Polyphonic Overground
By NIC Kay
Thursday, February 1, 2018
Museum of Arts and Design
Featuring Guest Performers: Rena Anakwe, Shannon Matesky, Sol Patches, Jimmy Schatz, Lily Bo Shapiro, and Yatta Zoker
About the Performance
Presented by NIC Kay, Polyphonic Overground is a durational performance activating the site of Studio PSK’s Polyphonic Playground, installed at MAD as part of the exhibition Sonic Arcade: Shaping Space with Sound. Featuring performances by NIC and an invited group of collaborators throughout the evening, Polyphonic Overground is inspired by children’s television shows and the sociological concept of “parallel play.”
Utilizing an array of lights, audio effects, props, costumes, and toys, NIC and their fellow performers will intervene in MAD’s second-floor gallery, producing a visual and sonic installation that doubles as the “set” of a children’s TV variety special. Influenced by the potential of sound to act as a conduit for collective memory, Polyphonic Overground explores such themes as childhood and failure.
Photos by Alisa O’Connor and Heidi Bohnenkamp