Judy Dunaway
Encyclopedia
Judy Dunaway is an avant-garde composer, free improvisor, conceptual sound artist and creator of sound installations who is primarily known for her sound works for latex balloons. Since 1990 she has created over thirty works for balloons as sound conduits and has also made this her main instrument for improvisation.
Judy Dunaway has presented her compositions, improvisations and installations for balloons throughout North America and Europe at many venues including Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors, REDCAT
, the SoHo Arts Festival, the Alternative Museum, the Knitting Factory
, Performance Space 122
, Roulette, Experimental Intermedia, Soundlab
, the New Museum of Contemporary Art
, the Bang on a Can
Festival, the Guelph Jazz Festival, Podewil, Diapason, Galerie Rachel Haferkamp and ZKM. She has performed as a balloon player in compositions by John Zorn
and Roscoe Mitchell
, and in improvisations and/or collaborations with the FLUX Quartet
, performance artist Annie Sprinkle
, Fluxus artist Yasunao Tone
, video artist Zev Robinson, visual artists Nancy Davidson and Ken Butler
, percussionists John Hollenbeck and Matt Moran, the Illuminati big band, DJ Singe (Beth Coleman), and numerous others. Her works for balloons include electronic and multi-media works, sound installations, and works that incorporate more traditional instrumentation such as string quartet, chorus and Japanese koto.
Awards include a recording grant from the Aaron Copland Fund of the American Music Center
, a commission from the American Composers Forum
's Composers Commissioning Fund, an artist/researcher-in-residency at Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie, a recording residency at Harvestworks/Studio Pass, and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Meet the Composer
and the Kalliste Foundation. Ms. Dunaway has published two articles in Musicworks magazine about her work with balloons: A History of the Balloon as a Sound Producer in Experimental Music (Fall 2001), and, Orchestration and Playing Techniques for Balloons as Sound Producers (Spring 2002).
Dunaway has a Ph.D. in Music Composition from State University of New York at Stony Brook, where she studied with analog electronic music composer Daria Semegen
and multi-media artist Christa Erickson, and a M.A. in Experimental Music from Wesleyan University
(Connecticut) where she studied with composer Alvin Lucier
. She also holds a B.S. in Music Education from Hunter College (New York City). In academic year 2004-2005 she was full-time Visiting Faculty in Sound at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. She is currently a Visiting Lecturer in the Art History Department at Massachusetts College of Art and Design.
Dunaway has also created other works, often to do with social activism or cultural critique. In late 2006 Dunaway founded "S.W.I.R.L." a not-for-profit educational website for audio art and activism concerning the rights of sex workers. Other works by Ms. Dunaway include Affirmative Action
, a political multi-media piece utilizing sensor-activated projections as visual music, commissioned by percussionist Russell Greenberg; Sensation, a composition for audience presented at the Mixed Messages Festival where it was conducted by Jackie 60
Award-winner Baby Dee
; Duo for Radio Stations, simulcast on WFMU
(New Jersey) and WKCR
(New York); and the score for Diane Torr's performance art piece Crossing the River Styx, the "high decibel music" that instigated the closing of the Franklin Furnace performance space in 1990.
Judy Dunaway has presented her compositions, improvisations and installations for balloons throughout North America and Europe at many venues including Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors, REDCAT
REDCAT
Opened November 2003, REDCAT is a contemporary arts center that is an extension of CalArts campus, and serves as the professional presenting arm of the Institute...
, the SoHo Arts Festival, the Alternative Museum, the Knitting Factory
Knitting Factory
The Knitting Factory is a music venue and concert house with locations in Brooklyn, Boise, Reno, and Spokane. The club originally specialized in jazz and experimental music and has expanded to showcasing all genres of music, performing arts and comedy....
, Performance Space 122
Performance Space 122
Performance Space 122, generally known as P.S. 122, is a not-for-profit arts organization and one of the longest standing venues dedicated to contemporary performance art in New York City. Founded in 1979 in the abandoned Public School 122 building at 150 First Avenue at East 9th Street in the East...
, Roulette, Experimental Intermedia, Soundlab
Soundlab
Soundlab was a collective of artists, both sound and visual, that started in the East Village, New York City around the mid 90's. Founding members were Howard Goldkrand, Beth Coleman and Paul D. Miller aka DJ Spooky and included many musicians and artists from the Illbient scene including DJ...
, the New Museum of Contemporary Art
New Museum of Contemporary Art
The New Museum, founded in 1977 by Marcia Tucker, is the only museum in New York City exclusively devoted to presenting contemporary art from around the world...
, the Bang on a Can
Bang on a Can
Bang on a Can is a multi-faceted classical music organization based in New York City. It was founded in 1987 by three American composers who remain its artistic directors: Julia Wolfe, David Lang, and Michael Gordon...
Festival, the Guelph Jazz Festival, Podewil, Diapason, Galerie Rachel Haferkamp and ZKM. She has performed as a balloon player in compositions by John Zorn
John Zorn
John Zorn is an American avant-garde composer, arranger, record producer, saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist. Zorn is a prolific artist: he has hundreds of album credits as performer, composer, or producer...
and Roscoe Mitchell
Roscoe Mitchell
Roscoe Mitchell is an African American composer, jazz instrumentalist and educator, mostly known for being "a technically superb—if idiosyncratic—saxophonist." He has been called "one of the key figures" in avant-garde jazz who has been "at the forefront of modern music" for the past...
, and in improvisations and/or collaborations with the FLUX Quartet
FLUX Quartet
The FLUX Quartet is an American string quartet dedicated to the performance of contemporary classical music. It was founded in 1996 and is based in New York City. The group is renowned for its performances of Morton Feldman's String Quartet no...
, performance artist Annie Sprinkle
Annie Sprinkle
Annie M. Sprinkle is an American former prostitute, stripper, pornographic actress, cable television host, porn magazine editor, writer and sex film producer...
, Fluxus artist Yasunao Tone
Yasunao Tone
Yasunao Tone is a Japanese artist who has worked with many different types of media throughout his career. He was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1935, and he graduated from Chiba Japanese National University in 1957, majoring in Japanese literature. He became active in the Fluxus movement in the 1960s and...
, video artist Zev Robinson, visual artists Nancy Davidson and Ken Butler
Ken Butler
Kenneth Lee "Ken" Butler is an artist and musician, as well as an experimental musical instrument builder. His Hybrid musical instruments and other artworks explore the interaction and transformation of common and uncommon objects, altered images, sounds and silence...
, percussionists John Hollenbeck and Matt Moran, the Illuminati big band, DJ Singe (Beth Coleman), and numerous others. Her works for balloons include electronic and multi-media works, sound installations, and works that incorporate more traditional instrumentation such as string quartet, chorus and Japanese koto.
Awards include a recording grant from the Aaron Copland Fund of the American Music Center
American Music Center
The American Music Center is a non-profit organization which aims to promote the creating, performing, and enjoying new American music. The organization was founded in 1939 by composers Marion Bauer, Aaron Copland, Howard Hanson, Harrison Kerr, Otto Luening, and Quincy Porter.The organization has a...
, a commission from the American Composers Forum
American Composers Forum
The American Composers Forum is a non-profit membership organization dedicated to the promotion and assistance of American composers and their music. It was founded in 1973 as the Minnesota Composers Forum and is based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States...
's Composers Commissioning Fund, an artist/researcher-in-residency at Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie, a recording residency at Harvestworks/Studio Pass, and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Meet the Composer
Meet the Composer
Meet the Composer is an American organization founded in 1974 by the composer John Duffy as a project of the New York State Council on the Arts. It seeks to assist composers in making a living through writing music by sponsoring commissioning, residency, education, and audience interaction...
and the Kalliste Foundation. Ms. Dunaway has published two articles in Musicworks magazine about her work with balloons: A History of the Balloon as a Sound Producer in Experimental Music (Fall 2001), and, Orchestration and Playing Techniques for Balloons as Sound Producers (Spring 2002).
Dunaway has a Ph.D. in Music Composition from State University of New York at Stony Brook, where she studied with analog electronic music composer Daria Semegen
Daria Semegen
Daria Semegen is an important contemporary American composer of classical music. While she has composed pieces for traditional instruments — her Jeux des quatres , for example, is scored for clarinet, trombone, cello, and piano — she is best known as a "respected electronic composer."...
and multi-media artist Christa Erickson, and a M.A. in Experimental Music from Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
(Connecticut) where she studied with composer Alvin Lucier
Alvin Lucier
Alvin Lucier is an American composer of experimental music and sound installations that explore acoustic phenomena and auditory perception. A long-time music professor at Wesleyan University, Lucier was a member of the influential Sonic Arts Union, which included Robert Ashley, David Behrman, and...
. She also holds a B.S. in Music Education from Hunter College (New York City). In academic year 2004-2005 she was full-time Visiting Faculty in Sound at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. She is currently a Visiting Lecturer in the Art History Department at Massachusetts College of Art and Design.
Dunaway has also created other works, often to do with social activism or cultural critique. In late 2006 Dunaway founded "S.W.I.R.L." a not-for-profit educational website for audio art and activism concerning the rights of sex workers. Other works by Ms. Dunaway include Affirmative Action
Affirmative action
Affirmative action refers to policies that take factors including "race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national origin" into consideration in order to benefit an underrepresented group, usually as a means to counter the effects of a history of discrimination.-Origins:The term...
, a political multi-media piece utilizing sensor-activated projections as visual music, commissioned by percussionist Russell Greenberg; Sensation, a composition for audience presented at the Mixed Messages Festival where it was conducted by Jackie 60
Jackie 60
Jackie 60 was a famous weekly party held every Tuesday in New York's Meatpacking District. Founded by DJ Johnny Dynell, writer Chi Chi Valenti, fashion designer Kitty Boots and dancer/choreographer Richard Move, who were later , joined by Brian Butterick AKA Hattie Hathaway. It served gay,...
Award-winner Baby Dee
Baby Dee
Baby Dee is an American performance artist, multi-instrumentalist, and singer-songwriter from Cleveland, Ohio.-Early career:In the 1970s, Baby Dee began her musical career as a street performer, but soon decided to take work as an organist at a Catholic church in the Bronx...
; Duo for Radio Stations, simulcast on WFMU
WFMU
WFMU is a listener-supported, independent community radio station headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey, United States, broadcasting at 91.1 MHz FM, presenting a freeform radio format...
(New Jersey) and WKCR
WKCR
WKCR-FM is a radio station. Licensed to New York, New York, USA, it serves the New York area. The station is currently owned by Trustees of Columbia University in New York.-History:...
(New York); and the score for Diane Torr's performance art piece Crossing the River Styx, the "high decibel music" that instigated the closing of the Franklin Furnace performance space in 1990.
Discography
- Mother of Balloon Music (Innova Recordings 2006) - Compositions and improvisations for balloons by Judy Dunaway. Featuring performances by the FLUX Quartet, Ryuko Mizutani, Damian Catera and Judy Dunaway.
- Shar: Pop Music (Outer Realm Records 2001). Avant-noise-rock with balloons (Judy Dunaway), bass (Ilja Komarov) and drums (Trixa Arnold).
- Judy Dunaway: Balloon Music (Composers Recordings, Inc.Composers Recordings, Inc.Composers Recordings, Inc. was an American record label dedicated to the recording of contemporary classical music by American composers. It was founded in 1954 by Otto Luening, Douglas Moore, and Oliver Daniel, and based in New York City....
/CRI (now part of New World RecordsNew World RecordsNew World Records is a record label based in New York City specialising in American music. The label was established in 1975 through a Rockefeller Foundation grant to produce a 100 disc anthology covering 200 years of American music....
) 1998) - Compositions and improvisations for balloons, including collaborations with Yasunao ToneYasunao ToneYasunao Tone is a Japanese artist who has worked with many different types of media throughout his career. He was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1935, and he graduated from Chiba Japanese National University in 1957, majoring in Japanese literature. He became active in the Fluxus movement in the 1960s and...
and Dan Evans Farkas. - “The Alt.coffee Tapes” (Katahdin Recordings) - Balloon improvisation with Matt Moran and John Hollenbeck.
- “New York Guitars” compilation (Composers Recordings, Inc.Composers Recordings, Inc.Composers Recordings, Inc. was an American record label dedicated to the recording of contemporary classical music by American composers. It was founded in 1954 by Otto Luening, Douglas Moore, and Oliver Daniel, and based in New York City....
/CRI,1995)- “Fifty 210” (for electric guitar and Yamaha Fifty 210 amplifier) - Electric guitar composition.
- John Zorn’s “Cobra” (Knitting Factory Works 1994) - Balloon improvisations in the context of the John Zorn composition “Cobra.”
- “Judy Dunaway and the Evan Gallagher Little Band” (AMF 1993/Lilly Myrtle Music 2002) - Art-rock compositions.
- “Judy Dunaway” (Lost 1991) - Avant-garde folk songs and free-improvisations.
Further reading
- Musicworks Magazine, Winter, 2002, “My Beautiful Balloon, Part II: Orchestration and Playing Techniques for Balloons as Sound Producers,” by Judy Dunaway, pp. 40-46.
- Musicworks Magazine, Fall, 2001, “My Beautiful Balloon, Part I: A History of the Balloon as a Sound Producer in Experimental Music,” by Judy Dunaway, pp. 14-21.
- "Getting Physical (New York Guitars: Loren Mazzacane Connors, Didkovsky, Phil Kline, John King, Judy Dunaway; Emergency Broadcast Network)" by Kyle GannKyle GannKyle Eugene Gann is an American professor of music, critic and composer born in Dallas, Texas. As a critic for The Village Voice and other publications he has been a supporter of progressive music including such Downtown movements as postminimalism and totalism.- As composer :As a composer his...
, Village Voice, October 10, 1995 (Vol. XL No. 41, p. 66). - "Pop! Goes the Music," by Kyle GannKyle GannKyle Eugene Gann is an American professor of music, critic and composer born in Dallas, Texas. As a critic for The Village Voice and other publications he has been a supporter of progressive music including such Downtown movements as postminimalism and totalism.- As composer :As a composer his...
, Village Voice, August 8, 1995 (Vol. XL No. 32, p. 67).
External links
- Official Website of Judy Dunaway
- UbuWeb Sound page about Judy Dunaway
- Avant-Garde Music for Toys, 'Playing' in New York By Adam Phillips, Voice of America, April 1 2009
- Downtown Music and its Misrepresentations By Kyle Gann, Arts Journal, March 8 2005
- My Favorite Women Composers of All Time Kyle Gann, official website.
- Interview with Judy Dunaway by Dennis Bathory-Kitsz (audio).
- Installation at Diapason Gallery, New York City.
- Etudes No. 1 and 2 for Balloon and Violin, Art of the States, WGBH Boston.