Join us for a performance lecture exploring “Amniotic – Week 16,” the soundscape featured in Ash Arder: Flesh Tones with Huey Mnemonic and Ash Arder. The soundscape, Mnemonics’ imagined reconstruction of Ash’s own in-utero auditory experience at the General Motors assembly plant where her parents worked, brings together sounds of the automotive factory, 1987 pop culture, and the warmth of the womb. This hybrid discussion/audio demonstration is Mnemonics’ first Museum performance, and will offer a window into both artist’s creative processes. They will use audio equipment to isolate various layers of the soundscape in real time, for deep listening and discussion.
Huey Mnemonic is an inventive artist, excelling in music production, DJing, visual art, and graphic design. With an insatiable knack for experimentation, his work is driven by a passion for afrofuturism, world-building, and the intricate relationship between humanity and technology.
As the visionary behind Subsonic Ebonics and Mnemonic Labs, Huey leads a transformative journey in electronic music and visual storytelling. His music radiates a distinct sense of futurism, drawing audiences into immersive soundscapes at one moment, then shifting to rhythms crafted for the dance floor in the next.
Huey’s deep-rooted connection with the world of Techno extends beyond his personal projects. He’s been closely aligned with iconic institutions like Submerge (Exhibit 3000) and Underground Resistance, where his involvement has enriched his pursuit of sharing his creations on a global scale and contributing to the long lineage of Detroit Techno.
Ash Arder (CAA Fiber, 2018) is a transdisciplinary artist from Flint, Michigan, whose research-based approach works to expose, deconstruct or reconfigure physical and conceptual systems – especially those related to ecology and/or industry. Ash manipulates physical and virtual environments to explore materials, mark making, mechanical portraiture and sound design as tools for complicating dynamics of power between humans, machines and the lands they occupy.
Ash Arder: Flesh Tones is the second edition of Fresh Paint, a series of exhibitions at Cranbrook Art Museum focusing on new work, particularly from emerging artists living and working in Detroit. Arder has previously held residencies at Solar Power For Artists, New York City, New York; the University Musical Society at the University of Michigan, Ann arbor and Flint, Michigan; the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Omaha, Nebraska; the University of Rochester, Rochester, New York; A Studio In The Woods, New Orleans, Louisiana; and Recess, Brooklyn, New York. Arder is a co-founder of Solar Party Detroit, a company focused on increasing access to solar energy in southeastern Michigan. Solar power is not only utilized in Flesh Tones but in past projects as well, such as Whoop House, a mobile, solar-powered sculpture and sound amplification hub that can record and transmit performances, and Shine A Light, a solar-powered green house and media screening hub. Currently, Arder is a studio fellow at Cranbrook Academy of Art and a 2023 recipient of the Joan Mitchell Fellowship.
Tagged: Artist Talk, Cranbrook, Cranbrook Academy of Art, lecture, Lecture Series
