive Arts Hall of Fame inductee interview Becker says, “...if you want to understand music from another culture, try to play it. Don’t just take a tape recorder to some exotic place and record their music, and then take it back to your office in Berlin, transcribe it, and then write an article about what they’re doing.” This kind of musical appropriation was (and still is) common and fails to appropriately represent another’s culture in any respectful manner. In contrast, Becker seeks to deeply investigate the music before composing or performing. Becker has worked with many traditional African percussionists like Abraham Adzenyah, Gideon Alorwoye, and Freeman Donker. Additionally he traveled to Senegal, Mali, Ivory Coast, and Kenya to learn and share musical ideas.
The percussion ensemble piece Atenteben is written for seven players. It features four keyboardists (three marimbas and one xylophone) who play melodies from the atenteben flute ensemble in Ghana. One of the keyboardists additionally plays a rattle. A gankogui player and two African drums (one high and one lower) are based off of rhythms found in traditional Ewe dance musics agbekor and gahu. The instrumentation itself stems from both western classical and African traditional musical ideas.
Relating to themes throughout the entire exhibit, the melodies represent the numerous relationships that Maldoror built through her career. Despite relaying topics of violence, inequality, and tension, we were taken with the beauty and strength in many of the interviewees, characters, and nature displayed in Maldoror’s films. The additional works from supporting artists like Maya Mihindou’s “An Obscure Wound” depict the friendships Maldoror made over the course of her career. In this mural, the lifelong friendship between Maldoror and poet Aimé Césaire are highlighted. The simultaneous independent and harmonious melodies within the keyboards represent the collaboration between Maldoror and the individuals she filmed and worked with. As a filmmaker, Maldoror traveled to many different areas and encountered a diverse range of cultures, but still made many meaningful connections. Like the independent voices of all seven players, Maldoror proves that there is so much room for individuality and community.
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