Adam Basanta (b. 1985) is a Montreal-based sound artist, composer, and performer of experimental music. His work draws on a broad scope ranging from sound installations to electronic and instrumental composition, site-specific interventions and laptop performance. Working across disciplines and media, he interrogates intersections between conceptual and sensorial dimensions of listening, instabilities of instrumentality, and the intertwining of human behaviour and technological devices. His sound installations have been presented internationally in galleries, festivals and institutions and have been awarded several international prizes.
A Truly Magical Moment
Adam Basanta, A Truly Magical Moment (2016)
How does an artist who is a technological sceptic work in new media art? Can inspiration be found in unexpected corners of the mediascape which we bear witness to on a daily basis? Can locating pressure points between 21st century connectivity and the disconnects that results from it lead to humourous forms of subversion? In an attempt to answer these questions through a discussion of my recent interactive sculpture,
A Truly Magical Moment, I will touch on the tensions between copies and original, shared cultural memory in the digital age, and the promise of virtuality in relation to the barriers of materiality.
Link to the PDF presentation (3.9MB)