Leah Singer
Encyclopedia
Leah Singer is a photographer and multimedia artist
. She is the long-time artistic collaborator and wife of Lee Ranaldo
of Sonic Youth
. Singer performs with multiple modified film projectors
that allow her to improvise and manipulate the film
projections by adjusting the frame rate. She has likened what she does with film as similar to DJs who scratch with records.
and studied journalism
and photography
at Ryerson University
in Toronto
. She moved to New York City
in the 1980s to study film and became involved with improvising musicians. She also trained as a painter
. Her work combines these different approaches to mediums. Since 1991 she has been doing film and music collaborations with Ranaldo. Her work has been presented in museums, galleries and concert halls worldwide.
Her two sons are Sage Ranaldo and Frey Ranaldo. Singer has published several books with her husband, including Bookstore, Road Movies and Moroccan Journal: Jajouka excerpt. She went to Jajouka, Morocco with Lee Ranaldo to follow in the footsteps of luminaries like William S. Burroughs
, Brian Jones
, Brion Gysin
, Paul Bowles
and Ornette Coleman
.
Drift is documented in a DVD and book publication. The book includes a conversation with Ranaldo and Singer, and texts by experimental filmmaker Jonas Mekas
, artists Sam Durant
and Tom Leeser, writer and musician Alan Licht
, and curators Roland Spekle and Lea Rekow.
Singer has also collaborated with Elliott Sharp
and Ikue Mori
.
Multimedia artist
Multimedia artists are contemporary artists who use a wide range of media to communicate their art. Multimedia art includes, by definition, more than one medium, therefore multimedia artists use visual art in combination with sound art, moving images and other media...
. She is the long-time artistic collaborator and wife of Lee Ranaldo
Lee Ranaldo
Lee M. Ranaldo is an American singer, guitarist, writer, record producer, and visual artist, best known as a co-founder of the alternative rock band Sonic Youth...
of Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...
. Singer performs with multiple modified film projectors
Movie projector
A movie projector is an opto-mechanical device for displaying moving pictures by projecting them on a projection screen. Most of the optical and mechanical elements, except for the illumination and sound devices, are present in movie cameras.-Physiology:...
that allow her to improvise and manipulate the film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
projections by adjusting the frame rate. She has likened what she does with film as similar to DJs who scratch with records.
Biography
Singer was born in CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and studied journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
and photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
at Ryerson University
Ryerson University
Ryerson University is a public research university located in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its urban campus is adjacent to Yonge-Dundas Square located at the busiest intersection in Downtown Toronto. The majority of its buildings are in the blocks northeast of the square in Toronto's Garden...
in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
. She moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in the 1980s to study film and became involved with improvising musicians. She also trained as a painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
. Her work combines these different approaches to mediums. Since 1991 she has been doing film and music collaborations with Ranaldo. Her work has been presented in museums, galleries and concert halls worldwide.
Her two sons are Sage Ranaldo and Frey Ranaldo. Singer has published several books with her husband, including Bookstore, Road Movies and Moroccan Journal: Jajouka excerpt. She went to Jajouka, Morocco with Lee Ranaldo to follow in the footsteps of luminaries like William S. Burroughs
William S. Burroughs
William Seward Burroughs II was an American novelist, poet, essayist and spoken word performer. A primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodernist author, he is considered to be "one of the most politically trenchant, culturally influential, and innovative artists of the 20th...
, Brian Jones
Brian Jones
Lewis Brian Hopkins Jones , known as Brian Jones, was an English musician and a founding member of the Rolling Stones....
, Brion Gysin
Brion Gysin
Brion Gysin was a painter, writer, sound poet, and performance artist born in Taplow, Buckinghamshire.He is best known for his discovery of the cut-up technique, used by his friend, the novelist William S. Burroughs...
, Paul Bowles
Paul Bowles
Paul Frederic Bowles was an American expatriate composer, author, and translator.Following a cultured middle-class upbringing in New York City, during which he displayed a talent for music and writing, Bowles pursued his education at the University of Virginia before making various trips to Paris...
and Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman is an American saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter and composer. He was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s....
.
Drift is documented in a DVD and book publication. The book includes a conversation with Ranaldo and Singer, and texts by experimental filmmaker Jonas Mekas
Jonas Mekas
Jonas Mekas is a Lithuanian-born American filmmaker, writer, and curator who has often been called "the godfather of American avant-garde cinema." His work has been exhibited in museums and festivals across Europe and America.-Biography:...
, artists Sam Durant
Sam Durant
Sam Durant is a multimedia artist whose works engage a variety of social, political, and cultural issues. Often referencing American history, his work explores the varying relationships between culture and politics, engaging subjects as diverse as the civil rights movement, southern rock music,...
and Tom Leeser, writer and musician Alan Licht
Alan Licht
Alan Licht is an American guitarist and composer, whose work combines elements of pop, noise, free jazz and minimalism. He is also a writer and journalist.-Biography:Licht was born in New Jersey in 1968...
, and curators Roland Spekle and Lea Rekow.
Singer has also collaborated with Elliott Sharp
Elliott Sharp
Elliott Sharp is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, and performer.A central figure in the avant-garde and experimental music scene in New York City since the late 1970s, Sharp has released over eighty-five recordings ranging from blues, jazz, and orchestral music to noise, no wave rock,...
and Ikue Mori
Ikue Mori
, also known as Ikue Ile, is a drummer, composer, and graphic designer.-Biography:Ikue Mori was born and raised in Japan. She says she had little interest in music before hearing punk rock...
.
Published works
- Bookstore and Others (Paperback) - Lee Ranaldo, Leah Singer, Hozomeen Press (April 1995), ISBN 978-1885175069
- Drift (Paperback) - Lee Ranaldo, Leah Singer, Gigantic ArtSpace (2005), ISBN 978-1933045344
- Moroccan Journal: Jajouka excerpt (Unknown Binding) - Lee Ranaldo, Leah Singer, Ring Tarigh for the Literary Renaissance (1997), ASIN: B0006RJF80
- Road Movies (Paperback) - Lee Ranaldo, Leah Singer, Soft Skull Press (Nov 30, 2004), ISBN 978-1932360738