Live Arts | Natural Information Society and the Films of Stan Brakhage

About the Event

For this special performance, select 16mm, silent abstract films by influential experimental filmmaker Stan Brakhage (1933–2003) are accompanied by a live performance by the Natural Information Society, whose psychedelic orchestration combines traditional and contemporary approaches to music and instrumentation. Inspired by The Living End: Painting and Other Technologies, 1970–2020, the program begin with a selection of films projected silently to emphasize the visual musicality and painterly approach of Brakhage’s innovative use of film and likewise closes with Natural Information Society playing without the projected films.

Access Information

To request accessibility services like ASL interpretation or audio description, please contact us via email at [email protected] or call 312-397-4076.

About the Artist

Natural Information Society (NIS) is a band led by composer and multi-instrumentalist Joshua Abrams. The group’s music is grounded in Abrams’s hypnotic and interwoven writing. NIS create environments at once meditative and propulsive, often performing with Lisa Alvarado’s free-hanging paintings as mobile sets. NIS navigates forms that emphasize simultaneous differences, rhythm, and collective listening. The group has released seven records, including recent descension (Out of Our Constrictions) (2021) and Since Time is Gravity (2023) for eremite records. NIS tours as a quartet with Abrams on guimbri, Alvarado on harmonium, Mikel Patrick Avery on drums, and Jason Stein on bass clarinet, occasionally appearing in larger formations and with guests.

Outside of NIS, Abrams has played and recorded with a broad range of artists including Fred Anderson, Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Nicole Mitchell, and The Roots. He has composed scores to 10 feature films including the Oscar-nominated Abacus: Small Enough to Jail. Abrams was a recipient of the Foundation for Contemporary Arts 2018 Grants to Artists award.