Audio By Carbonatix
Tinker with something just a little and big things can happen. The Miami Art Museum has done just that, keeping their doors open later than usual on Thursday, ushering in a new wave of night owl art aficionados. As the sun sets, Miami transforms into place a little grimier and a lot more beautiful. The simple change in time alters the setting, and voila, the museum experience is turned on its head.
Afterhours at the Miami Art Museum, always offer an eclectic lineup, a true artistic melting pot — like the city it resides in. This Thursday, expect a performance by sound art collectives Frozen Music and Flash Orchestra. You’ll also have the chance to meet local artists Adler Guerrier and Mette Tommerup. As always, Talking Head Transmitters will do a live radio broadcast, this time with the PDMD Ensemble. And for the literary minded, the Miami Poetry Collective’s Poem Depot will be on hand, writing commissioned poems.
We recently spoke to Felecia Chizuko Carlisle, creator of Flash
Orchestra, a project that epitomizes the mood of Afterhours. “Flash
Orchestra,” she said, “is a sound art collective that formed out of
experimentation with a software called Flash, originally designed for
making interactive websites and games. I began a couple of years ago
making instruments of my own and decided to test it out as a project
with my students. A couple of students really enjoyed it, and now we are
Flash Orchestra, working, and making collaborative pieces.”
In a Flash Orchestra performance, geometric abstractions are projected
while sounds are played, creating simultaneous visual and audio
dissonance. “The sounds and the animations are synergistic. The
animations are intended to reflect the behavior of the sound through
space. A physical space is carved out through projection that is
cinematic, experiential, sculptural, all of the above.”
When asked about audience reaction, Carlisle perfectly described what
Flash Orchestra and Afterhours are about. “They are walking into new
territory, and within the particular context of the museum, may
feel tested on those grounds.”
Afterhours is at the Miami Art Museum (101 W. Flagler St., Miami) Thursday from 6 p.m to 9 p.m. Admission costs $5 for
members and $15 for non-members. Call 305-375-1704 or visit
miamiartmuseum.org.
–Alex Perez
