New Communalism is a performance piece for a heavy metal guitarist learning birdsong. Taking place over four nights in February 2019, a skilled guitarist used the dark arts and plenty of theatrical lighting to come into a greater union with avian brotherhood.
Guitar by Matthew Setzer from Skinny Puppy and omniscient narration by Pricilla Jin Chung. Other materials include recordings of American bird songs, red stage lighting, and fog machines.
Thank you to curator Shirley Watts and for generous support by the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanical Gardens.
