‘Altered [Sound]States’ Event To Explore Performance And Consciousness Through Music And Student Projects
Music, student performance projects and a guest appearance by IOSIS will be featured during an event titled “Altered [Sound]States” on Friday at 6:30 p.m. at the Black Box Theater in the Liberal Arts and Arts and Humanities building (LAAH).
The free event is funded by the Texas A&M School of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts and Performance Studies program.
Alex Bissen, musician, sound designer and composer who performs as IOSIS, will give an electroacoustic set, then join an improvisational performance with Dr. Will Connor, Performance Studies instructor, and students. Guests may then explore classrooms on the first and second floor of the LAAH building to view projects made in the Altered States and Performance Seminar taught by Dr. Kim Kattari, Performance Studies undergraduate program director.
Kattari said the event was created to ponder altered states of consciousness by connecting soundscapes and performances that might evoke certain states of mind. While psychoactive substances are one means for producing an altered state, Kattari said, her class explores a wide spectrum of altered state experiences.
“I have the students think about how performance invokes or has been influenced by altered state experiences,” she said. “People can enter altered states of consciousness through performative practices, like ritual, meditation, lucid dreaming, hypnosis and getting into a state of ‘flow’ while doing creative activities. That is what we are exploring in this class — how altered state experiences have influenced art or performance, and how people go into altered states of consciousness through performance, such as music, dancing, improvising, acting, art-making and other creative practices.”
IOSIS, a Minneapolis native, was invited by Kattari to perform a ritualistic experience that sonically takes people on a “hypnotic journey,” she said. His music is drone-based, meaning it has long and sustained notes and chords. It is not like high-energy electronic dance music but rather a slow, introspective sonic journey, she said.
“When I saw IOSIS perform I was really captivated,” Kattari said. “I immediately thought of my class. It is often hard to describe to students how music can induce an altered state of consciousness. I thought, rather than describe it, let’s provide an opportunity for students to experience it for themselves. I am excited for them to see how IOSIS builds a sonic experience that is able to create a certain state of mind.”
After the performances, guests will be able to view student-created works that showcase an altered state of mind in a modeled version of “Burning Man.”
“‘Burning Man’ is an exercise in living alternatively,” Kattari said. “There are regional ‘burns’ all over the world and these are opportunities for people to come together and explore and share art in different ways. It values radical self-expression and creativity, and in that spirit, students have devised projects that explore the content from the class that has to do with the relationship between altered states and performances. They have devised artistic projects, installations, soundscapes, films and activities they will share with the audience in this event.”
All attendees can dress creatively, however it must be campus-appropriate clothing, Kattari said. For this expression of art, Kattari said she hopes participants see the variety of ways that students have engaged with the content of her class.
“It is interesting for me to see what students decide they want to focus on for a performance project,” she said. “I also hope guests maybe go out of their comfort zone and see what types of experiences they have while engaging with these different installations. I hope this gives participants the opportunity to consider the various ways that altered state experiences influence, inspire, and are reflected through art and performance.”
Top photo: Alex Bissen, musician, sound designer and composer who performs as IOSIS, will perform an electroacoustic set. Photo courtesy of Bissen.
