Jeff Kolar

Meredith Kooi reviews a performance of Live Dancing...

Thu, 23 May 2013 15:40:00 -0500

Meredith Kooi reviews a performance of Live Dancing Archive at The Kitchen in an article titled “Horizons of Knowledge, Movement, Systems: Jennifer Monson’s ‘Live Dancing Archive’”. The article was published on Bad At Sports.

Meredith Kooi writes:

The live performance of Live Dancing Archive was itself a system. This component of the archive also consisted of multiple parts including the movement, live sound, and live stage and lighting design changes and manipulations. The sound, composed and performed by Jeff Kolar, an audio artist based in Chicago, is “generated live through field experiments in the AM/FM, Shortwave, Citizens, and Unlicensed radio spectrums. The instrument arrangement of handmade radio transmitters and receivers respond directly to external weather phenomena, wireless technology systems, and human activity.” [9] After the performance I attended, Kolar explained that there were more “ghosts” being picked up by the receivers that night than had usually been happening for the other performances. The fluctuations occurring in the systems of the electromagnetic spectrum and the Hertzian space surrounding and emanating from the instruments, the electronic objects of the audience members, and the other technologies that exist in and around the space of The Kitchen directly impacted the sound performance and thus the entire ecology of the live performance.

Bat At Sports is a weekly podcast, a series of objects, events, and a daily blog produced by over 20 principle collaborators in Chicago, San Francisco, Detroit and New York City that features artists and “art worlders” talking about art and the community that makes, reviews and participates in it.

Read the full article and interview here.

I’m performing in the series Articular Facet curated...

Wed, 22 May 2013 21:09:57 -0500

I’m performing in the series Articular Facet curated by Julia Miller. The event features integrated visual/sensor technology by James Connolly, palate controlled vocals by Ryan Dunn, radio systems by Jeff Kolar & Anna Friz, MIDI guitar and visuals by Julia Miller, adapted turntable media by KG Price, and dancer Melissa Sanchez.

Articular Facet is a new series of electro-acoustic compositions and structured improvisations curated by Julia Miller. The series reflects the use of ancient, adapted, or hacked technology, invented instruments and performative objects, and the incorporation of the visual and physical into the sonic.

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When:

May 30, 2013
6:30pm - 8:30pm

Where:

Empty Bottle
1035 N. Western Ave.
Chicago, IL, USA

Meredith Kooi and I will be presenting a paper together on...

Sun, 12 May 2013 12:45:00 -0500

Meredith Kooi and I will be presenting a paper together on behalf of Radius titled “Radius RANGE: Local, Distant, Fringe” at the 12th Annual Deep Wireless Trans X Transmission Art Symposium in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Deep Wireless Festival is a month-long celebration of radio and transmission art including performances, installations, radio broadcasts and the TransX Transmission Art Symposium.

Radius is an experimental radio broadcast platform based in Chicago, IL, USA.

View the schedule

When:

May 18, 2013
11:45am

Where:

Artscape Wychwood Barns
601 Christie Street
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

The next NO MEDIA event is at DEFIBRILLATOR Gallery on Saturday...

Fri, 03 May 2013 22:25:00 -0500

The next NO MEDIA event is at DEFIBRILLATOR Gallery on Saturday May 11, 2013. NO MEDIA is [dis]organized by Jason Soliday, Nick Briz, and Jeff Kolar

NO MEDIA is an open [sign up] improvisational realtime/performance media art event. Participating artists are randomly matched in sets of 3 && given 10mins to perform w/&& in re:to each other. Poets + experimental dancers + free jazzers + [audio &&/or video] noise makers: welcome.

DEFIBRILLATOR is a non-profit 501c3 arts organization that contextualizes performance within the visual art realm. dfb provides a gathering place to conceive, present and promote performance art and other ephemeral forms of expression.

Read the rules & sign up here.

When:

May 11, 2013
8:00pm

Where:

DEFIBRILLATOR
1136 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Chicago, IL

I’m performing in “B-Radio: Voyage to the Forbidden...

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 19:50:00 -0500

I’m performing in “B-Radio: Voyage to the Forbidden Planet” with the radio collective NRRF, which features Jonny Farrow, Anna Friz, Stephen Germana, Jeff Kolar, and Peter Speer. The performance is the opening event for the 2013 Deep Wireless Festival.

Deep Wireless Festival is a month-long celebration of radio and transmission art including performances, installations, radio broadcasts and the TransX Transmission Art Symposium.

Listen to the online broadcast

When:

May 01, 2013
8pm

Where:

Artscape Wychwood Barns
601 Christie Street
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Paul Riismandel interviewed me for an article titled...

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 13:32:00 -0500

Paul Riismandel interviewed me for an article titled “Radius: An On-Air Exhibition Space for Transmission Art in Chicago”. The article was published on Radio Survivor.

Riismandel writes:

Some may mistake Radius’ transmissions for strange interference, or a broken radio, while others may be briefly captured by the unfamiliar modulation. They emanate on different days, at different times, originating from different geographic locations, but all existing in a certain Hertzian space.

Radio Survivor is a news blog about radio’s present, past, and uncertain future authored by Matthew Lasar, Paul Riismandel, and Jennifer Waits.

Read the full article and interview here.

I will be performing Touchscreen live at the 2013 MEGAPOLIS...

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 12:37:00 -0500

I will be performing Touchscreen live at the 2013 MEGAPOLIS Audio Festival at The New School in New York City. The festival runs April 19-21, 2013.

MEGAPOLIS Audio Festival is a weekend-long event dedicated to the art of sound. Artists including documentarians, technologists, musicians, educators, urban planners, scientists, radio producers, and fans interact to share secrets on producing and presenting challenging audio works online, on-air, and on the stage.

Touchscreen is an audio exploration of surface acoustic waves that emanate from electronic visual displays. Touchscreen was released by Panospria net-label in September 2012.

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View the schedule

View the line-up

When:

April 20, 2013
1:00pm

Where:

MEGAPOLIS Audio Festival
Culture Hub
47 Great Jones Street
New York, NY, USA

Meredith Kooi interviewed Nick Briz, Jason Soliday and me about...

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 13:10:12 -0500

Meredith Kooi interviewed Nick Briz, Jason Soliday and me about [dis]organizing the new NO MEDIA event series in an article titled “‘documenting’ NO MEDIA”. The article was published on Bad At Sports.

Meredith Kooi writes:

On March 16, 2013, I participated in (NO MEDIA), but that’s the only detail of the night I’ll give. For, there is no documentation allowed. After the event, I sat down with [dis]organizers Jason Soliday, Nick Briz, and Jeff Kolar via electronic-mail. I wanted to ask them: Why a NO MEDIA new media performance event? What is considered documentation? What does it all mean??

Bad At Sports is a weekly podcast, a series of objects, events, and a daily blog produced by over 20 principle collaborators in Chicago, San Francisco, Detroit and New York City that features artists and “art worlders” talking about art and the community that makes, reviews and participates in it.

Read the full article and interview here.

I will be giving a Visiting Artist lecture at the School of the...

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 23:19:00 -0500

I will be giving a Visiting Artist lecture at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the Sound Department’s course “DIY Broadcast Media”. The course is taught by Brett Ian Balough and explores the use of radio, light and sound through a hands-on, do-it-yourself approach to low-power radio, locative media, hactivism and culture-jamming.

When:

April 03, 2013
1:00pm

Where:

School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Michigan Building, Room 521
112 South Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL, USA

I am performing in an improvised dou with Jason Soliday for...

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 20:52:00 -0500

I am performing in an improvised dou with Jason Soliday for the Myopic Improvised & Experimental Music Series at Myopic Bookstore. The series is organized by Fred Lonberg-Holm, Brian Labycz, and Aaron Zarzutzki.

Myopic Bookstore is one of Chicago’s oldest and largest used bookstores totaling over 80,000 editions located in the heart of Wicker Park neighborhood.

When:

March 25, 2013
7:30pm

Where:

Myopic Books
1564 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Chicago, IL, USA

This audio track was produced for Disquiet Junto 0062: Life of...

Sat, 09 Mar 2013 20:55:00 -0600

This audio track was produced for Disquiet Junto 0062: Life of Sine - “compose and record a piece of music using just three different sine waves, and nothing else.”

The Disquiet Junto is a group based on SoundCloud where musicians respond to regularly scheduled, fast-turnaround assignments to compose, record, and share new music. The idea is to use restraints as a springboard for creativity.

View all of my contributions to the Disquiet Junto group here.

More details on the Disquiet Junto here.

I am co-organizing a new ongoing performance series with Nick...

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 14:17:00 -0600

I am co-organizing a new ongoing performance series with Nick Briz and Jason Soliday called NO MEDIA. The series first launched at GLI.TC/H 2012.

Read the rules & sign up here.

When:

March 16, 2013
8:00pm

Where:

Tritriangle
1550 N Milwaukee Ave Fl 3
Chicago, IL 60622

Gia Kourlas of The New York Times reviews a performance of Live...

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 16:57:00 -0600

Gia Kourlas of The New York Times reviews a performance of Live Dancing Archive at The Kitchen in an article titled “Improvising, a Mover Lets You See Her Think: Jennifer Monson’s ‘Live Dancing Archive’”.

Kourlas writes:

Jeff Kolar’s score — ranging from sounds of blowing wind to abrasive noise — is part of what gives the piece theatrical grounding.

Live Dancing Archive explores the dancing body in conjunction with the moving image of video and other media as an archive of place, experience and systems.

The Kitchen is a non-profit, interdisciplinary organization that provides innovative artists working in the media, literary, and performing arts with exhibition and performance opportunities to create and present new work.

Kunstradio ORF re-broadcasted audio from the Art’s...

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 10:45:00 -0600

Kunstradio ORF re-broadcasted audio from the Art’s Birthday Chicago event produced by the radio collective “NRRF: B Radio” which features Jonny Farrow, Anna Friz, Steve Germana, Jeff Kolar, and Peter Speer. The event was originally broadcasted on January 17, 2013 from the Audible Gallery of the Experimental Sound Studio in Chicago, USA.

Kunstradio ORF is a weekly program of radio-art founded in 1987 on Oesterreich 1, the cultural radio channel of the Austrian National Radio (ORF) based in Vienna, Austria.

When:

Sunday, February 17
11:03pm - 11:45pm CET

Where:

Kunstradio ORF
Ö1 & RÖI (Shortwave)
Vienna, Austria

Maura Lucking interviewed me about my work on the Live Dancing...

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 17:25:00 -0600

Maura Lucking interviewed me about my work on the Live Dancing Archive project in an article titled “The Body as an Object of Interference: Q+A with Jeff Kolar”. The article was published on Rhizome.org.

Maura Lucking writes:

The piece was developed collaboratively over the course of the last year and a half by Monson, video artist Robin Vachal, lighting designer Joe Levasseur, and audio artist Jeff Kolar. In its final incarnation, the work exists as a simultaneous performance of Monson, Levasseur, and Kolar, all of whom will be physically present on stage, a video installation that will be on view on The Kitchen’s stage during days of performance, and a digital archive of video footage and ephemera from the BIRD BRAIN project…

The project’s composer, Jeff Kolar, agreed to answer a few questions about the audio component of the performance, an “indeterminate score… generated through live field experiments in the AM/FM, shortwave, Citizens, and unlicensed spectrum (27 MHz or 49 MHz band).”

Rhizome.org is an online organization dedicated to the creation, presentation, preservation, and critique of emerging artistic practices that engage technology.

Read the full article and interview here.

Gapers Block featured my interview with Kate Korroch “Radius: A...

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 10:38:38 -0600

Gapers Block featured my interview with Kate Korroch “Radius: A Sonic Lens” in their January Arts & Culture section. The article was originally published on Sixty Inches From Center.

Read the full article and interview here.

Gapers Block is a Chicago-centric web publication providing information on news, events and other interesting stuff around Chicago.

I am very excited to announce the premiere of Live Dancing...

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 15:19:00 -0600

I am very excited to announce the premiere of Live Dancing Archive at The Kitchen in New York City, USA. Live Dancing Archive is a visceral exploration of the dancing body as a physical archive of experience and place. The full evening-length performance is accompanied by a video installation by Robin Vachal, live sound by Jeff Kolar, lighting design by Joe Levasseur, costume design by Susan Becker, and digital archive design by Young Jae Bae.

The Kitchen writes:

Kolar uses the electro-magnetic spectrum to compose an indeterminate score that intensely alters our perception of specific spaces. The audio material in Live Dancing Archive is generated through live field experiments in the AM/FM, shortwave, Citizens, and unlicensed spectrum (27 MHz or 49 MHz band). The work highlights the subtle changes, modulation, and interference patterns found in electromagnetic waves.

Join the Live Dancing Archive Facebook event page here.

View The Kitchen’s official press release here.

When:

February 14–16, 2013 & February 21–23, 2013
8pm
Tickets are $15 and available here.

Where:

The Kitchen
512 West 19th Street
New York, NY 10011/

Coppice included my track “Just My Imagination” from...

Sat, 19 Jan 2013 11:18:00 -0600

Coppice included my track “Just My Imagination” from Hallmark Cards in their new playlist hosted on By Measure. Stream the Coppice playlist here.

The playlist includes:

To Be Small in a Small Place - Jason Zeh
You and I in the Formidable Fire - Quarry House
Outside Ones - Gangi
Roundel - John Kannenberg
Untitled 3 - Giuseppe Ielasi
Trio - Stephen Cornford
nome - MKR
Just My Imagination - Jeff Kolar
Utopia Semi-Waltz - Jono El Grande
I’m a Lonesome Cowboy - Berglind Tómasdóttir
Overture from Heath (“All Weather Adheasion”) - Andrew Furse

By Measure is a blog that gives a behind-the-scenes look at where musicians work.

Coppice (Noé Cuéllar & Joseph Kramer) is a Chicago-based duet of bellows and electronics.

Alastair Macaulay of The New York Times mentioned my work...

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 09:43:00 -0600

Alastair Macaulay of The New York Times mentioned my work on Live Dancing Archive with choreographer Jennifer Monson in his review “Greek Tragedy, Economic Mayhem and Other Sources of Modern Movement at the American Realness Festival at Abrons Arts Center”.

Macaulay writes:

Of the two pieces I admired most…Jennifer Monson’s “Live Dancing Archive” is a work in progress that will be presented more completely in February at the Kitchen. Although Saturday’s hourlong showing concentrated too much on methodology and theory, Ms. Monson is evidently an artist of integrity and subtlety (peculiarity too), with a developed style and vocabulary, swiftly creating a world when she dances.

Live Dancing Archive explores the dancing body in conjunction with the moving image of video and other media as an archive of place, experience and systems. Live Dancing Archive will premiere for New York audiences in February 2013 at The Kitchen.

I am participating in a radio collaboration called “NRRF...

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 11:05:00 -0600

I am participating in a radio collaboration called “NRRF Radio” in the Audible Gallery of the Experimental Sound Studio in coordination with the 1,000,050th birthday of art. We will be transmitting to the Ravenswood neighborhood on FM and to the rest of the world via an online stream (URL will be posted on day of).

Art’s Birthday is an annual event first proposed in 1963 by French artist Robert Filliou. He suggested that 1,000,000 years ago, there was no art. But one day, on the 17th of January to be precise, Art was born. According to Filliou, it happened when someone dropped a dry sponge into a bucket of water. Filliou proposed a public holiday to celebrate the presence of art in our lives. In recent years, the idea has been taken up by a loose network of artists and friends around the world. Each year the Eternal Network evolves to include new partners - working with the ideas of exchange and telecommunications-art.

Join the “Art’s Birthday” Facebook event page here.

Visit the “Art’s Birthday” website for a complete listing of international participants here.

Participants:

Jonny Farrow
Anna Friz
Stephen Germana
Jeff Kolar
Peter Speer

When:

January 17, 2013
2:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Where:

Experimental Sound Studio
5925 N Ravenswood (between Thorndale Ave & United States Highway 14)
Chicago, IL 60660