VIX Sound+Light+Motion

After taking photos for a number of years, I have found a major interest in portrait photography. All of my photo and visual art will now be done under the name “Victoria G, Fine Imagery”

I know that I like to put commas in titles (Rise Up, Fallen Angel) and the design establishment says that is bad. I will continue my wayward comma loving ways, thank you.

Before the band, Five Alarm Funk, took to the stage, they asked me to send them any photos I took of the band. I told them I was not the official photographer, so I would not take photos of them, I was going to take photos of all the pretty girls. The young men in the band were very happy to accept copies of those photos instead, so I knew I had come up with a good idea.

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I am very busy right now because the Vancouver Jazz Festival is on — but today is the last day. I have to go and catch some jazz at David Lam Park.

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If you are not able to come to the show Rise Up, Fallen Angel — Please watch on the Center for Performance Research UStream channel.

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/cprnyc

This is a big night — we have had many technical challenges setting up 3 screens of projection and surround sound, then streaming it all on to the internet.

Tonight is our open rehearsal, see you there.

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Rise Up Fallen Angel – Thurs 5/26-Sat 5/28 – www.cprnyc.org – Brooklyn, NY from Christina deRoos on Vimeo.

I am in NYC working hard on the show with my collaborators.

Christina deRoos, my collaborator in the visual projection aspect of the show, made a video yesterday and posted it on Vimeo as a demo.

I hope you like it.

Click here to View on Vimeo.

Tickets available on Brown Paper Tickets Here — only $12.

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Rise Up, Fallen Angel

The ephemeral strands that connect us; a gesture, a sound, a touch – may trigger cascades of meaning.
A glimpse of something peripheral to the main event, catches attention, and is gone — slipping into the crowd. “Play the Moment Composers’ Collective” weaves together strands of light and sound to form a tapestry of improvised narrative. The integrated media exhibition, Rise Up, Fallen Angel, brings together a diverse collection of visual creators from many countries who have sent their angels through the internet. We invite you to a primal, emotional experience designed to create an organically resonant, sensory immersion. Satisfy the need for spiritual renewal and tribal ritual in a contemporary context; myth and symbolism invoked using the latest in modern technology. We seek to reinforce the resilience of the human spirit: rise up and overcome the problems we all recognize in our lives, our communities and our planet.

Download RUFA-blurb-final-150wd

The show will be awesome because of the wonderful artworks that have been submitted and the artistry of the Play the Moment Composers’ Collective.

Play the Moment consists of:

Paul Plimley – Lisle Ellis – Christina deRoos – Victoria Gibson

More information will be posted soon as I am working on producing a short demo of the show.

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Deep Listening Institute and the 11th Annual Women & Identity Festival present:
Women & Identity – An Art on the Wall Virtual Gallery
May 7-June 30, 2011
Opening Reception:  May 7 from 7-9 pm
The Shirt Factory Gallery, 77 Cornell St, Suite 303
Virtual Gallery on view:  deeplistening.org/site/content/art-wall-home

Artists include Sadee Brathwaite, Susan Bottrell, Victoria Gibson, Leslie Greene, Jan Harrison,
Julie Hedrick, Ione, Shirley Parker-Benjamin, Julia Santos-Solomon, Suiren and Julia White

Women & Identity Group Show is dedicated to the concept of women artists creating a vibrant and supportive community with each other.

ART ON THE WALL Virtual Gallery are exhibitions of virtually projected paintings, sculpture, video installations and other visual works
curated by Deep Listening Institute’s Artistic Director, IONE.  Screenings and opening receptions take place at Deep Listening Space in the Shirt Factory at 77 Cornell Street, Suite 303 on the first Saturday of the month of the announced exhibition. The artist’s statement and work is featured on the DLI website during the ensuing month at http://deeplistening.org/site/content/art-wall-home.

Victoria G, Fine Imagery

Artist Statement:

Hindu philosophy sees each of us as containing five layers; the least refined, outside layer is the sheath of food. The inner layers are more related to spiritual existence, breath and links to the divine. The sheath of food, my flesh, is the layer that defines my sex, in all other layers no fundamental difference between men and women is defined.

In the North American society that has shaped my development, my identity as a girl, then as a woman was often used as a constraint. Females did not ride motorcycles, play electric guitar or become expert in technology, yet, I did all of these activities. This led to a lot of gender confusion in my mind until, when I was in my 30′s I created my own concept of womanhood. Since that time, I have decided that because I am certifiably female that activities I do are appropriate for a woman. I ignore criticism and societal definitions as much as possible.

In the 1950′s and ’60′s girls were assigned roles based on their physical appearance. I was not in the “”pretty girl”" category, so I was encouraged to have a “”nice personality”" and be useful in the domestic realm. These attitudes persist, even though they are not current official policy. Now I am older, I am doubly excluded, as ageism compounds my lack of commercial appeal.

Images of women who are perceived as beautiful in the media are pervasive and most women are excluded from this category. I intend to portray my flesh in an artistic celebration of female definition and joy that is different from the images promoted by the beauty industry and commercial sources. My intention will be to offer an alternative portrayal that is more inclusive and allows women to feel themselves as beautiful.”

Addendum: While exploring an alternative concept of female beauty, I realized that senior women are a frequent subject in my photographic work and that I had photographed them to capture their beauty. I decided that this category of photo illuminates my concept of non-commercial alternative female images even better than images of myself. Thank you to Agatha Holmes, Fran Diamond, Margaret Mitchell and Pauline Oliveros for generously allowing me to use photos I took of them in this exhibition.

Artist Bio:

Victoria Gibson is an Integrated Media Artist who is involved in visual, dance and musical performances. Although her core training is in music, much of her professional work has included other media. She has worked with Pauline Oliveros, Anthony Braxton, Phil Minton and Karen Jamieson among others. Victoria lives in Vancouver and received her BA from the University of British Columbia, Canada. Her visual art works, including digital fine art, projections, photography and films are produced under the company name: Victoria G, Fine Imagery.

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   The Call to Artists for Rise Up, Fallen Angel is now officially open. The deadline is April 15th, 2011. We are seeking still or moving images relating to the theme. Please fill out the form below to submit your work after reading the call to artists: Complete details of the call are available here. Translation available at bottom of post.

Rise Up, Fallen Angel will be exhibited at the Centre for Performance Research on Thursday, May 26 through Saturday, May 28th. There will be an artist’s talk by curator, Victoria Gibson on Saturday afternoon.

The exhibit will consist of three screens with projected images placed in a non-linear improvised narrative and music from Play the Moment Composers’ Collective.

IMPORTANT: There is no text or language in the images or audio content.

361 Manhattan Avenue
NY 11211

Please sign up to submit your work. You will receive a confirmation e-mail letting you know we have received the form. If your image or video is not on a site where it may be downloaded, then please e-mail a small copy of the image or a description of the video to vixmedia01 (at) gmail (dot) com. If you have a problem with the form on this web page, please try this link.

Thank you for participating in the show,

Please read the full Call to Artists before submitting — by submitting this form you understand and agree to the terms and conditions in the Rise Up, Fallen Angel International Call to Artists — please click on this link to view or download a pdf copy  RiseUP-FallenAngel_Call-to_Artists3

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To all of my family, friends, and those who might become friends,
I wish you the happiest of holidays and the brightest visions for the New Year!

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The beauty of this natural setting cannot be described too effusively. After spending a week in San Francisco, the quiet and natural setting is very restful at the Headlands Arts Centre in Marin County. I have been trying to spend time outside as I know it will be colder when I return home to Vancouver. This is a retreat, so internet is only available in the main buildings, not in the studio or houses and there is no cell coverage.

The studio that Lisle Ellis is sharing with me is a basketball court that we are re-purposing. I will provide photos when I have my hard drives, the internet and computer all in one place. Until then, here is a photo of Lisle rehearsing with the Oakland Active Orchestra. He is conducting the orchestra and teaching them his music.

When we first came to San Francisco, Lisle worked with this large ensemble and I am processing the video, but I also have a technical problem there as the Voltaic mt2s file conversion software is not working well on the new macbook. This seems to be a time of technical difficulties, so I am drifting away to more natural spaces. Sampled natural textures are the starting point for electronic explorations, video of oceanscapes will be projections. Photos of bleaching whalebones, the framework for digital art explorations. The computer is my lens, my palette and my delivery mechanism.

This month in the Bay Area has opened my eyes to new horizons and I am very grateful to Lisle Ellis for inviting me to share this time with him. I return to Vancouver November 27th.

Here are some photos from the American Thanksgiving at Headlands. What great food and friendship!

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The piano trio is where my friend Paul Plimley really lives. Yes, I can interest him in electronics; and he does play guitar, vibes and percussion — but he really lives his most joyous moments with bass and drums.

The trio with Barry Guy, Paul Plimley and Lucas Niggli was one of my personal highlights from the 2010 Vancouver International Jazz Festival. They reached the highest levels of improvisation in ensemble performance where they meshed into a texture of beauty and complexity that shone with emotion.

Lucas Niggli is a Swiss drummer who plays with style and delicate strength. He stretches the boundaries of percussion while playing in the pocket for the band. This balancing act displays the greatness of a drummer; too much steady time keeping and the innovative spark fades, too much of stretching one’s own personal boundaries and the connection with the ensemble is lost.

The photos show the level of communication and emotion present in the Ironworks as each of these expert musicians wholeheartedly joined their considerable individual talents into a cohesive whole.

Barry Guy (below) is a bass player living in Switzerland, who plays with Lucas often. This evening of music allowed him to display many extended techniques and timbres. He played with intelligence, skill and unrepentant emotion. His composition, Fixed, Fragmented, Fluid; had been played as one of the festival opening works in a larger ensemble that included this trio. That was structured improv, but this was free and he was able to fly with his fingers and bow with authority.

There was a Canadian pianist who completed the trio named Paul Plimley. I must admit to being biased when I write about Paul, but I have seen him play in Vancouver many times, and grace the stage of the Ironworks with other trios. This was one of the best performances I have ever witnessed from the maestro. The combination of Barry Guy and Lucas Niggli challenged, supported, encouraged and battled with Paul in the most delightful way possible. There was always a spirit of fun and several times the joy crackled in the air like electricity.

I was a photographer that evening, soundless and motionless focusing on the light and motion as I was transported by the music.

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There are other photos of a larger ensemble concert featuring these three musicians taken by Chris Cameron posted on the Coastal Jazz website here.

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