nothings_nomeanings
2014
Fixed-media video and sound
48:9 aspect ratio
Presentation Text:
nothings_nomeanings is a multimedia collage of found sound and found video. In my collages, I meld samples together to create new and unique entities - gestalts. Hundreds of sound and video clips are churned together, each providing their own distinct identity. The exact quality of every recording - the hiss, the static, the color - is kept intact. The samples represent exactly themselves, snippets of recorded media, no more and no less. A video sample is not a direct reference to the subject material. It contains within it the subject material, but it also contains all of the minutia of recording - the perspective (physical and cultural) of the author, the equipment, and the uniqueness of the conditions of the recording, with the arm positioned exactly thus, or the singer holding the note for an extra 1/100th of a second. All of these details comprise the character of the sample, and the amalgamation of these characters can be startling and beautiful. Yet, at the same time, they also often overwhelm me with nostalgia that I have trouble explaining.
Biography:
Zach Duer (b. 1986) is an educator, artist, musician, and performer. His work focuses on experimentation in digital technology, multi-media instrument creation, and all forms of collage.
Duer is an instructor in the Kinetic Imaging department at Virginia Commonwealth University. He holds an MFA in Kinetic Imaging from Virginia Commonwealth University (2014), an MA in Music Composition from Mills College (2009) and a BM in Music Composition from Minnesota State University Moorhead (2007).
He currently resides in Richmond, VA with his wife, son, and two dogs.
Exhibition list:
2016 New Keys, Oakland, CA (upcoming)
2015 Inlight, 1708 Gallery, Richmond, VA (upcoming)
2015 The Unstitute, online gallery (upcoming)
2015 Community Room Presents: The Dog Days, 1708 Gallery, Richmond, VA
2015 Currents New Media Festival, Santa Fe, NM
2015 Digital Media, Gloucester Arts, Gloucester, VA
2014 Inlight, collaboration with Mariam Eqbal, 1708 Gallery, Richmond, VA
2014 MFA Thesis Exhibition, The Depot, Richmond, VA
2013 Game Play 2013, collaboration with Copuppet, The Brick, New York City, NY
2013 Electronic Music Midwest, Kansas City Kansas Community College, Kansas City, KS
2013 Running Touching Pulsing Flashing, FAB Gallery, Richmond, VA
2013 The Architecture Sings, Art6, Richmond, VA
2012 Observation Window, 423 W. Broad St., collaboration with Charli Brissey, Richmond, VA
2012 Electro Acoustic Barn Dance Festival, University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, VA
2011 International Exhibitions, Byte Gallery, collaboration with Paul Naughton, Lexington, KY
2011 CSUF New Music Festival, collaboration with Paul Naughton, California State University Fullerton, Fullerton, CA
2010 Minimalism, collaboration with Regina Schaffer, Mills College, Oakland, CA
2009 Fragility of Permanence, collaboration with Amanda Schoofs and Jason Hoopes, Langston Labs, San Francisco, CA
2009 Signal Flow, Mills College, Oakland, CA