June 14, 2001

Philip Glass And His Ensemble Perform Live at MASS MoCA with Shorts

At the invitation of Glass, Egoyan, Greenaway, Neshat and Rovner created silent short films for which the composer wrote new musical scores proposing a new relationship between film-making and film-showing. As Glass explains, "In its first 100 years, the world of film has created a new kind of literature, one that the world of live music, experimental theater, dance, and even opera can draw on. The strategy of combining a mechanically reproduced work, which is frozen in time, with live performance, which is not bound to time, gives a special quality of interpretation that is unique."

It's been more than 32 years since Philip Glass was first heard in concert with the violin solo, Strung Out. His music abandoned the idea of a clear beginning, middle, and end replacing this narrative structure with hypnotic, subtly shifting rhythms. His early music - haunting and at times mystical - puzzled listeners who reacted with frantic bravos and violent boos. Many hailed Glass for revitalizing music and opera, while others accused him of conspiring to destroy music itself.

Glass has composed for film, opera, dance, stage, and hybrid works that defy categorization. Among his many awards are a Cannes jury prize for Mishima, a Golden Globe for his work on The Truman Show, and an Oscar nomination for Kundun. He was the first composer honored with a prestigious Medallion Award by the Telluride Film Festival.

Cairo-born Atom Egoyan has written and directed an internationally acclaimed body of work in film, television and theatre. His awards include the Grand Prix and the International Critics' Award at the Cannes Film Festival, five Genies, and two Academy Award nominations.

English-born Peter Greenaway was first a painter and began working as a film editor for Great Britain's Central Office of Information in 1965. Today his work includes shorts and features (including The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover), television documentaries, and video installations. His honors and awards include The Chicago Hugo Award, the Melbourne and Sydney Film Festivals, the BFI Award and the L'Age D'Or in Brussels, a Cannes Film Festival Best Artistic Contribution nomination, and the Dance Screen Prize at the Monnaie Theatre in Brussels.

Iranian Shirin Neshat is a visual artist who produces intense and sometimes explosive work about contemporary Islamic life, the representation of feminism and the veil, and the complex interaction between traditional and modern values. Her numerous awards include the Grand Prix of the Kwangju Biennale in Korea and the Golden Lion Award - the First International Prize at the 48th Venice Biennale. In June she was at MASS MoCA for a two-week residency working on a new work called Conference of the Birds which combines live performance and video.

Born in Tel Aviv, Michal Rovner's work often defies classification, created on canvas paper, plastic, photographic paper, and with paint, ink, computers, and still and video cameras. Her work has been exhibited extensively including The Art Institute of Chicago; The Tate Gallery, London; Bohen Foundation, New York; Pace Wildenstein, New York; PS 1, New York; Rhona Hoffman Gallery, Chicago; Stephen Friedman Gallery, London; and the Museum of Modern Art, New York. She has created several large-scale projects including 27 by 147 foot images of Tel-Hill by the market place in Tel Aviv and Co-Existence, the 13 by 64 foot piece in the desert of Mitzpe Ramon (the Syrian-African break). Rovner traveled to the Israel-Lebanon border during times of fire exchange for one year to create the film Border.

Godfrey Reggio is prominent in the film world for his Qatsi trilogy, essays of visual images and sound which chronicle the destructive impact of the modern world on the environment. Reggio, who spent 14 years in silence and prayer while studying to be a monk, has a history of service to the environment and has founded and co-founded numerous humanitarian organizations benefiting youth street gangs and the poor, and under-served communities.

Tickets for Philip Glass: Shorts are $32 for orchestra seats and $28 for mezzanine. MASS MoCA members receive a 10% discount. Tickets are available through the MASS MoCA Box Office at 1040 MASS MoCA Way in North Adams from 10 am until 6 pm daily. Tickets can also be charged by phone by calling 413.662.2111 during Box Office hours or purchased on line at www.massmoca.org.

MASS MoCA, the largest center for contemporary visual and performing arts in the United States, is located off Marshall Street in North Adams on a 13-acre campus of renovated 19th-century factory buildings.

For Immediate Release
Contact: Katherine Myers
(413) 664-4481 x8113
katherine@massmoca.org