Exclusive Performance At Parrish Art Museum To Showcase 18 Innovative Visual And Sound Artists From Around The World

OptoSonic Tea at the Parrish Art Museum will be presented exclusively on Friday, September 27 from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. This will be one of the most innovative video and sound artist performances around the globe. Visual artists will all perform simultaneously through various Museum spaces, such as the Lichtenstein Theater, lobby, terrace, benches, meadow, event lawn, and parking lot. This will truly be an all-immersive experience.

“I am excited to bring OptoSonic Tea’s sensory extravaganza out East to the Parrish,” said Corinne Erni, Senior Curator of ArtsReach and Special Projects.

OptoSonic @ the Parrish is presented in collaboration with New York City based Harvestworks, a not-for-profit organized founded by artists in 1977 that supports the creation and presentation of work using new and evolving technologies.

“It is a collective experience of wonder that will allow visitors to interact with one other and the artists, and to literally see the Parrish in a new light,” Erni added.

Audience members are encouraged to explore and move throughout the spaces as the performance unfolds. It will be impossible to stay in one place! Sound artists and musicians will create immersive and random audio, using a variety of instruments including synthesizers, bagpipes, violins, and vocals. Visualists will be creating multi-layer visuals by projecting and manipulating a wide range of media including analog video mixers, and video programs such as Jitter, VDMX, modul8, film, slides, Magic Lantern, and Synkie.

The roster of visual artists features Benton C Bainbridge, Bradley Eros, Andy Guhl, Kit Fitzgerald, Asi Föcker, CHiKA, Chris Jordan (cj), Katherine Liberovskaya, LoVid (Kyle Lapidus and Tali Hinkis), and Ursula Scherrer. Participating sound artists are Marcia Bassett, Ranjit Bhatnagar, Shelley Hirsch, Laura Ortman, Emma Souharce, Michael J. Schumacher, Keiko Uenishi, and Shane Weeks.

This event is part of the Museum’s 2019 Platform project by the New York City-based artist collective OptoSonic Tea, founded in 2006 by Liberovskaya and Scherrer to explore the interaction of live visuals and live audio. OptoSonic Echoes is a multi-channel continuous sound installation positioned at the exterior of the Museum’s north entrance that was conceived by Liberovskaya and Scherrer, and composer Michael J. Schumacher who acted as the producer.

Visitors to the Museum from now until October 31, 2019 are encouraged to sit on the outdoor benches to hear recordings of artists as they discuss their work and sounds they created for the OptoSonic Tea performances. The installation, curated by Erni, continues the Museum’s commitment to Platform—the Parrish’s open-ended invitation to a single artist or artist collective to consider the entire Museum as a potential site for works that transcend disciplinary boundaries, encouraging new ways to experience art, architecture, landscape, and community.

Tickets to Platform: OptoSonic Tea @ the Parrish are $12 and free for Members, children, and students.

The Parrish Art Museum is located at 279 Montauk Highway in Water Mill. For more information, visit parrishart.org.