Past Events

Ben Vida performs the East Coast Premiere of Damages Particulates, an eleven movement solo composition for fixed and live electronics presented in four channel expanded stereo. The program also includes his recent work "Extraction", accompanied by a micro-lecture on the theme of "Extraction" by curator Anthony Elms.

A pioneering force behind the evolution of minimalism, violinist and composer Tony Conrad’s performances are droning, mesmerizing explorations of new worlds of sound. This evening Conrad plays solo, joined by multi-instrumentalist Lee Noble, and a collaborative performance by Amen Dunes and visual artist Tom Thayer.

Active for over 30 years, composer William Basinski's haunting and melancholic soundscapes have made him an icon of contemporary ambient music. Tonight he performs solo. Aki Onda and Raha Raissnia return to ISSUE for their second duo, performing with oil paintings, film/slide projectors, tape recorders, and tube amps.

ISSUE presents the No-Neck Blues Band, one of the most enigmatic, mysterious, and defiantly anti-commercial groups to emerge from 90s NY. Electric guitarists Loren Connors & Tom Carter play duo, pairing ancestral blues and psychedelic drone. Vocalist Suzanne Langille performs duo with Cammisa Buerhaus.

Wanton performance artist Ann Liv Young’s most recent alter ego, the homespun psychologist Sherry, confronts extremes of personality– tonight Sherry, who shares, is paired with her opposing (though not opposed) character, Mary, who marries. Dancer Jen Rosenblit and C. Spencer Yeh come together for a collaborative set.

ISSUE presents the east coast premiere of WOODSLIPPERCOUNTERCLATTER, a sound-work that germinates from new, unpublished Susan Howe text collages, and the fourth collaboration in a decade from poet Susan Howe and musician/composer David Grubbs. The night opens with a solo guitar set by Grubbs.

ISSUE presents work from 3 former Artists-In-Residence: Yarn/Wire, Tristan Perich, and Ashley Paul. Yarn/Wire perform Perich’s “Chalk”– a hypnotic chamber piece for pianos, xylophones, and 1-bit electronics. Ashley Paul’s song-based solo work is a psychologically intense combination of melody and raw textures.

A series of texts written by artist serves as the sonic foundation of this live solo multi-channel voice, electronic and acoustic instrumental piece. The work is premiered in a live performance on Thursday evening, and continues as an installation on view 12-6pm on Friday and Saturday afternoon.

SPECIAL EVENT: ISSUE and the Van Alen Institute present an evening of performances and talks celebrating the launch of "Elsewhere: Escape and the Urban Landscape", exploring escape in the urban environment. With Richard Sennett, Keller Easterling, Joseph Keckler, Maria Chavez, Evan Calder Williams and more.

ISSUE’s benefit series opens with a VIP reception at 7:30pm, including food, drink and an intimate performance by Gordon with drummer Tim Barnes. The 9:00pm concert is headlined by Gordon’s most recent project, the epic free-noise guitar duo Body/Head joined by Ikue Mori on drums. Guitar legend J Mascis plays solo.

ISSUE’s benefit series honoring Kim Gordon closes in a night of two collaborative performances pairing Gordon with the acclaimed artist Jutta Koether and the fierce female industrial unit I.U.D., a power duo of Lizzi Bougatsos (Gang Gang Dance) and Sadie Laska (Growing, Extreme Violence).

In celebration of the publication of STUDY, a collection of “poems on art” written from the 1980s to the present, ISSUE hosts an evening of readings by Yuko Otomo. The author is joined by members of the Ugly Duckling Press collective, past and present, and those who partook in the making of the book.