VAULT: Laurie Anderson Tries to Be Innocent (1984 & 1999)

Paul Tschinkel - ART/new york

03.17.2019

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“When I start to work, I turn off all the lights, and I turn on all the equipment – projectors, tape decks, electronics. I just play. It sounds moronic, but it is! I try sometimes to be extremely rigid – I try to figure out what it is that I’m doing. And sometimes I try to be completely innocent.” —Laurie Anderson

This past week, legendary performance artist, multimedia artist, and musician Laurie Anderson presented the performance Lou Reed’s Drones at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in upper Manhattan, using guitars from her late husband’s collection. Curated by Reed’s former guitar technician Stewart Hurwood, the performance/installation recreates and expands on a sonic experience that Reed first created while touring with his band Metal Machine Trio.

In this video from Paul Tschinkel’s great ART/new york series, we see two clips of interviews with Anderson, from 1984 and 1999, talking about her creative inspiration and how she sees her role as a performer and storyteller. Interspersed are a number of rare clips from performances and installations. Posted with permission from ART/new york.