Ecstatic Art is a performance starring stuff found by Robbie Thomson, filled with recording devices. Previous Thomson "junk operas" have evoked mechanical gods, no longer worshipped by still reciting their mysteries, sinister and pathetic.
Who is the artist?
Robbie Thomson is a shy resident of Glasgow, who has been part of the Mighty 85a Collective, and he loves to bring dead machinery back to life. Idimov, his previous piece for Cryptic, clanked and gurgled towards a quiet apocalypse: his ability to reassemble detritus into huge, threatening music boxes embodies his interest in redefining music and its relationship to visual art. Certainly, Sonica's tagline ("sonic art for the visually minded") could be Thomson's own catch-phrase.
Why attend?
Thomson's genius is never to give too much away: there is always a narrative within his performances, but they are usually subtle enough to allow the audience to follow their own interpretations. The slightly fruity language used above to describe earlier works expresses Vile's readings, but not necessarily anyone else's understanding. They tend to be abstract in the good sense: rather than being about nothing in particular, Thomson's mash-ups of sound and vision are suggestive and, surprisingly given their emphasis on the mechanical, emotional.
What's the Unique Selling Point?
Thomson in Tramway: the new industrialist-conceptualist meets the classic Glasgow home of the avant-garde. Thomson has done plenty of work in the Glue Factory, which has a similar atmosphere to Tramway, and Ecstatic Arc looks like it will have the grandeur and intensity to match the legendary venue's own majesty.
When?
8- 11 November @ Tramway. It's an installation during the day, then becomes a performance at night...
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