Since the demise of R.E.M. the group's varied members have embarked on a vast array of projects.
Frontman Michael Stipe, though, has been remarkably silent. Invited to take part in a residency at New York University, though, the singer has responded with a broad initiative.
The artist is to head up 'NEW SIGHTS, NEW NOISE' – an "evolving exhibition project" which utilises a gallery space as a "studio, classroom, and laboratory".
Michael Stipe is set to teach art classes in the gallery space once a week. The singer will give the class of 18 students a prompt:
"In response, each student along with Stipe and the guest will generate 100 images and gifs, both found and made, all of which will be uploaded to a private class website."
Running across six weeks, the project will finish with a full exhibition. Here's the blurb:
The title NEW SIGHTS, NEW NOISE refers directly to the glut and onslaught of information made available by the internet, often without context or authorship; the disproportionate and impulsive reactions that it provokes, and the reckless cynicism of a 24hour news cycle…, my desire would be to question how we can process all this and then employ, alter, or move beyond it altogether. I see our work in class as an extended exercise in cutting through the muck and getting to the real thing: the students themselves, their passions, interests, and most importantly, how they process all of this, and create a contributing voice that is unique to them and to these times. I want to encourage individualism within a group context; and more than anything encourage trusting in and acting upon one’s instinct.
Full information HERE.
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