On Sunday, May 5, at 5 p.m., the Rites of Spring Music Festival will present “Strange and Wonderful: Sounds of Images III,” a dialogue between music and the arts curated by artistic director Paolo Bartolani.
The performance will take place at East End Arts Gallery in Riverhead and is an adaption of painter, visual artist and performer Anne Sherwood Pundyk’s artist’s book “The Garden” combined with original music works and improvised music pieces by cellist and multimedia instrumentalist Mariel Roberts. The music will take the place of the abstract visuals in “The Garden.”
As in the book, the performance will start with a music piece, followed by its partner story. The music and readings will alternate throughout the performance for the 11 short stories. A final music work will conclude the performance.
Conceived and curated by Paolo Bartolani with the goal of redefining boundaries, “Sounds of Images” is a live, hourlong dialogue between the exhibiting artist and the soloist musician that take place during each of the performances, where music and visual arts are merged to explore the deep connection between the arts. Participating in “Sounds of Images” is a unique experience for audiences and artists: an intense exchange between artists who will express their creative process in front of an audience welcomed into intimate spaces and who will have the opportunity to get to know and converse with the artists in an informal setting.
American cellist, composer, and improviser Mariel Roberts is widely recognized for her virtuosic performances. Her deep commitment to collaboration and experimentation as an interpreter, improvisor, and composer have helped create a body of work which bridges avant garde, contemporary, classical, improvised and traditional music.
An artist and writer, Anne Sherwood Pundyk brings together the traditions of abstract art, textiles and storytelling. Activated by color, her unstretched paintings are constructed from stained, cropped and sewn sections of drop cloth canvas. Elements of her studio work link directly to her photographs, artist’s books, writing and performance pieces. Based in New York, Pundyk has engaged in her art making, exhibiting and art writing over the last 35 years. She relocated her studio to the North Fork 10 years ago.
East End Arts’ 11 West Gallery is at 11 West Main Street, Peconic Crossing building, Riverhead. Tickets are $50 ($25 for friends of Rites of Spring Music Festival) and free for youth under age 25. Visit ritesmusic.org for details.