The Kitchen
Encyclopedia
The Kitchen is a non-profit, multi-disciplinary art and performance space located at at 512 West 19th Street, between Tenth
and Eleventh
Avenues in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan
, New York City
. It was founded in Greenwich Village
in 1971 by Steina and Woody Vasulka
, taking its name from the original location, the kitchen of the Mercer Arts Center
, where artists working mostly in video showed their work. Although first intended as a location for the exhibition of video art, the Kitchen soon expanded its mission to include other forms of art, both plastic and performance. In 1974, The Kitchen relocated to a building at the corner of Wooster and Broome Streets in SoHo
, and incorporated as a not-for-profit arts organization. In 1987 it moved to its current location.
The first music director of The Kitchen was composer Rhys Chatham
. The venue became known as a place where many No Wave
bands like Glenn Branca
, Lydia Lunch
and James Chance
performed. Notable Kitchen alumni also include Philip Glass
, Laurie Anderson, Rocco Di Pietro
, John Moran, Young Jean Lee's Theater Company, Peter Greenaway
, Michael Nyman
, Steve Reich
, Pauline Oliveros
, Gordon Mumma
, Frederic Rzewski
, Ridge Theater, The Future Sound of London
, Leisure Class
, Elliott Sharp
, Brian Eno
, Arthur Russell, Meredith Monk
, Vito Acconci
, Keshavan Maslak
, Lucinda Childs
, Bill T. Jones
, David Byrne
/Talking Heads
, John Jasperse
, Bryce Dessner
, Nico Muhly
, ETHEL
, Chris McIntyre, Sylvie Degiez, Wayne Lopes /CosmicLegends and Cindy Sherman
.
Today, The Kitchen focuses on presenting emerging artists, most of whom are local, and is committed to advancing work that is experimental in nature. Its facilities include a 155-seat black box performance space and a gallery space for audio and visual exhibitions. The Kitchen presents work in music, dance, performance, video, film, visual art, and literature.
Looking for a way to present their work to a public audience, Steina and Woody Vasulka
rented the kitchen of the Mercer Arts Center
, in the former Broadway Central Hotel. The Vasulka’s, with help from Andy Mannik, opened The Kitchen as a presentation space for video artists on June 15, 1971. Later that year, the Vasulka’s added music to their programming and named Rhys Chatham
the first music director. The Kitchen continued their eclectic programming at the Mercer Arts Center until the summer of 1973 when they began planning to move to 59 Wooster Street. In August 1973 the building that housed the Mercer Arts Center collapsed, making this decision final.
Move to SoHo (1973-1986)
The 1973-1974 season started in The Kitchen’s new location at the corner of Wooster and Broome streets in the former LoGiudice Gallery Building. During its time on 59 Wooster Street The Kitchen emerged as New York’s premiere avant-garde and experimental arts center. In addition to a performance space, a gallery and video viewing room were established at this location.
Today (1985-Present)
The Kitchen moved uptown to 512 West 19th Street to begin the spring 1986 season and subsequetly purchased the space in 1987. The inaugural event series in The Kitchen’s new home was entitled New Ice Nights. In 1991 The Kitchen held its twentieth anniversary celebration: The Kitchen Turns Twenty with a retrospective mini-music festival entitled Five Generations of Composers, as well as a re-creation of Jean Dupuy’s Soup and Tart, entitled: Burp: Soup and Tart Revisited. The Kitchen remains a space for interdisciplinary and experimental work by focusing its programming on emerging artists.
In fall of 2011, after seven years as the Executive Director and Chief Curator of The Kitchen, Debra Singer handed over the reigns to former ArtForum
Editor-in-Chief Tim Griffin.
Tenth Avenue (Manhattan)
Tenth Avenue, known as Amsterdam Avenue north of 59th Street, is a north-south thoroughfare on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City. It carries uptown traffic as far as West 110th Street, also known as Cathedral Parkway for the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine...
and Eleventh
Eleventh Avenue (Manhattan)
Eleventh Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the far West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City, not far from the Hudson River. It carries downtown traffic only, south of West 44th Street, and two-way traffic north of it....
Avenues in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, 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...
. It was founded in Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
in 1971 by Steina and Woody Vasulka
Steina and Woody Vasulka
Steina Vasulka and Woody Vasulka are pioneers of video art, having practiced in the genre since its early days in the late 1960s....
, taking its name from the original location, the kitchen of the Mercer Arts Center
Mercer Arts Center
The Mercer Arts Center was a group of live theaters on Mercer Street in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, and was part of the Broadway Central Hotel until its collapse on August 3, 1973....
, where artists working mostly in video showed their work. Although first intended as a location for the exhibition of video art, the Kitchen soon expanded its mission to include other forms of art, both plastic and performance. In 1974, The Kitchen relocated to a building at the corner of Wooster and Broome Streets in SoHo
SoHo
SoHo is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City, notable for being the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, and also, more recently, for the wide variety of stores and shops ranging from trendy boutiques to outlets of upscale national and international chain stores...
, and incorporated as a not-for-profit arts organization. In 1987 it moved to its current location.
The first music director of The Kitchen was composer Rhys Chatham
Rhys Chatham
Rhys Chatham is an American composer, guitarist, and trumpet player, primarily active in avant-garde and minimalist music. He is best known for his "guitar orchestra" compositions...
. The venue became known as a place where many No Wave
No Wave
No Wave was a short-lived but influential underground music, film, performance art, video, and contemporary art scene that had its beginnings during the mid-1970s in New York City. The term No Wave is in part satirical word play rejecting the commercial elements of the then-popular New Wave genre...
bands like Glenn Branca
Glenn Branca
Glenn Branca is an American avant-garde composer and guitarist known for his use of volume, alternative guitar tunings, repetition, droning, and the harmonic series. In 2008 he was awarded an unrestricted grant from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts.-Beginnings: 1960s and early 1970s:Branca...
, Lydia Lunch
Lydia Lunch
Lydia Lunch is an American singer, poet, writer, and actress whose career was spawned by the New York No Wave scene...
and James Chance
James Chance
James Chance, also known as James White , is an American saxophonist, songwriter and singer....
performed. Notable Kitchen alumni also include Philip Glass
Philip Glass
Philip Glass is an American composer. He is considered to be one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century and is widely acknowledged as a composer who has brought art music to the public .His music is often described as minimalist, along with...
, Laurie Anderson, Rocco Di Pietro
Rocco Di Pietro
Rocco Di Pietro is an artist whose work as composer-pianist, essayist, educator and habilitationist, has crossed multiple disciplinary boundaries. Starting in January 2009 Di Pietro will be SICA Composer in Residence. He will undertake a variety of projects in a campus wide initiative including...
, John Moran, Young Jean Lee's Theater Company, Peter Greenaway
Peter Greenaway
Peter Greenaway, CBE is a British film director. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Flemish painting in particular...
, Michael Nyman
Michael Nyman
Michael Laurence Nyman, CBE is an English composer of minimalist music, pianist, librettist and musicologist, known for the many film scores he wrote during his lengthy collaboration with the filmmaker Peter Greenaway, and his multi-platinum soundtrack album to Jane Campion's The Piano...
, Steve Reich
Steve Reich
Stephen Michael "Steve" Reich is an American composer who together with La Monte Young, Terry Riley, and Philip Glass is a pioneering composer of minimal music...
, Pauline Oliveros
Pauline Oliveros
Pauline Oliveros is an American accordionist and composer who is a central figure in the development of post-war electronic art music....
, Gordon Mumma
Gordon Mumma
Gordon Mumma is an American composer. He cofounded Ann Arbor's Cooperative Studio for Electronic Music with Robert Ashley, was a musician with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company and was a member of the Sonic Arts Union with Ashley, Alvin Lucier, and David Behrman...
, Frederic Rzewski
Frederic Rzewski
Frederic Anthony Rzewski is an American composer and virtuoso pianist.- Biography :Rzewski began playing piano at age 5. He attended Phillips Academy, Harvard and Princeton, where his teachers included Randall Thompson, Roger Sessions, Walter Piston and Milton Babbitt...
, Ridge Theater, The Future Sound of London
The Future Sound of London
The Future Sound of London is a prolific British electronic music band composed of Garry Cobain and Brian Dougans. The duo are often credited with pushing the boundaries of electronic music experimentation and of pioneering a new era of dance music...
, Leisure Class
Leisure Class
-Band history:Formed in Detroit in 1977 as Mr. Unique & the Leisure Suits, the band got their start as the opening act for The Mumps and local favorites like Flirt and Destroy All Monsters. In the following years, they managed to amuse, annoy, and antagonize all manner of audiences before finally...
, 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,...
, Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
, Arthur Russell, Meredith Monk
Meredith Monk
Meredith Jane Monk is an American composer, performer, director, vocalist, filmmaker, and choreographer. Since the 1960s, Monk has created multi-disciplinary works which combine music, theatre, and dance, recording extensively for ECM Records.-Life and work:Meredith Monk is primarily known for her...
, Vito Acconci
Vito Acconci
Vito Hannibal Acconci is a Bronx, New York-born, Brooklyn-based designer, landscape architect, performance and installation artist.-Education:...
, Keshavan Maslak
Keshavan Maslak
Keshavan Maslak, who also performs under the stage name Kenny Millions is an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, avant-garde performance artist, poet and restaurateur.-Biography:...
, Lucinda Childs
Lucinda Childs
Lucinda Childs is an American postmodern dancer/choreographer. Her compositions are known for their minimalistic movements yet complex transitions. Childs is most famous for being able to turn the slightest movements into an intricate choreographic masterpiece...
, Bill T. Jones
Bill T. Jones
Bill T. Jones is an American artistic director, choreographer and dancer.-Early life:Jones was born in Bunnell, Florida and his family moved North as part of the Great Migration in the first half of the twentieth century. They settled in Wayland, New York, where Jones attended Wayland High School...
, David Byrne
David Byrne
David Byrne may refer to:*David Byrne , musician and former Talking Heads frontman**David Byrne , his eponymous album*David Byrne , Irish footballer*David Byrne , English footballer...
/Talking Heads
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American New Wave and avant-garde band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison...
, John Jasperse
John Jasperse
John Jasperse is an American choreographer and dancer. Since 1990 he has been artistic director and choreographer of the New York City-based John Jasperse Company....
, Bryce Dessner
Bryce Dessner
Bryce Dessner is a Brooklyn based composer, guitarist, and curator primarily known as a member of The National. In addition to his work with The National, he is a founding member of Clogs, and the founder of the MusicNOW Festival. Bryce has a master's degree in classical guitar from Yale University...
, Nico Muhly
Nico Muhly
Nico Muhly is a contemporary classical music composer, who has worked and recorded with classical and pop/rock musicians. He currently lives in the Lower East Side section of Manhattan in New York City.-Early years:...
, ETHEL
Ethel (string quartet)
ETHEL is a New York based string quartet that was co-founded in 1998 by Ralph Farris, viola; Dorothy Lawson, cello; Todd Reynolds, violin; and Mary Rowell, violin. Unlike most string quartets, ETHEL plays with amplification and integrates improvisation into its performances...
, Chris McIntyre, Sylvie Degiez, Wayne Lopes /CosmicLegends and Cindy Sherman
Cindy Sherman
Cindy Sherman is an American photographer and film director, best known for her conceptual portraits. Sherman currently lives and works in New York City. In 1995, she was the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship. She is represented by Sprüth Magers Berlin London in and Metro Pictures gallery in...
.
Today, The Kitchen focuses on presenting emerging artists, most of whom are local, and is committed to advancing work that is experimental in nature. Its facilities include a 155-seat black box performance space and a gallery space for audio and visual exhibitions. The Kitchen presents work in music, dance, performance, video, film, visual art, and literature.
History
Mercer Arts Center (1971-1973)Looking for a way to present their work to a public audience, Steina and Woody Vasulka
Steina and Woody Vasulka
Steina Vasulka and Woody Vasulka are pioneers of video art, having practiced in the genre since its early days in the late 1960s....
rented the kitchen of the Mercer Arts Center
Mercer Arts Center
The Mercer Arts Center was a group of live theaters on Mercer Street in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, and was part of the Broadway Central Hotel until its collapse on August 3, 1973....
, in the former Broadway Central Hotel. The Vasulka’s, with help from Andy Mannik, opened The Kitchen as a presentation space for video artists on June 15, 1971. Later that year, the Vasulka’s added music to their programming and named Rhys Chatham
Rhys Chatham
Rhys Chatham is an American composer, guitarist, and trumpet player, primarily active in avant-garde and minimalist music. He is best known for his "guitar orchestra" compositions...
the first music director. The Kitchen continued their eclectic programming at the Mercer Arts Center until the summer of 1973 when they began planning to move to 59 Wooster Street. In August 1973 the building that housed the Mercer Arts Center collapsed, making this decision final.
Move to SoHo (1973-1986)
The 1973-1974 season started in The Kitchen’s new location at the corner of Wooster and Broome streets in the former LoGiudice Gallery Building. During its time on 59 Wooster Street The Kitchen emerged as New York’s premiere avant-garde and experimental arts center. In addition to a performance space, a gallery and video viewing room were established at this location.
Today (1985-Present)
The Kitchen moved uptown to 512 West 19th Street to begin the spring 1986 season and subsequetly purchased the space in 1987. The inaugural event series in The Kitchen’s new home was entitled New Ice Nights. In 1991 The Kitchen held its twentieth anniversary celebration: The Kitchen Turns Twenty with a retrospective mini-music festival entitled Five Generations of Composers, as well as a re-creation of Jean Dupuy’s Soup and Tart, entitled: Burp: Soup and Tart Revisited. The Kitchen remains a space for interdisciplinary and experimental work by focusing its programming on emerging artists.
In fall of 2011, after seven years as the Executive Director and Chief Curator of The Kitchen, Debra Singer handed over the reigns to former ArtForum
Artforum
Artforum is an international monthly magazine specializing in contemporary art.-Publication:The magazine is published ten times a year, September through May, along with an annual summer issue...
Editor-in-Chief Tim Griffin.
Notable series and performances
- In May of 1975, Steve Reich and MusiciansSteve Reich and MusiciansSteve Reich and Musicians, sometimes credited as the Steve Reich Ensemble, is a musical ensemble founded and led by the American composer Steve Reich to perform his compositions. This ensemble has premiered many of Reich's works and has performed his works more than any other...
gave a performance of Work in Progress for 21 musicians and singers. Completed and premiered in 1976, the piece became Music for 18 MusiciansMusic for 18 MusiciansMusic for 18 Musicians is a work of musical minimalism composed by Steve Reich during 1974-1976. Its world premiere was on April 24, 1976 at Town Hall, New York. Following this, a recording of the piece was released by ECM New Series...
, now regarded as one of the composer's landmark works. - Robert MapplethorpeRobert MapplethorpeRobert Mapplethorpe was an American photographer, known for his large-scale, highly stylized black and white portraits, photos of flowers and nude men...
presented one of his first photography exhibitions entitled Erotic Photos at The Kitchen in 1977 - The Kitchen began its dance programming in 1978 by establishing its Dancing In The Kitchen series curated by Cynthia Hedstrom. The goal of this series was to "stretch the established boundaries of choreographic expression and [explore] new movement vocabularies" by presenting works of dance and movement by both choreographers and non-choreographers.
- In 1979, The Kitchen began its Contemporary Music Series with goal of highlighting "connections between different musical genres and styles of composition." Noteworthy composers presented during this series include Anthony BraxtonAnthony BraxtonAnthony Braxton is an American composer, saxophonist, clarinettist, flautist, pianist, and philosopher. Braxton has released well over 100 albums since the 1960s...
, Philip GlassPhilip GlassPhilip Glass is an American composer. He is considered to be one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century and is widely acknowledged as a composer who has brought art music to the public .His music is often described as minimalist, along with...
, and Anthony DavisAnthony Davis (composer)Anthony Davis, better known as Tony Davis , is an American composer, jazz pianist, and student of gamelan music.-Biography:...
among many others. The series was curated by experimental composer and performer Arto LindsayArto LindsayArthur Morgan Lindsay is an American guitarist, singer, record producer and experimental composer. He is a 1974 graduate of Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida....
. - The Kitchen hosted the New Music/New York festival and conference in 1979. It included performances by Laurie AndersonLaurie AndersonLaura Phillips "Laurie" Anderson is an American experimental performance artist, composer and musician who plays violin and keyboards and sings in a variety of experimental music and art rock styles. Initially trained as a sculptor, Anderson did her first performance-art piece in the late 1960s...
, Robert AshleyRobert AshleyRobert Ashley , is a contemporary American composer, best known for his operas and other theatrical works, many of which incorporate electronics and extended techniques. Along with Gordon Mumma, Ashley was also a major pioneer of audio synthesis.Ashley was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan...
, Don CherryDon CherryDon Cherry may refer to:* Don Cherry hockey player, coach, and commentator* Don Cherry , trumpeter* Don Cherry...
, Tony ConradTony ConradTony Conrad is an American avant-garde video artist, experimental filmmaker, musician/composer, sound artist, teacher and writer...
, Petr KotikPetr KotikPetr Kotik is a composer, conductor and flutist living in New York City. He was educated in Europe...
, Alvin LucierAlvin LucierAlvin Lucier is an American composer of experimental music and sound installations that explore acoustic phenomena and auditory perception. A long-time music professor at Wesleyan University, Lucier was a member of the influential Sonic Arts Union, which included Robert Ashley, David Behrman, and...
, Charlemagne PalestineCharlemagne PalestineCharlemagne Palestine is an American minimalist composer, performer, and visual artist...
, Steve Reich Ensemble, among others. The festival was renamed New Music AmericaNew Music AmericaNew Music America was an American festival of experimental or Downtown new music.The festival began at The Kitchen in New York City in 1979. In this first year, the festival was actually called New Music New York....
in 1980 and was held in a different city each year until its final iteration in 1990. - In June of 1981, The Kitchen hosted a 10th Anniversary celebration called Aluminum Nights. The two-day celebration featured film and video screenings by Steina and Woody VasulkaSteina and Woody VasulkaSteina Vasulka and Woody Vasulka are pioneers of video art, having practiced in the genre since its early days in the late 1960s....
, Vito AcconciVito AcconciVito Hannibal Acconci is a Bronx, New York-born, Brooklyn-based designer, landscape architect, performance and installation artist.-Education:...
, Robert AshleyRobert AshleyRobert Ashley , is a contemporary American composer, best known for his operas and other theatrical works, many of which incorporate electronics and extended techniques. Along with Gordon Mumma, Ashley was also a major pioneer of audio synthesis.Ashley was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan...
, Nam June PaikNam June PaikNam June Paik was a Korean American artist. He worked with a variety of media and is considered to be the first video artist....
, The Kipper KidsThe Kipper KidsThe Kipper Kids are contemporary artists who live and work in New York, USA, and Scarborough, United Kingdom.-Biography:Martin von Haselberg and Brian Routh are a performance duo...
, John CageJohn CageJohn Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
, and Robert WilsonRobert Wilson (director)Robert Wilson is an American avant-garde stage director and playwright who has been called "[America]'s — or even the world's — foremost vanguard 'theater artist'". Over the course of his wide-ranging career, he has also worked as a choreographer, performer, painter, sculptor, video...
; musical performances by Laurie AndersonLaurie AndersonLaura Phillips "Laurie" Anderson is an American experimental performance artist, composer and musician who plays violin and keyboards and sings in a variety of experimental music and art rock styles. Initially trained as a sculptor, Anderson did her first performance-art piece in the late 1960s...
, Booji BoyBooji BoyBooji Boy is a character created in the early 1970s by American New Wave band Devo. The name is pronounced "Boogie Boy"—the strange spelling "Booji" resulted when the band was using letraset to produce captions for a film, and ran out of the letter "g"...
, Glenn BrancaGlenn BrancaGlenn Branca is an American avant-garde composer and guitarist known for his use of volume, alternative guitar tunings, repetition, droning, and the harmonic series. In 2008 he was awarded an unrestricted grant from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts.-Beginnings: 1960s and early 1970s:Branca...
, Philip Glass EnsemblePhilip Glass EnsembleThe Philip Glass Ensemble is a musical group founded by composer Philip Glass in 1968 to serve as a performance outlet for his experimental minimalist music. The Ensemble's instrumentation became a hallmark of Glass' early minimalist style...
, Brian EnoBrian EnoBrian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
, Fab Five FreddyFab Five FreddyFred Brathwaite , more popularly known as Fab 5 Freddy, is an American Hip hop historian, Hip hop pioneer and former graffiti artist...
, Love of Life OrchestraLove Of Life OrchestraCollaborators on their recording Extended Niceties have included Arto Lindsay and David ByrneEarly members of the band included Laurie Anderson , Blue Gene Tyranny , Ken Deifik , Scott Johnson guitar, Rhys Chatham , Peter Zummo , Arthur Russell , Kathy Acker , and Jill Kroesen .-Partial discography:*...
, Meredith MonkMeredith MonkMeredith Jane Monk is an American composer, performer, director, vocalist, filmmaker, and choreographer. Since the 1960s, Monk has created multi-disciplinary works which combine music, theatre, and dance, recording extensively for ECM Records.-Life and work:Meredith Monk is primarily known for her...
, Steve Reich and MusiciansSteve Reich and MusiciansSteve Reich and Musicians, sometimes credited as the Steve Reich Ensemble, is a musical ensemble founded and led by the American composer Steve Reich to perform his compositions. This ensemble has premiered many of Reich's works and has performed his works more than any other...
, Z'EVZ'EVZ'EV is an American poet, percussionist, and sound artist. After studying various world music traditions at CalArts, he began creating his own percussion sounds out of industrial materials for a variety of record labels...
, Talking HeadsTalking HeadsTalking Heads were an American New Wave and avant-garde band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison...
, and George LewisGeorge Lewis (trombonist)George E. Lewis is a trombone player, composer, and scholar in the fields of jazz and experimental music. He has been a member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians since 1971, and is a pioneer of computer music.- Biography :Lewis graduated from Yale University with a...
; and dance performances by Laura DeanLaura DeanLaura Dean is a dancer, choreographer and composer.Dean is the recipient of many awards including the 2008 Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival Award for Lifetime Achievement in Dance. She has also received a "Bessie" New York Dance Award for her work with composer Steve Reich...
, Bebe MillerBebe MillerBebe Miller is an American choreographer, dancer and director.-Biography:Daughter of an elementary school teacher and a ship steward, Bebe Miller was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1950. She was raised in a public housing project in the Red Hook Nieghborhood...
, and Arnie ZaneArnie ZaneArnie Zane was an American photographer, choreographer, and dancer. He is best known as the co-founder and co-artistic director of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company.-Early years:...
. - Beastie BoysBeastie BoysBeastie Boys are an American hip hop trio from New York City. The group consists of Mike D who plays the drums, MCA who plays the bass, and Ad-Rock who plays the guitar....
gave one of their early performances at The Kitchen on December 12, 1983 - In 1991, a program called Working in The Kitchen brought together a group of choreographers who worked collaboratively over a four-month period to create performances at The Kitchen. In the spirit of this program, a series was established in 1995 called Dance and Process, in which a group of emerging choreographers are given a residency to develop their work in a collaborative "workshop" environment with the guidance of an established choreographer as the curator. Past curators have included Sarah Michelson, Dean Moss, Yasuko Yokoshi, and Miguel GutierrezMiguel GutiérrezMiguel Gutiérrez is a Mexican football forward who played for Mexico in the 1958 FIFA World Cup. He also played for Club Atlas.-External links:*...
. Dance and Process is The Kitchen's longest running series. - From 2000 to 2005, The Kitchen produced a music series called Kitchen House Blend in which it commissioned composers to write music for its "house band" - an experimental chamber ensemble whose instrumentation included drums, percussion, keyboards, trumpet, trombone, high and low reeds, and electric and acoustic violin, cello, and bass. The goal was to combine eclectic musicians and composers to create music that crossed boundaries of style and performance techniques. During the series, The Kitchen commissioned music by a total of 26 composers including Matthew ShippMatthew ShippMatthew Shipp is an American pianist, composer and bandleader.Shipp was raised in Wilmington, Delaware, and began playing piano at six years old. His mother was a friend of trumpeter Clifford Brown....
, Anthony DavisAnthony Davis (composer)Anthony Davis, better known as Tony Davis , is an American composer, jazz pianist, and student of gamelan music.-Biography:...
, Susie IbarraSusie IbarraSusie Ibarra is a Contemporary Composer and Percussionist who has worked and recorded with jazz, classical, world, and Indigenous musicians. She is known for her work as a performer in avant-garde, jazz, world and new music...
, Roy NathansonRoy NathansonRoy Nathanson has a varied career as a saxophonist, composer, bandleader, actor and teacher. He is leader and principal composer of the Jazz Passengers, a six piece group that he founded with Curtis Fowlkes in 1987. They have toured Europe many times and played at major festivals in Finland,...
, Elliott SharpElliott SharpElliott 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,...
, Roy Campbell, Jr.Roy Campbell, Jr.Roy Campbell, Jr. is versatile trumpeter frequently linked to free jazz, though he has also performed rhythm and blues, bebop and funk at times during his career. Born in Los Angeles, California in 1952, Campbell was raised in New York. At age fifteen Campbell began learning to play trumpet and...
, Evan ZiporynEvan ZiporynEvan Ziporyn is an American composer of post-minimalist music and music for Balinese gamelans. He plays the clarinet, bass clarinet, saxophone, and metallophone, borrowing from classical music, avant-garde, and jazz...
, Vijay IyerVijay IyerVijay Iyer is a jazz pianist, composer, bandleader, producer, electronic musician, and writer based in New York City.-Biography:Born in 1971 and raised in Rochester, New York, Vijay Iyer is the son of Indian Tamil immigrants to the US. He received 15 years of Western classical training on violin...
, Anthony ColemanAnthony ColemanAnthony Coleman is an American musician. Coleman is a piano and keys player, trombonist and vocalist mainly working within the free improvised and avant-garde jazz scenes in downtown New York during the late 1970s through to the present day.His greatest impact was during the 80s and 90s when he...
, David KrakauerDavid KrakauerDavid Krakauer is an American clarinetist. He is a graduate of the High School of Music & Art, class of 1974. He is mostly known for his klezmer compositions. He became involved with klezmer music in the late 1980s while working as a classical musician, joining The Klezmatics...
, Ikue MoriIkue 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...
, Lois V VierkLois V VierkLois V Vierk is a "post-minimalist" or "totalist" composer who lives in New York City.She received a B.A. degree in piano and ethnomusicology from UCLA in 1974. She then attended Cal Arts, studying composition with Mel Powell, Leonard Stein, and Morton Subotnick, receiving her M.F.A. in 1978...
, and Derek BermelDerek BermelDerek Bermel is an American composer, clarinetist and conductor whose music blends various facets of world music, funk and jazz with largely classical performing forces and musical vocabulary...
. - In 2011 The Kitchen marked its 40th Anniversary with a number of events throughout the year, including the Spring Benefit Gala honoring Philip GlassPhilip GlassPhilip Glass is an American composer. He is considered to be one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century and is widely acknowledged as a composer who has brought art music to the public .His music is often described as minimalist, along with...
on May 4th. Two music events celebrating the anniversary included a two-night program Aluminum Music on April 15-16 (which itself was a thirty-year commemoration of a 1981 Kitchen event Aluminum Nights ), with Z’EV and No-Wavers Bush TetrasBush TetrasBush Tetras are an American post-punk band from New York City, popular in the Manhattan club scene in the early 1980s but never achieving much mainstream success. Their music combined funk rhythms and dissonant guitar riffs.-History:...
on the 15th and the former Kitchen Music Director (and Aluminum Nights co-curator) George LewisGeorge LewisGeorge Lewis may refer to:*George Lowys or Lewis , mayor of Winchelsea*George Lewis , track and field athlete from Trinidad and Tobago*George Lewis , New Orleans jazz clarinettist...
and Peter Gordon’s Love of Life Orchestra on the bill for the 16th. On September 9-10, the first Kitchen music director Rhys ChathamRhys ChathamRhys Chatham is an American composer, guitarist, and trumpet player, primarily active in avant-garde and minimalist music. He is best known for his "guitar orchestra" compositions...
curated and performed in Pioneers of the Downtown Sound with Pauline OliverosPauline OliverosPauline Oliveros is an American accordionist and composer who is a central figure in the development of post-war electronic art music....
, Joan La BarbaraJoan La BarbaraJoan La Barbara is an American vocalist and composer associated with contemporary music. She is a former student of Helen Boatwright...
, and Chatham on the 9th and Tony ConradTony ConradTony Conrad is an American avant-garde video artist, experimental filmmaker, musician/composer, sound artist, teacher and writer...
, Laurie SpiegelLaurie SpiegelLaurie Spiegel is an American composer. She has worked at Bell Laboratories, in computer graphics, and is known primarily for her electronic-music compositions and her algorithmic composition software Music Mouse...
, and Chatham on the 10th. . An exhibition during the summer The View from a Volcano: The Kitchen’s Soho Years, 1971-85 highlighted the rich history of the early years of The Kitchen with video documentation and ephemera from works but such artists as Vito AcconciVito AcconciVito Hannibal Acconci is a Bronx, New York-born, Brooklyn-based designer, landscape architect, performance and installation artist.-Education:...
, Laurie AndersonLaurie AndersonLaura Phillips "Laurie" Anderson is an American experimental performance artist, composer and musician who plays violin and keyboards and sings in a variety of experimental music and art rock styles. Initially trained as a sculptor, Anderson did her first performance-art piece in the late 1960s...
, Karole ArmitageKarole ArmitageKarole Armitage is an American dancer and choreographer currently based in New York City. She is Artistic Director of Armitage Gone! Dance, a contemporary ballet company that performs several times annually in New York City as well as touring internationally...
, Robert AshleyRobert AshleyRobert Ashley , is a contemporary American composer, best known for his operas and other theatrical works, many of which incorporate electronics and extended techniques. Along with Gordon Mumma, Ashley was also a major pioneer of audio synthesis.Ashley was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan...
, Charles AtlasCharles AtlasCharles Atlas, born Angelo Siciliano , was the developer of a bodybuilding method and its associated exercise program that was best known for a landmark advertising campaign featuring Atlas's name and likeness; it has been described as one of the longest-lasting and most memorable ad campaigns of all...
, Beastie BoysBeastie BoysBeastie Boys are an American hip hop trio from New York City. The group consists of Mike D who plays the drums, MCA who plays the bass, and Ad-Rock who plays the guitar....
, Eric BogosianEric BogosianEric Bogosian is an American actor, playwright, monologist, and novelist of Armenian descent.-Personal life:Bogosian, an Armenian-American, was born in Woburn, Massachusetts, the son of Edwina, a hairdresser and instructor, and Henry Bogosian, an accountant. After graduating from Oberlin College,...
, John CageJohn CageJohn Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
, Jean DupuyJean DupuyJean Dupuy is a French-born artist. He is a pioneer of work combining art and technology. He works in the fields of conceptual art, performance art, painting, installations, sculptures and video art. In the 1970s he curated many performance art events involving different artists from Fluxus, the...
, Molissa FenleyMolissa FenleyMolissa Fenley is a choreographer, modern dancer, and part-time associate professor of dance at Mills College. She has accepted commissions from Deutsche Oper Ballet of Berlin, Australian Dance Theatre, The Ohio Ballet, and The Pacific Northwest Ballet, and has won two New York Dance and...
, Joan JonasJoan JonasBorn in 1936 in New York City, Joan Jonas is a pioneer of video and performance art and one of the most important female artists to emerge in the late 1960s and early 1970s.She began her career in New York City as a sculptor...
, Bill T. JonesBill T. JonesBill T. Jones is an American artistic director, choreographer and dancer.-Early life:Jones was born in Bunnell, Florida and his family moved North as part of the Great Migration in the first half of the twentieth century. They settled in Wayland, New York, where Jones attended Wayland High School...
, Christian MarclayChristian MarclayChristian Marclay is a Swiss-American visual artist and composer.Marclay's work explores connections between sound, noise, photography, video, and film...
, Meredith MonkMeredith MonkMeredith Jane Monk is an American composer, performer, director, vocalist, filmmaker, and choreographer. Since the 1960s, Monk has created multi-disciplinary works which combine music, theatre, and dance, recording extensively for ECM Records.-Life and work:Meredith Monk is primarily known for her...
, Nam June PaikNam June PaikNam June Paik was a Korean American artist. He worked with a variety of media and is considered to be the first video artist....
, Steve ReichSteve ReichStephen Michael "Steve" Reich is an American composer who together with La Monte Young, Terry Riley, and Philip Glass is a pioneering composer of minimal music...
, Rock Steady CrewRock Steady CrewRock Steady Crew is a b-boying crew and hip hop group that was established in the Bronx, New York City in 1977. The group was initially formed by b-boys named Jimmy D and Jojo. In subsequent years, Rock Steady Crew became a franchise name for groups in other locations. The Manhattan branch was...
, Arthur RussellArthur RussellArthur Russell may refer to:* Arthur Russell, 2nd Baron Ampthill , Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India* Arthur Russell , British athlete...
, Elizabeth StrebElizabeth StrebElizabeth Streb is an American choreographer, performer, and teacher of contemporary dance.-Background:Streb was born and raised in Rochester, New York and, after graduating from the dance program of State University of New York at Brockport in 1972, she was interested in experimental works and...
, Talking HeadsTalking HeadsTalking Heads were an American New Wave and avant-garde band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison...
, Steina and Woody VasulkaSteina and Woody VasulkaSteina Vasulka and Woody Vasulka are pioneers of video art, having practiced in the genre since its early days in the late 1960s....
, Bill ViolaBill ViolaBill Viola is a contemporary video artist. He is considered a leading figure in the generation of artists whose artistic expression depends upon electronic, sound, and image technology in New Media...
, and more.
Notable directors and curators
- Steina and Woody VasulkaSteina and Woody VasulkaSteina Vasulka and Woody Vasulka are pioneers of video art, having practiced in the genre since its early days in the late 1960s....
- Directors & Video curators (1971-1972) - Rhys ChathamRhys ChathamRhys Chatham is an American composer, guitarist, and trumpet player, primarily active in avant-garde and minimalist music. He is best known for his "guitar orchestra" compositions...
- Music director (1972-1973 and 1977-1980) - Arthur Russell - Music director (1974-1975)
- Garrett ListGarrett ListGarrett List is an American trombonist, vocalist and composer.In 1950, he moved with his family to Southern California. At the age of 18, he already was busy teaching, playing and composing music . In 1965 he left California and settled in New York, where he attended the famous Juilliard School of...
- Music director (1975-1977) - Robert LongoRobert LongoRobert Longo is an American painter and sculptor. Longo became famous in the 1980s for his "Men in the Cities" series, which depicted sharply dressed businessmen writhing in contorted emotion.-Early life and education:...
- Video curator (1977-1981) - Roselee GoldbergRoselee GoldbergRoseLee Goldberg is an American-based art historian, author, critic and curator. She wrote a study of performance art, Performance Art: From Futurism to the Present...
- Gallery & Performance curator (1978-1980) - Eric BogosianEric BogosianEric Bogosian is an American actor, playwright, monologist, and novelist of Armenian descent.-Personal life:Bogosian, an Armenian-American, was born in Woburn, Massachusetts, the son of Edwina, a hairdresser and instructor, and Henry Bogosian, an accountant. After graduating from Oberlin College,...
- Dance curator (1978-1981) - George LewisGeorge Lewis (trombonist)George E. Lewis is a trombone player, composer, and scholar in the fields of jazz and experimental music. He has been a member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians since 1971, and is a pioneer of computer music.- Biography :Lewis graduated from Yale University with a...
- Music director (1980-1982) - Ann DeMarinis - Music director (1982-1985)
- Amy TaubinAmy TaubinAmy Taubin is an American film critic. She is a contributing editor for two prominent film magazines, the British Sight & Sound and the American Film Comment...
- Video curator (1983-1988)
- Arto LindsayArto LindsayArthur Morgan Lindsay is an American guitarist, singer, record producer and experimental composer. He is a 1974 graduate of Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida....
- Music director (1986-1987) - Cynthia Hedstrom - Dance curator (1986-1990)
- Ira SilverbergIra SilverbergIra Silverberg is an influential literary agent and editor in the New York publishing business. Silverberg worked as a literary agent at Donadio & Ashworth, as Editor-in-Chief at Grove/Atlantic Press, and as editorial and publishing director at Serpent's Tail's U.S. projects, High Risk Books and...
- Literature curator (1989-1995) - Ben NeillBen NeillBen Neill is a composer and trumpeter who has studied with La Monte Young. His music has been recorded on the Thirsty Ear, Astralwerks, Verve, and Six Degrees labels. Neill spent seven years as the music curator for The Kitchen in New York. He has collaborated with DJ Spooky, David Wojnarowicz...
- Music director (1992-1998) - John King - Music director (1999-2005)
- Bernadette SpeachBernadette SpeachBernadette Speach is an American avant-garde composer.-Biography: was a nun at St Joseph of Corondelet from 1966 to 1977, teaching music in parochial schools during that time. She studied with Nicholas Roussakis at Columbia University and with Franco Donatoni at Siena in 1976. After 1977 she left...
- Director (1995-1998) - Neil Greenberg - Dance curator (1995-1999)
- Frederic TutenFrederic TutenFrederic Tuten is an American novelist, short story writer and essayist. He has written five novels – The Adventures of Mao on the Long March , Tallien: A Brief Romance , Tintin in the New World: A Romance , Van Gogh's Bad Café and The Green Hour – as well as one book of inter-related short...
- Literature curator (1995-2000) - Dean Moss - Dance curator (1999-2005)
- Debra Singer - Executive Director and Chief Curator (2004-2011)
- Tim Griffin - Executive Director and Chief Curator (2011-present)