Lee Ranaldo and Leah Singer performing "Sight Unseen" art piece at ISSUE Project Room

June 9, 2016

Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo is staying busy as always with projects of all shapes and sizes. Right now he’s getting ready to put on a special performance art piece called “Sight Unseen,” a collaboration with visual artist Leah Singer which happens June 30 at ISSUE Project Room in Brooklyn. The venue has provided a description for the ambitious-sounding program. Details:

Sight Unseen consists of a guitar suspended from a rope in the middle of the performance space. Wireless equipment is used so the guitar can move around the space un-tethered from the amplifier. Projection screens are placed site-specific in the space, sometimes two screens facing each other, or two screens side by side on one plane of the room, or three screens with one used as an entry way. There is no fixed stage but rather the bare floor with no separation between audience and performer. The overall intention is to create an environment where the performers and the audience are engaged in an immersive sight and sound experience that is more circular than linear, allowing for personal interpretation rather than fixed exposition.

At ISSUE, the artists will set up the room as an installation where the audience is invited to sit and absorb sound and image an opportunity to get off the street and enter into an open sensory environment. Visitors are invited to stay for as long as they want during installation hours on July 1st and 2nd. The program is one hour and will loop. Announced and unannounced short performances by Lee with the hanging guitar run throughout the scheduled hours of the space.

In addition to the initial performance, there will be open installation hours in the space for the following two days. Tickets for the 6/30 performance are on sale now.

Lee and Leah have done versions of this piece before, and they’ve shared some videos of past performances which you can watch below.