Miya Masaoka comes to Oberlin

The experimental musician Miya Masaoka is coming to Oberlin as a part of the Luce Margin Release lecture series.  Masaoka is an American artist who often performs on the Japanese 17-string koto zither.  Her work blends electronic innovations (such as using additional laser beams ‘strings’ above the koto zither ) and concept-based, often improvisational performance.  A member of the Bay Area Improv Scene, Masaoka is noted for her performance “What’s the Difference Between Stripping and Playing the Violin?”  on Market Street which combined dozens of musicians, male and female exotic dancers and taped interviews with sex workers. 

During her visit to Oberlin, Miya Masaoka will give a lunchtime lecture at the Cat and the Cream coffeehouse on Thursday November 19th at noon (pizza will be served).  Then, the following Saturday (the 21st) at 4pm two Oberlin student groups, WAM! and OINC, will perform Masaoka’s work, including “For Birds, Planes and Musicians” and “Jagged Pyramid”.  The concert will be directed by Julia Christiansen and Per Bloland.  Masaoka will play with students during the performance after intensive rehearsals.  The show will be at the ‘Sco in Wilder and is free of charge.

To find out more about Miya Masaoka, click here.  Here for more information about the Margin Release series.

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Josh Neufeld in Oberlin

Oberlin alum Josh Neufeld (’89) will be in Oberlin this weekend to discuss his recently published book;  A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge . His book was reviewed in the New York Times, you can see a related post about it here.   The book grew out of his experiences while volunteering for the Red Cross after Hurricane Katrina.  He will give a talk about the book as well as his career and previous projects as an alternative cartoonist.  His talk will be followed by a discussion between Josh Neufeld and Kwame Webster, a current senior at Oberlin who is a character in the book.   Their discussion will be moderated by Caroline Jackson Smith, Associate Professor of Theater and Dance and also African American Studies.   This event will be in Hallock Auditorium (in the Environmental Studies building) at 3pm this Saturday, Nov. 7th.

 

Visiting Artist: Steve Kurtz of the Critical Art Ensemble

The Margin Release lectures continue this week with Steve Kurtz of the Critical Art Ensemble. The CAE was founded in 1987 and has created art and theatre projects that have shown across the US and Europe. The group’s art projects combines commentary on current technology, political activism, and the state of our culture. See http://www.critical-art.net for more informatio about the CAE’s work. Steve will be giving an open presentation on CAE at noon at the Cat in the Cream on Monday, March 10. Lunch will be served.

7 PM that evening in Craig lecture hall will be the screening of “Strange Culture,” a film by Lynn Hershman Leeson.  Steve is the subject of this film, which explores events that have happened since 2004 when his wife Hope (another member of the CAE) passed away in her sleep. “A domestic tragedy turned into a Kafkaesque nightmare after the paramedics he summoned, alarmed by the Petri dishes, scientific equipment and books in his house, reported him to the FBI as a suspected bio-terrorist” (Pamela Troy). After the film, Steve will take questions about the ongoing case.

See http://www.strangeculture.net/ and http://youwillneverfind.us/marginrelease for more information