In Defense of Loud Music: Artist Talk and Listening Session by Joe Namy

In Defense of Loud Music

Artist Talk and Listening Session by Joe Namy

In this evening lecture, artist Joe Namy will unpack and expound upon Automobile, a variable channel sound performance for cars with souped-up sound systems that was originally developed during Ashkal Alwan’s inaugural HWP in 2011. This talk will focus on the inspiration and trajectory of this performance piece, looking at what it came out of, and how it continues to inform Namy’s approach to art making–thinking through art in public spheres, the technologies of listening, the politics of music, the passion for bass, and sound as a form of community building and solidarity. 

Joe Namy is a composer and media artist. His work often addresses identity, memory, power, and currents encoded in organized sound/music, such as the politics and gender dynamics of bass, the color and tones of militarization, or the migration and asylum patterns of musical instruments. His work has been exhibited, screened, and amplified at the Asia Culture Center in Gwangju, the Berlinale, the Brooklyn Museum, the Beirut Art Center, the Detroit Science Center, and less prominent international dance floors. Some of his projects fall under the sound art platform titled Electric Kahraba, an experimental radio program that operates out of clocktower.org.

This public talk is part of Home Workspace Program 2018-19's Workshop I, titled "Inner-Ventions".