Like a nervous, perpetually
tuning orchestra, Jason Ajemian's
band, Who Cares How Long You Sink, huddles
close together as though about to play
the last song to ever be played. Who can
blame them if they're too anxious
to actually play a tune. What occurs is
more like the delicate hair-twirling,
or thumb-sucking of a child in the corner
of a crowded room. The prolific experimentalist,
Ajemian chants to himself with breaking
lilts and moans that sound like the waning
moments of a sinking ship, wrenching under
the ocean' pull.
A group of Chicago jazz musicians, Who
Cares How Long You sink evokes electronic
and ambience to flesh out its avant-garde,
film-student sound. Momentary musical
gams among sections of the orchestra remind
the listener that there is fragile purpose
and organized beauty here. Plucks and
scrapes subtly give way to strokes and
long, dissonant notes that form a recognizable
measure, or two, while Ajemian holds a
knife to the throat of a struggling narrative.
Video artist, Brad Loving, projects archival
vacation footage on the wall behind the
band. His appropriated, and sometimes
filtered, stock formally mimics the music,
creating a heady experience. As the band
opens, singular Hawaiian flowers shudder,
as though Hibiscus and Torch Gingers are
forcefully voicing the sounds of each
instrument. Each flower channels another
instrument until the room is filled with
the entire orchestra, charmingly reflected
swaying bushes.
Loving takes us through heartbreaking
visuals, pairing video to each musical
movement like fine wine to a meal. He
barely interprets, leaving both the music
and the video wide open for personal exploration.
A militaristic parade, a combine harvesting
wheat, gleaners in a field tossing the
chaff, the lurching forward of a ship
deck as it cuts through the water: the
subject mater is diverse, yet consistent
in tone and evocation. It becomes appropriately
unclear which medium serves the other.
A woman suddenly turns her gaze towards
the viewer, a saxophone blurts out. The silhouettes of the band mingle with blurry, marching figures on the screen. Both
mediums cooperate like passive-aggressive
siblings vying for our obtuse attention.
Some of the video, original vacation footage
shot by Jack Fetzer, a friend's
grandfather, with the music is available
on Loving's website.
—Michael Kiser [mkiser@sedaqa.com]
Brad
Loving & Who Cares How Long You Sink
Heaven Gallery, Chicago
Mar 24, 2007
www.birdandwhale.com
www.heavengallery.com |
