This seminar will look at how predictive programing and the commodification of cultural awareness hinders artists from properly engaging in grassroots activism. If once there was a tight connection between radical thinking and cultural production–one thinks of The Last Poets as a paradigmatic example, or Marvin Gaye–which fostered spaces for artists to maintain deep and coherent world-views and positions, those days seem to be far in the past. And as the world begins to call out again to artists to speak on injustices of all sorts, a general disorientation has taken over. Everything is commodified and predictable, and few seem to know how to uphold coherent positions or have the robust infrastructures of solidarity to mitigate the consequences that may come.
This program is presented in conjunction with Hieroglyphic Being’s performance at Pérez Art Museum Miami on October 18, 2018, hosted by the Rhythm Foundation and Poplife.
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Predictive Programing & The Commodification of Cultural Awareness
Mon, Oct 15, 20186:30 pm to 8:30 pm -
Tue, Oct 16, 20186:30 pm to 8:30 pm
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Wed, Oct 17, 20186:30 pm to 8:30 pm
Hieroglyphic Being (aka Jamal Moss) is a singular electronic artist making music at the intersection of Deep House, Afrofuturism, avant-jazz, EBM, and international soundscapes. He calls his music “rhythmic cubism/synth expressionism” as well as “world dance music”. Having released albums on Ninja Tune, Soul Jazz Records, and RVNG Intl, as well as his own Mathematics record label, the Chicago native is an incredibly prolific figure whose releases have straddled House labels and the more left field avant-garde electronic imprints with ease. He has collaborated with artists such as Sun Ra Arkestra leader Marshall Allen, Greg Fox, Shelley Hirsch, Guardian Alien, synth artist Ben Vida, among others.
