Sound and image share the ability to transcend culture and express the highest truths about the conditions of the human experience. Edward Steichen’s 1955 exhibition, “The Family of Man,” collected images and text from around the world to highlight these global collections. Pause, a new ensemble featuring five musicians from Alarm Will Sound, Erin Lesser (flute), Michael Clayville (trombone), Chris Thompson (percussion), John Orfe (piano) and Courtney Orlando (violin), collaborate with composers Ian Dicke (California), Texu Kim (Korea), John Orfe (Illinois) and Charlie Piper (United Kingdom) and visual artists from the University of California, Riverside to revisit themes from the exhibit while exploring new expressions of the human condition.
The award-winning composers and visual artists will collaborate on creating new multimedia pieces inspired by quotations from the original Steichen text and the resulting works will be performed by a quintet of players known for their virtuosity and expressive performances. The first performance of this project will be on the Outpost Concert Series in collaboration with the Culver Center of the Arts.
Carl Sandburg asks in his introduction to “The Family of Man,” “What will the story be of the Family of Man across the near or far future?” This project will continue this discussion, sixty years later, providing a new forum for artists of various disciplines and communities to come together to share their insights.