“My approach to composition is informed by my background as a DJ, and in many ways Albert Barnes himself thought like a DJ by arranging artworks with a sense for their overall rhythm and unexpected resonances.” Jace Clayton
“A one-man musical Venn diagram, linking up genres, people, styles, and beats.” Bob Hammond, New York Magazine
This site-specific performance is an inspired musical response to the artworks of Room 21 at the Barnes Foundation and Albert Barnes’ extensive record collection. The actual Room 21 displays an eclectic mix of Pennsylvania German furniture, Modigliani’s painting Reclining Nude from the Back, African masks, religious works, and paintings by Barnes students. Composer Jace Clayton (also known as DJ /rupture) plays on ideas of adjacency between vastly different artists and cultures. Carefully choreographed, Clayton’s concert rewards roaming through the performance, much like visitors roam through the art collection.
Joining Clayton is an ensemble of more than a dozen musicians, including the Prometheus Chamber Orchestra, banjoist Ben Lee, Ethiopian Musician Gezachew Habtemariam and Pianist Emily Manzo, all wearing custom costumes handcrafted by fashion designer Rocio Salceda of Prellezo.
Created by Jace Clayton, aka DJ /rupture Curated by Lee Tusman in collaboration with Ars Nova Workshop
Photos: Max Lakner
$10 admission
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This presentation of Room 21 is supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.
Festival Executive Producer
Tom Lussenhop
Festival Co-Producers
Richard and Peggy Greenawalt
About Jace Clayton
Jace Clayton uses an interdisciplinary approach to focus on how sound, memory, and public space interact, with an emphasis on low-income communities and the global South. His book on 21st century music and global digital culture will be published in 2016 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Recent projects include Sufi Plug Ins, a free suite of music software-as-art, based on non-western conceptions of sound and alternative interfaces; and The Julius Eastman Memorial Dinner, a touring performance piece for grand pianos, electronics, and voice. As DJ /rupture, he has performed in over three dozen countries, released several critically acclaimed albums, and hosted a weekly radio show on WFMU for five years. Clayton’s collaborators include filmmakers Jem Cohen, Joshua Oppenheimer, poet Elizabeth Alexander, singer Norah Jones, and guitarist Andy Moor (The Ex).
Further Reading
An Interview with Jace Clayton by Alan Gilbert, BOMB Magazine
Excerpt: Fusion is one of the main metaphors or modes of operation for traditional world music, and a lot of people will talk about hybridity. I’m much more interested in friction as a process: moments where things are rubbing up against each other. Read the full article.