(Download a high-resolution photo of Laurie Anderson)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Laurie Anderson, one of the most versatile and important artists of the last 25 years, will discuss her entire repertoire and current project, “The Waters Reglitterized,” on Wednesday, Nov. 16, at Vanderbilt University as part of the Chancellor’s Lecture Series.
Anderson’s work has covered the spectrum of media, from performance, film, music and writing to photography and sculpture. During her career, she has created a number of groundbreaking works ranging from spoken-word performances to elaborate multimedia events such as 1999’s “Songs and Stories From Moby-Dick,” which toured with 40 tons of video, sound and lighting gear.
Anderson’s discussion of her work will begin at 6 p.m. in the Student Life Center. A complimentary reception precedes the lecture at 5 p.m. Both events are free and open to the public, but seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-seated basis.
Parking is available in Kensington Garage, located on the corner of 25th Avenue South and Kensington Place.
On Thursday, Nov. 17, Anderson will present “The End of the Moon” at 8 p.m. at Belmont University’s Curb Event Center as part of Vanderbilt’s Great Performances series. For more information, visit http://www.vanderbilt.edu/sarratt/great/index.html.
Anderson’s “The Waters Reglitterized” is a kind of diary of dreams and their literal re-creation as works of art. In this work, Anderson uses the language of dreams to investigate the dream itself, with the resulting pieces including drawings, prints and high-definition video.
Last year, Anderson completed a two-year stint as an artist-in-residence at NASA, the first of its kind with the government agency. Some of her other recent projects have included participation on the team that created the opening ceremonies of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece; a series of audio-visual installations for World Expo 2005 in Aichi, Japan; and a series of programs for French radio.
Anderson has made futuristic technology a primary feature of her performances since her crossover 1980 pop hit, “O Superman,” which rose to No. 2 on the British pop charts and subsequently appeared on Big Science, the first of her seven albums on the Warner Brothers label.
She has toured the United States and internationally several times. Anderson also has published six books, and her visual work has been presented in major museums throughout the United States and Europe.
Anderson has received rave reviews throughout her career, with Rolling Stone calling her “a singer-songwriter of crushing poignancy,” while The Boston Globe said she is “the reigning performance artist of her time.”
Anderson’s lecture is the third this academic year in the ongoing Chancellor’s Lecture Series at Vanderbilt. The fourth installment will be Jan. 24, 2006, with a lecture by former Vice President Al Gore, an alumnus of Vanderbilt Law School.
The Chancellor’s Lecture Series serves to bring to the university and the wider Nashville community those intellectuals who are shaping the world today. For more information about the Chancellor’s Lecture Series, visit www.vanderbilt.edu/chancellor/cls.
Media contact:
Todd Vessel, (615) 322-NEWS
todd.vessel@vanderbilt.edu