In 2007, Paul D. Miller was commissioned by Art Center Nabi in Seoul, Korea, and the Korean American Film Festival in New York to re-score the classic 1956 film Madame Freedom. As he explains, "In the 1950s, Korea went through a drastic modernization process. After the Korean War ended, South Korea was firmly embedded in a Western cultural sphere, families were put into radically unexpected contexts, and the rise of independent women changed the face of society. The film was viewed as a metaphor of the harmful westernization of all traditions in post war Korea...."
Miller's new score for a string quartet evokes the jazz of the nightclubs of the twenty-first century, and uses electronic music composed to create more dynamic tensions in the story, and to foreground the visual rhythm of the film's editing techniques.
This evening's screening will be accompanied by a live performance of the new score.
This event is one of several comprising The Met Reframed, an unprecedented, multilayered, artistic partnership with Paul D. Miller (a.k.a. DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid), a composer, multimedia artist, writer, and DJ. His recorded output includes remixes of music ranging from Wu-Tang Clan, Metallica, and Bob Marley to classical/new music legends Steve Reich and the Kronos Quartet, and he has performed as a DJ at major festivals, including Bonnaroo and Power to the Peaceful. His work as a media artist has been featured at the Whitney Biennial, Venice Biennial, and Miami/Art Basel; and his first collection of essays, Rhythm Science, was released by MIT Press in 2004, followed by Sound Unbound, an anthology of writings on electronic music and digital media (MIT Press, 2008).
"For me, it's such an honor to work with the Met from the viewpoint of sampling," says Paul D. Miller. "I want to make a vibrant reflection of this incredible collection of materials from all over the world. My residency will be a fun festival of ideas: from the South Pacific to Asia, from the Civil War to 3-D photography, from Antarctica to environmental activism. I want to show that music and art are always in dialogue."
Listen to a sample of DJ Spooky.
The Met Reframed is made possible by Marianna Sackler.
Above: Photo of DJ Spooky © Tobin Poppenberg
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DJ Spooky
