Improvising The Image
Residency with the UMBC Improv Ensemble as Guest Visual Artist and Collaborator under the direction of Dr. Patrick Crossland.
Musicians:
Patrick Crossland
Ida Dierker
Brandon Gouin
Jeremy Keaton
Josh Webb
This semester-long collaboration culminated in an hour-long improvisation concert, where musicians actively responded to the visuals displayed on CRT monitors as I improvised alongside them. Throughout the semester, we explored the dynamic connection between live audio and video, fostering a process of mutual listening, watching, and creative collaboration. This exchange emphasized the interplay between sound and image, showcasing the responsive and performative nature of our work together.
During the course of this collaboration, it was truly inspiring to see the musicians grow attached to the CRTs they were improvising with. Each of us, including myself, had our own Cathode Ray Tube Television—a total of seven CRTs, one for each member. I fed the video to these monitors, which the musicians helped care for throughout the semester. This act of caring for the monitors, the performance, and the visuals during our improvisations highlighted the empathetic nature of our collaboration. It also reflected the importance of tending to old technology—objects often considered obsolete, yet containing hazardous materials that are rarely recycled responsibly and are frequently sent overseas to underdeveloped nations.
By practicing care for these objects through performance, we created a dynamic and unique audiovisual experience that promoted care not only for the monitors themselves but also for the improvisations and visuals. The imagery reflected themes of nature, environmental disaster, consumeristic failures of the twentieth century, and the resilience of wildlife. These themes culminated in our hour-long concert, which encapsulated the responsive relationship between sound and image and the conceptual frameworks underlying our work.
Every Monday, we gathered for one-hour improvisation sessions, forming a weekly ritual that blurred the boundaries between my background as a musician and my identity as a visual artist. Each session was entirely improvised—none of us knew in advance what we or the others would bring. The musicians improvised musically in response to the visuals I presented, while I simultaneously responded visually, creating a fluid and evolving relationship between sound and image.
This collaborative effort, initiated by the musicians’ desire to experiment with video, was an incredible opportunity to merge our disciplines and explore new creative possibilities. Working closely with the director and the musicians—Patrick Crossland, Ida Dierker, Brandon Gouin, Jeremy Keaton, and Josh Webb—highlighted another facet of my practice: the collaborative, responsive nature of my work and its alignment with my environment and conceptual frameworks.
Video Improviser View From The Concert
Central to this collaboration was my analog video setup, which consisted of one laptop alongside analog video processing equipment from the 1980s to 2000s. This included a Videonics analog video mixer, a video enhancer, and two analog video cameras, as well as an improvised video feed. All of this analog gear was either salvaged, restored by me, or found in working condition and repurposed for this project.
Through experimentation, I discovered new ways to integrate these devices into contemporary art, breathing new life into equipment that many would consider outdated. The restored and repurposed gear proved to be essential in creating the visuals, underscoring their continued relevance in modern creative practices. This setup not only bridged past and present technologies but also embodied the themes of care and sustainability that are central to my work.
Screen capture of what the musicians are seeing on their individual CRT Monitors during a few improvisation rehearsals
The musicians’ screens displayed a constantly shifting array of visuals, creating an open-ended canvas for their improvisation. These visuals—abstract shapes, layered textures, feedback loops, and scenes of nature—provided inspiration for the music, which could range from spacious and melodic to noisy and dynamic. Since the performance was entirely improvised, there were no boundaries to the dynamic range or possibilities for the audio and visuals. The interplay between what was seen and heard created a fluid and unpredictable dialogue, with the musicians responding to the visuals as I adjusted and improvised them in real time.
Two Clips from the audience perspective of the final concert
