In the early 1970s, artist Carol Law and composer Charles Amirkhanian joined forces in creating theater-scale media performance works in California. These early works were produced before the personal computer or digital arts were introduced. Using the basic tools of high-quality 35mm Kodachrome slides, hand-built slide dimmers, ambient sound recordings and early radio studio technology, their work represents a transition to the more sophisticated computer arts soon to arrive. The result is a complex and dense sound/image reminiscent of 20th century Dada, Surrealism, Pop Art and Fluxus.
The non-syntactic language in Charles’s music is reflected in Carol’s use of selected words to trigger visual reference images or themes. Thus, two interlocking non-linear strains evolve—one sonic, one visual. The artists both use montage and scale as methods of composing. Each short piece has a story to tell. This historical retrospective has been made possible by contemporary digital technology.
Biographies
Carol Law and Charles Amirkhanian, Photo: Arts Plural, 2021, B & W photo: Hal Baker, 1982, (taken during the period when these works were created. We have worked together for over 40 years)Credits
Video Production & Preservation by David Taylor USA, (davetaylor@berkeley.edu)
Carol Law and Charles Amirkhanian, Photo: Arts Plural, 2021, B & W photo: Hal Baker, 1982, (taken during the period when these works were created. We have worked together for over 40 years.)
