News Article

Rauschenberg Gallery Welcomes Avant-Garde Composer on July 9

Jun 30, 2016

Composer and visual artist Philip Corner will be traveling from Italy to Southwest Florida in order to perform “Metal Meditations” in the Bob Rauschenberg Gallery at Florida SouthWestern State College starting 1 p.m. on July 9.

Corner’s FSW performance will coincide with the current exhibition running until Aug. 13, “Glenn Branca & Philip Corner re:Sound,” featuring graphic and musical scores, harmonic series drawings, and custom-built instruments from both artists.

“This immersive installation highlights two of the most influential avant-garde composer-performers alive today,” said Gallery Director Jade Dellinger. “Both are exploring the visualization of sound.”

Branca’s 1985 drawings investigating the mathematics of harmonics will be on display along with some of Corner’s site-specific pieces inviting guest participation. Fifty of Corner’s original drawings (1973-1976), forming the score of his piece “Metal Meditations,” will also be exhibited for the first time anywhere in the world. 

A founding member of the Fluxus group (which included Yoko Ono, John Lennon and others), Corner is well-known for his controversial 1962 performance art piece “Piano Activities” which resulted in the destruction of a piano on live television while exploring new techniques of creating music. His relationship with the gallery’s namesake Bob Rauschenberg and artist John Cage was decades long.

Branca, a New York-based musician who invented the Harmonics Guitar, was a founder of the No Wave movement with his bands The Static and Theoretical Girls in the late 1970s. Over his career he’s released more than fifteen full length albums and collaborated with musical groups including the band Sonic Youth. The late David Bowie once said of him: “Branca is truly one of the more mysterious and innovative composers of our times.”

Corner’s July 9 performance in the gallery will be with collaborator and noted choreographer Phoebe Neville. Rauschenberg’s former band Sonic Combine will open for Corner and provide support throughout his performance. The gallery will release other exhibit-specific performances later this summer.

Events at the Bob Rauschenberg Gallery at FSW are free and open to the public. Gallery hours are Monday – Friday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. Closed on Sundays and Holidays.

Learn more at www.RauschenbergGallery.com or by calling (239) 489-9313.

About The Bob Rauschenberg Gallery:

The Bob Rauschenberg Gallery was founded as The Gallery of Fine Art in 1979 on the Lee County campus of Florida SouthWestern State College/FSW (then Edison Community College).  On June 4, 2004 the Gallery of Fine Art was renamed the Bob Rauschenberg Gallery, to honor and commemorate our long time association and friendship with the artist.  Over more than three decades until his death, the Gallery worked closely with Rauschenberg to present world premiere exhibitions including multiple installations of the ¼ Mile or Two Furlong Piece.  The artist insisted on naming the space the Bob Rauschenberg Gallery (versus the “Robert Rauschenberg Gallery”) as it was consistent with the intimate, informal relationship he maintained with both our local Southwest Florida community and FSW.

About FSW:

Florida SouthWestern State College is Southwest Florida’s largest and one of the most affordable institutions of higher education. Annually serving more than 22,000 students globally, FSW offers a variety of nationally-ranked, career-focused academic programs with two- and four-year degrees, and professional certifications. Students are also active in clubs and programs catered to their interests. FSW debuted its intercollegiate athletics program in the fall 2015. Visit www.FSW.edu for more information.

Last Updated: June 30, 2016