21c Museum Hotel Cincinnati will host an Evening with Allelujah on Monday, November 14 at 8:00 p.m. The event will include a live musical performance by the band, accompanied by the film work of band member Andy Byers. The event is free and open to the public.
Allelujah will perform their forthcoming album, The Death and Life of Capt Nathan Baker, out November 4, 2016 via Cosmic Dreamer Music. In the new album, poetry and gospel anthems are blended to tell the spiritual journey of a civil war captain. Andy Byers, a Los Angeles-based director, production designer, costume designer, and member of Allelujah, will present a screening of his new film, Eclipse.
A 7” vinyl will be available for sale at the event, along with posters that are the first of the band’s newest series, “Limited Edition.” The posters are unique, limited edition works of art, created by filmmaker Guy Maddin and musician John Vanderslice.
Andy Byer’s first major film work after moving to California, Eclipse is a bolder and more abstract departure from his previous work in Green Porno and Seduce Me. The seven-minute film, commissioned for the Downtown Los Angeles Ace Hotel, is influenced by Matthew Barney, Man Ray and Robert Mapplethorpe. An homage to light and dark, the moving images invoke a classic dialogue of sexuality, sensuality and the human figure. An elongated 45-minute version of the film will be screened at the event.
“The idea of taking the nude figure, seen throughout art history in Grecian sculpture, Baroque painting and beyond, and moving the focus from the body itself, placing it more on its formal aspects created great inspiration for me,” said Byers. “Eclipse provided me with an opportunity to expand my visual practice with no need to fabricate a storyline other than that of shape and shadow, light and lust.”
“21c is proud to host a special performance by Allelujuah,” said 21c Chief Curator Alice Gray Stites. “Andy Byers and his band are creating art that transcends boundaries, combining music, film, and performance into a multi-sensory experience.
About Allelujah
Following a few albums with the experimental noise pop band Minus Story and several years of touring, Andy Byers relocated to New York where he worked in film as a production designer and composer for a number of projects, including being a critical part of Isabella Rossellini’s series Green Porno. After that, Andy moved to LA, where he rediscovered his passion for songwriting. He started to trade ideas with Shearwater’s Lucas Oswald, and during a week long writing session in Los Angeles the two of them had outlined the basic concept for Allelujah’s The Death and Life of Capt Nathan Baker.
About 21c Museum Hotel
21c was founded by Laura Lee Brown and Steve Wilson, contemporary art collectors and preservationists who are committed to expanding access to thought-provoking contemporary art. A multi-venue museum, each 21c property features exhibition space open free of charge to the public, combined with a boutique hotel and chef-driven restaurant. 21c presents a range of arts programming curated by Museum Director, Chief Curator Alice Gray Stites, including both solo and group exhibitions that reflect the global nature of art today, as well as site-specific, commissioned installations, and a variety of cultural events. The organization collaborates on arts initiatives with artists and organizations worldwide, including North Carolina Museum of Art, MASS MoCA, Contemporary Art Museum Houston, The Barnes Foundation, Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, Creative Capital Foundation, and others. Since opening in Louisville, KY in 2006, 21c Museum has presented nearly 100 exhibitions, including Cuba Now!; Alter Ego: A Decade of Work by Anthony Goicolea; Hybridity: The New Frontier; Aftermath: Witnessing War, Countenancing Compassion; Seeing Now; Wild Card: The Art of Michael Combs; Dis-semblance: Projecting and Perceiving Identity; Albano Afonso: Self-Portrait as Light; Pop Stars! Popular Culture and Contemporary Art; and Labor&Materials.
For more information visit www.21cMuseumHotels.com.