A SWEETER MUSIC

THE RESIDENTS - "DRUM NO FIFE"

of SANBORN John

Collaboration with Sarah Cahill

UNITED STATES, 2009, 00:09:15

Genre : Video art
Keyword : Music

Summary :
In 2009, Sarah Cahill commissioned 18 composers to write on the subject of peace, and she received a diverse collection of reflections on violence, loss, history, pain and enlightenment; all meditations on the meaning of "peace". The composers include Kyle Gann, The Residents, Meredith Monk, Terry Riley, Phil Kline, Yoko Ono, Fredric Rzewski and Jerome Kitzke.

She then invited video artist John Sanborn to create video experiences, inspired by each composition, as a performance environment to extend the character and tone of each work. The evening length live event premiered at CAL Performances in Berkeley, in 2009, and has toured the world

The Residents bring a new brand of "character" to their composition which wonders why the world worries about peace when what we need is war. Appearing on screen and adding a recorded vocal element is one of the Residents, floating in a world of empty landscapes and barren emotional promises. With layers of spoken text, and oblique images, the unsettled perspective of this piece is that while many artists look for scapegoats as to why the world is cruel, the Residents know that "we have met the enemy and they are us".

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