September 16, 6–7 PM, reception to follow
MIT Media Lab Complex Cube, Ground Floor
20 Ames Street, E15, Cambridge MA 02139
The MIT Visiting Artists Program announces 2011/12 series with a new performance by MIT Visiting Artist Jason Moran and Joan Jonas.
The MIT Visiting Artists Program launches a new season with a series of programs featuring jazz pianist and 2010 MacArthur Fellow Jason Moran. A musician of diverse interests and wide acclaim, Moran is a frequent collaborator with artists, musicians, and designers. During his residency at MIT, he will present a new performance work Reanimation with Joan Jonas, a professor in the MIT Program in Art, Culture and Technology and a seminal figure in performance art. Moran has collaborated with Jonas on her multimedia installation My New Theater: Reading Dante III, which integrates music, performance, animation, video, and the visual arts. The exhibition is on view at the MIT Media Lab Complex from September 14 through October.
Jazz pianist Jason Moran has been dubbed by critics “the future of jazz.” When Moran’s debut recording Soundtrack to Human Motion was released in 1999, Ben Ratliff of the New York Times christened it Best Album of the Year. Since that celebrated debut, Moran has garnered critical praise for his pathbreaking recordings on Blue Note Records, often performing with his ensemble The Big Bandwagon. Moran’s music is in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
MIT students will have unprecedented access to the creative process in master classes and a special open rehearsal. The Arts at MIT will screen the feature film In My Mind documenting Moran’s 2007 performance of Thelonious Monk’s iconic 1959 recording Monk at Town Hall.
The MIT Visiting Artists Program invites nationally and internationally recognized artists to campus, where they work closely with students, researchers, and faculty to advance the integration of the creative and performing arts into MIT’s culture of innovation. Artists come to MIT for stays of several days or weeks. The residencies offer recipients unparalleled access to the creative energy and cutting-edge research found at MIT and offer students fresh perspectives from artists who are shaping the future of their fields. Artists engage with the community through master classes, lecture-demonstrations, performances, workshops, and conversations.
Upcoming artists in the fall series:
Trevor Paglen, artist
Lecture: September 30, 7 PM, Bartos Theater, MIT
Ascoli Ensemble, research-based vocal ensemble dedicated to medieval music
Concert: October 12, 5:30 PM, Lobby 7, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, MIT
Concert: October 13, 9 PM, MIT Chapel, 48 Massachusetts Avenue, MIT
Robert Wilson, director, experimental theater
Workshops: November 6–10 (open to members of the MIT community only)
Lecture: November 9, MIT Museum, 265 Massachusetts Avenue, MIT
Bang on a Can, music on the cutting edge
Concert: November 12, 8 PM, Kresge Auditorium, MIT
Florian Hecker, artist and composer
Lecture: December 1, 7 PM, Bartos Theater, MIT
Concert: December 2, Location TBA
Get details on all artists and events: arts.mit.edu/va