Social Scavenging with a Soundtrack

Audio met visual at the Anderson Gallery tonight and I'd have to say it was one of the coolest ways to see an art show I've ever experienced.

WRIR was hosting a social with Lotus Land DJ Michael Miracle playing a live, specially curated two-hour show featuring music inspired by the art of "Knock, Knock," the new contemporary art show at the Anderson.

Boomboxes and radios were in every gallery. They had a cash bar, there was food for the taking and people were mingling inside and out. And how great that outside is even an option this week.

But the hook, the absolutely brilliant part of the event, was the scavenger hunt.

Each guest was given a list of some of the works from the show and a list of some of the songs from the broadcast.

The challenge was to look at the art, listen to the music and  link them up.  Music came from Sparklehorse, Ladytron, Throwing Muses and Louis Prima, to name but a few of the masterfully chosen songs.

The exhibit showcases works from the collection  of Paul and Sara Monroe and focused on the human presence in the pieces. There were paintings, sculpture, and video installations.

Much to my surprise, the pleasure of the scavenger hunt was in the multiple viewings I had of each work.

Sometimes hearing the song live triggered the answer, other times it was enough just to study the details of the work.

What I began to realize was that I kept coming back to pieces repeatedly, either because I hadn't yet figured out what song they matched, or because I needed a break from the hunt and wanted to enjoy some of the works not represented in music.

In doing so, I picked my two favorites, both far too large to hang in my apartment, but definitely both pieces I could live with.

Jack Pierson's "I Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer" was an acrylic piece done with dots of a vase filled with lush red roses and a biography of actress Jean Seberg, both in the foreground and filling the canvas. It was striking for the sense of loss it conveyed.

The other, Brian Calvin's "The Open Window" showed a hipster-looking couple facing each other, eyes closed, in front of a window.

There was no depth, the colors were flat without nuance and standing in front of it, I was struck by how slightly weird and quietly disconcerting it was.

After numerous trips through all the galleries, I completed my scavenger sheet and turned it in for "grading." I was eager to know what I'd gotten right and what I'd erred on, but that information wasn't forthcoming.

I probably don't need to know. It was enough to have enjoyed the social, talked to some friends I randomly ran into and seen a really interesting art show with an awesome soundtrack.

Audio and visual, you're a match made in heaven. In lesbian parlance, go ahead and rent the U-Haul.