Press Room

MAD's New Commissioned Performance Series RADIAL to Explore the "Craft of Data" in 2016

New York, NY (January 6, 2016)

As part of its new performance series RADIAL, the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) presents the live US premiere of Deceptionista, a new audiovisual work by Aaron David Ross (ADR). First released in December 2015 via digital download and limited edition SD cards on the music label PAN, Deceptionista will be fully realized as an immersive audiovisual experience on January 21, 2016 at 7:00pm in the Theater at MAD.

"In 2016, our new performance series RADIAL will explore the craft of data" says Katerina Llanes, Manager of Public Programs at MAD. "ADR uses digital data sourced online as a point of departure for his compositions, translating and revealing the poetic manifestations and permutations of our online lives. We are thrilled to help realize his vision for the launch of the series."

A classically trained musician involved in contemporary art and technology practices, ADR will debut an immersive virtual ecosystem and an improvised live performance using the free online tool VPeeker. VPeeker interfaces with Vine to provide a continuous global feed of real-time videos, playing six seconds of the most recently uploaded Vine clip. Sourcing both audio and video from the feed, ADR uses this untapped world of Internet detritus and develops his own methods of engaging with the unfiltered live stream.

"My newest project Deceptionista seeks to translate online public intimacies into a kind of 21st century psychedelia, positioning sharp musical and visual contrasts along an oversaturated stream of information abundance," said Ross.

The performance will occur in two parts. The first, an improvisation using the VPeeker tool in real time, will allow the chaos of algorithm-determined Vines to flood into the theatre. The second marks ADR's debut of a live video game-like environment skinned with VPeeker-sourced texture maps. The dynamic color palettes and shifting atmospheres from the clips create strings of incongruous alternations, where real conflates with virtual, irony blurs into belief, and human emotion is measured in digital upload speeds. Deceptionista seeks to dramatize these dichotomies by traversing the deep chasms between them, unpacking and further mystifying the spiraling inconsistencies of our globally networked lifestyles. 

The live performance of Deceptionista is curated by Katerina Llanes, Manager of Public Programs, as part of the performance series RADIAL.

Deceptionista takes place on January 21, 2016 at 7:00pm in the Theater at MAD. Tickets are $15 General Admission/ $10 for Members and Students and may be purchased calling 800.838.3006 or visiting www.madmuseum.org/deceptionista.

ABOUT AARON DAVID ROSS
Aaron David Ross (ADR) is a composer, producer and artist preoccupied with music's affective potentiality. In addition to his work as one half of the critically acclaimed Gatekeeper duo, ADR releases solo recordings, composes bespoke music for film, tv and advertising, hosts an array of ongoing collaborations and maintains a practice of live performance and sound installation.

With a background in classical composition and a propensity towards contemporary art and technology practices, ADR's work dances precariously on both sides of the chasm between irony and true belief, often conflating the two completely. He explores the failures or impartial successes of cultural ephemera through detailed, high-definition visions of optimistic resignation.

As a recording artist, ADR has released music with PAN (DE), Hippos in Tanks (US), Kompakt subsidiary Fright (DE), Merok (UK), Public Information (UK), Presto (IT), and Rainbow Body (US). He has performed at many of the world's premiere concert venues, clubs and festivals, and has been featured and reviewed in publications including The New York Times, Fader, Dazed & Confused, Pitchfork, Interview, and many others. His installed collaborative work has been exhibited at galleries and museums internationally, including Saatchi Gallery in Paris, The Creator's Project in Beijing, MoMA PS1 in New York and Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw.

Originally from Tucson, Arizona, ADR received a BM in composition before pursuing an MFA in Sound Arts and Music Technology from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He now lives and works in New York City.

ABOUT RADIAL
RADIAL is a new commissioned performance series that uncovers critical and conceptual practices in time-based art. Curated at the intersection of art and design, the series centers on an annual theme that spirals outward to include a cross-section of interdisciplinary work. For 2016, the series will focus on the often imperceptible and yet highly influential "craft of data". By examining the way information is constructed, developed, and disseminated, the artists in this year's line-up reimagine the present moment through an analysis of the inevitable future

ABOUT THE MUSEUM OF ARTS AND DESIGN
The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) champions contemporary makers across creative fields, presenting artists, designers, and artisans who apply the highest level of ingenuity and skill to their work. Since the Museum's founding in 1956 by philanthropist and visionary Aileen Osborn Webb, MAD has celebrated all facets of making and the creative processes by which materials are transformed, from traditional techniques to cutting-edge technologies. Today, the Museum's curatorial program builds upon a rich history of exhibitions that emphasize a cross-disciplinary approach to art and design, and reveals the workmanship behind the objects and environments that shape our everyday lives. MAD provides an international platform for practitioners who are influencing the direction of cultural production and driving 21st-century innovation, fostering a participatory setting for visitors to have direct encounters with skilled making and compelling works of art and design.