In Search of the Miraculous (Bas Jan Ader)

In Search of the Miraculous (Bas Jan Ader) was produced by Phoebe Wang.

Special thanks: Niki Boghossian, Bee Crowe, Maria Dønvang, Grace Finlayson, Michelle Macklem, Heather Raquel Phillips, Kaitlin Prest, Lydia Rosenberg, Katharina Smets, Marisa Turesky, Amalia Wilson

Ft. Musicians: Phil Kline, Martha Farquhar Mcdonnell, Alex Samaras, Phil Smith, Owen Stewart Robertson

Phoebe says: 

I think of this piece as a painting and artist manifesto of sorts; it's about searching for something that you may never find, and the compulsion to make.

This work is inspired by the artist Bas Jan Ader, who disappeared at sea while making his final art piece, "In Search of the Miraculous."

On her process:

I am a compulsive documenter - I need to believe that the next moment is going to be beautiful. This piece includes sounds I've recorded throughout my life, including art crits, phone calls, cab rides, and archival tape of my track and swim meets.

I like to include sneaky, but intentional elements in my work... for instance, the buzzing you hear at the beginning of the piece is the sound of a film reel playing Bas Jan Ader's piece, "I'm Too Sad to Tell You."

Inspirations from inside and outside the world of radio and sound:

Inside:

Laurie Anderson, Katharina Smets, Maria Dønvang

Outside:

Doreen Garner, Mike Kelley, construction sites, pom poms

Constellations says:

This piece feels like rifling through a scrapbook inside someone's head. Its structure is as flowing and choppy as the ocean that Phoebe so often alludes to. We love Phoebe's play with music, and the raw meticulousness of the tape she's collected. This is a piece that resists traditional personal narrative storytelling arcs; it reveals itself slowly through additional listens.