chaos | composed : Chicago Composers Orchestra + Origin of Animal

6:30pm Discussion and Q&A | 7:30pm Concert

Join us for the first concert and print debut in our Ten x Ten 2020 series.

Composers David Keller, Trevor Watkin, Randall West, and Janice Misurell-Mitchell will debut compositions created in collaboration with visual artists Alexandra Antoine, Jessie Mott, Selina Trepp, and Azadeh Gholizadeh respectively. Each of the visual artists will debut their corresponding screenprints as well. The prints and music recorded at this concert will culminate in an art book and 12” vinyl record released in early 2021. .

Ten x Ten 2020 is a collaborative commissioned production featuring 10 composers writing symphonic work in collaboration with 10 visual artists producing screen prints. It is presented in partnership by Chicago Composers Orchestra, Spudnik Press, and Homeroom. 

About Ten x Ten 2020: 10 visual artists have each been paired with a composer. Together, they are asked to write corresponding components of a single work, though each print and each composition may stand on their own as an independent work of art. 

Collaboration is at the core of this process-driven project. Ten x Ten asks each participant to explore the common ground that informs their work with another’s. Music and visual art are typically presented and discussed in very different manners. Language is often a starting point for the pairs: what adjectives might describe their work; how does a narrative inform their creation; how are compositional structures developed? From there, the pairs are required to develop a work plan and dialogue that allows their work to be influenced by the other’s and their work to influence the other’s.  

By working with an artist in a different media, artists are challenged to consider new factors in the process of creation. By delving into another, very different artist’s approach to creating, an artist can deepen the understanding of their own process.