Objects on a Table

On a table there are about a dozen ordinary household objects – bowls, bottles, jugs – the kind of things one encounters in a kitchen or a studio. Imagine…

For bass clarinet and Euphonopen (a digital drawing instrument that generates sound)

Created by
Isabella Stefanescu (Artistic director/Drawing Performer)
Kathryn Ladano (Bass Clarinet)
Klaus Engel (Interface Designer)
Edward Cho (Software Developer)

Objects on a Table is inspired by the life and work of Giorgio Morandi, a painter associated at first with the Italian Futurists, then with the Scuola Matafisica movement, but who finally worked alone, painting the same set of objects in different configurations, with an intense concentration and a minimalist restraint. Objects on a Table has been conceived as a homage to Giorgio Morandi, and draws on the humble attention he paid to everyday objects. In his drawings and etchings Morandi used a restricted set of drawing gestures, and these gestures, interpreted by the bass clarinetist will constitute the “voice” of the Euphopnopen. The gestures of the drawing performer will transform the memorialized sound of Morandi’s way of drawing, while the clarinet gives a voice to each object, or space between objects, as it is being drawn.

Objects on a Table premiered on July 17, 2014 at the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery in Waterloo, using objects from the Gallery’s permanent collection.

Performance credits:
Isabella Stefanescu – painter
Kathryn Ladano – bass clarinet
Richard Burrows – percussion samples on Euphonopen sound
Isabella Stefanescu – art director & set design
Jennifer Jimenez – light design
Klaus Engel – interface design
Anne-Marie Donovan – producer & artistic director, Inter Arts Matrix

Special thanks to:
Selin Erkaya, Katie Honek, Jill Tomasson-Goodwin, David Goodwin, Joy Smith, Douglas Caverly, Jennifer Janik, Nathan Saliwonchyk, Linda Catlin Smith, Neruda Arts, The Clay & Glass Gallery, Angela and John Vieth, George Txintzoutas, Geralyn Miller, Laurie-Lynn McGlynn.

From the Program Notes:

Why do we still draw?
One click on a device that I always have on me is all I need for an instant image, something to help me remember what I saw, later. Then I shall be looking at photograph, but now, while I draw, I slow down and look intently: I see the objects, the space between objects, the way the light falls and changes, and in drawing I make seeing part of my body. Each time I look, the objects are new.
– Isabella Stefanescu