Experimental Art/Music Duo Lucky Dragons to Perform New Multimedia Work at The Contemporary Austin – Laguna Gloria
October 24, 2014
October 24, 2014, Austin, Texas — 17,000 Observations combines live music, a kinetic and sonic sculptural installation, and field recordings of birdcalls gathered in Laguna Gloria’s floodplain forest.
WHO: Lucky Dragons is a collaboration between Sarah Rara and Luke Fischbeck, an L.A.-based duo whose experimental art, musical performances, and participatory projects have been experienced at major art venues around the world, including the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, as part of the 2008 Whitney Biennial; the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; and Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris.
WHAT: The Contemporary Presents: Lucky Dragons: 17,000 Observations, a newly commissioned musical composition, sculptural and sound installation, live performance, and video projection inspired by birdcalls recorded over a 24-hour period at Laguna Gloria.
The live performance includes local percussionists and woodwinds musicians dispersed as quartets, trios, duos, and soloists throughout Laguna Gloria’s woods and meadow, accompanied by electronic music performed by Lucky Dragons. The 25-minute performance will repeat once so listeners may experience it from multiple perspectives.
The accompanying sculptural work—a dynamic, reflective mobile installed in the forest—will remain on view through December 9, along with a sound installation integrating elements of the performance and played on a vintage tape deck. Hand-built stools, crafted from a fallen tree discovered on the 12-acre site along Lake Austin, offer a place to rest and observe the changes in light and sound through the woods.
Linking the urban and natural environments of the museum’s two sites Lucky Dragons will also produce a video to be projected on the façade of The Contemporary Austin – Jones Center at night, incorporating images of the mobile and forest views from Laguna Gloria.
With 17,000 Observations, Lucky Dragons responds to and reinforces the sequences and transitions defining natural sites while celebrating the nearly 17,000 bird sightings that have already taken place at Laguna Gloria, an ecologically diverse area popular with birders.
WHERE: Performance and sculptural and sound installations: Betty and Edward Marcus Sculpture
Park at Laguna Gloria, 3809 W. 35th St., Austin, TX 78703; Video projection: Jones Center, 700 Congress Ave., Austin, TX 78701.
HOW: Free with admission. Info at www.thecontemporaryaustin.org.
THE CONTEMPORARY AUSTIN
The Contemporary Austin reflects the spectrum of contemporary art through exhibitions, commissions, education, and the collection. The museum consists of two primary locations, the Jones Center in downtown Austin at 700 Congress Avenue, and Laguna Gloria, a twelve-acre site on Lake Austin at 3809 W. 35th Street, which is home to the Driscoll Villa, the Art School, and the Betty and Edward Marcus Sculpture Park at Laguna Gloria.
BETTY AND EDWARD MARCUS SCULPTURE PARK AT LAGUNA GLORIA
In 2013, The Contemporary Austin was awarded a $9 million grant by the Edward and Betty Marcus Foundation to help create an unparalleled arts destination at Laguna Gloria, with the majority of the funds committed to commissioning and acquiring sculpture and permanent outdoor installations by some of today’s leading artists.
Already well-known for its historic significance, natural surroundings, and the Art School, Laguna Gloria now continues to grow into an exceptional art-in-nature experience with exhibitions, commissions, and vibrant community engagement through public programming and educational initiatives. In April 2014, after a year-long international search, the museum announced the selection of landscape architecture firm Reed Hilderbrand to design a new master plan for the Laguna Gloria site. Local Austin collaborators including Urban Design Group and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center will ensure that this precious reserve of natural beauty in the heart of the city will become even more resilient, diverse, and welcoming for art and nature lovers alike.
IMAGE: Lucky Dragons, Rendering for 17,000 Observations at The Contemporary Austin – Laguna Gloria, Austin, Texas, 2014.
For additional information and to request media images, please contact:
Nicole Chism Griffin
Manager of Marketing & Public Relations
[email protected]
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