Fujimura and Ibarra have collaborated together several times in the last four years, most notably onstage at Carnegie Hall with the American Composers Orchestra in 2007. Additional venues include The Kitchen (for Ibarra's modern opera, Shangri-La) and Le Poisson Rouge.
Plywood Pictures, with funding from International Arts Movement, has been documenting Ibarra/Fujimura collaborations, from public spaces like the Brecht Forum, to private spaces such as the International Studio Program residency. Portions of the finished documentary film will be shown, and a DVD of the film will be included in limited-edition art boxes designed for museums and collectors. Also contained inside the boxes are torn fragments of paintings from past performances. These art boxes will be availabe exclusively from International Arts Movement.
King Eagle: A Live Improvisation is part of a documentary film Ibarra is currently working on. The film captures the endangered cultural heritage of indigineous music and dance in the Philippines, overlapping with the disappearing national bird, the King Eagle. Fujimura will create imagery that will be animated for the documentary, further expanding the duo’s creative territory.
To participate in this IAM Global event, go to IAM's web site, www.InternationalArtsMovement.org, on September 24 at 8:30 pm. A link to the free webcast will be posted at that time.
Discussion materials related to the event, developed for group viewings, may be requested by emailing christy @ internationalartsmovement.org.
King Eagle: A Live Improvisation, September 24, 2009 at 8:30 (EST), www.InternationalArtsMovement.org.
About Makoto Fujimura:
Japanese-American painter Makoto Fujimura fuses ancient Nihonga traditional techniques with modern influences. Known for his attention to and celebration of beauty, Fujimura’s work is represented by Dillon Gallery (www.dillongallery.com)
About Susie Ibarra:
Composer, improviser and percussionist Susie Ibarra is a Yamaha, Vic Firth and Paiste Artist and a 2008 Recipient of the Asian Cultural Council Rockefeller Fellowship. Ibarra performs solo, in her trio & quartet, and with collaborative groups Electric Kulintang and Mephista, and her music can be heard on over forty recordings. Recent works include War Horses (music by Electric Kulintang with poetry of Yusef Komunyaka, commission for the Isamu Noguchi Museum, 2007), Summer Fantasy and Folklore (music for Susie Ibarra Quartet, commissioned for MoMA Summergarden and Jazz at Lincoln Center, 2008), Madre Selva (soundtrack commission for video art of Juan Sanchez, dedicated to Ana Mendieta, Lehigh Art Center, PA, 2009) and Pintados Dream/ The Painted’s Dream (concerto for drums and orchestra with visual art by Makoto Fujimura, commissioned by the American Composers Orchestra and premiered at Zankel Carnegie Hall, NY, 2007).
