C. Spencer Yeh: Okkyung & the RCA Mark II

Mon 26 Oct, 2015, 8pm
Free ($10 suggested donation)

Investigating intersections of tape and live performance, and of composition with improvisation, C. Spencer Yeh presents a series of new works as part of his 2015 ISSUE Project Room residency. The program includes a “portrait” composition, part of an ongoing series combining real-time performance and pre-arranged recordings, for this occasion in a subjectively-directed homage to Okkyung Lee. Another new work is created from acoustic recordings of the historic and electronically-defunct RCA Mark II Sound Synthesizer, housed at the Computer Music Center of Columbia University.


C. Spencer Yeh is recognized for his interdisciplinary activities and collaborations as an artist and composer, as well as his music project Burning Star Core. Recent presentations of work include "Modern Mondays" at MoMA, "The Companion" at the Liverpool Biennial,"Synth Nights" at The Kitchen, "The Daily Show" at Bureau NYC, "Great Tricks From Your Future" at D-CAF in Cairo Egypt, "In Tones From Light to Dark" at Performa 13, "Excursus IV" at the ICA Philadelphia, Borderline Festival in Athens Greece, Kinomuzeum at Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw Poland, LAMPO at the Renaissance Society Chicago IL, All Ears in Oslo Norway, Kunsthall Stavanger in Norway, the Pérez Art Museum in Miami FL, the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston TX, and a Jerome Foundation Commission from Roulette Intermedium. Yeh also collaborated with Triple Canopy for their contribution to the Whitney Biennial in 2014. Recent recordings include "Solo Voice I-X" published by Primary Information, "Wake Up Awesome," a collaboration with Okkyung Lee and Lasse Marhaug published by Software Recording Co., and "Transitions" published by DeStijl under the CS Yeh moniker. A new recording by New Monuments, his trio with Ben Hall and Don Dietrich is forthcoming on Bocian.

Yeh also volunteers as a programmer and trailer editor for Spectacle Theater, a microcinema in Brooklyn NY. His video works are distributed by Electronic Arts Intermix. He is also a contributing editor to BOMB magazine, as well as contributing to publications such as The Third Rail and Personal Best.

Established in 2006, ISSUE Project Room's annual Artist-in-Residence program provides 6 emerging artists each with a year-long residency in 2015, offering access to rehearsal space and facilities, equipment, documentation, pr/marketing, curatorial and technical expertise to create new works, reach the next stage in their artistic development, and gain exposure to a broad public audience.

ISSUE Project Room's Artist-in-Residence program is made possible, in part, with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and with the support of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.