Tang Museum: Suzanne Bocanegra on Math and Art in Collaboration

In this video, Suzanne Bocanegra describes her collaboration with John McCleary, a mathematician and classically trained singer, on the piece Color Chart. The duo created a mathematical formula that transformed an old yarn box into a libretto for an aria that Bocanegra describes as a "static opera."
Translation and collaboration form the heart of Bocanegra's process. Her work often transforms two-dimensional art historical source materials into three-dimensional installations. For her recent works, Bocanegra expands on her use of these sources, exploring their potential "not just as templates for another static work of art, but as a script, a musical score, or an instruction for how to move or how to behave."


Bocanegra's 2010 solo exhibition, Opener 21: Suzanne Bocanegra: I Write the Songs, is part of the Tang Museum's Opener series, which presents important bodies of work by contemporary artists through exhibitions and accompanying catalogues.
Learn more about Suzanne Bocanegra and "I Write the Songs" here: http://tang.skidmore.edu/index.php/calendars/view/295/tag:1/year:all

CREDITS | Producer/Camera/Editor: Vickie Riley. Interview: Ian Berry.

©The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College, 2010

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Education

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• Tang Museum
• Skidmore College
• contemporary
• art
• Suzanne Bocanegra
• Saratoga Springs