Michelle Nagai with Ursula Scherrer May 4, 2007

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Friday, May 4th
Michelle Nagai with Ursula Scherrer – "Synthetic Hand Holding"

Often described as an aura or "aetheric body", the presence of significant
electrical activity or intangible matter beyond the borders of the
physical body has been recognized and extensively studied by scientists,
philosophers, religious practitioners, spiritualists,
near-death-experience alumni and students of the occult. Drawn to this
aether like a moth to a lamp, composer/performer Michelle Nagai presents
"Synthetic Hand Holding", the latest in her series of performance
installations collectively entitled Sitting Pieces. She is joined for the
evening by video artist Ursula Scherrer. With the invitation to get wired
up and reach out and touch someone, audience members will travel with
Nagai and Scherrer on an intimate audio-visual journey through the
revolving door of mind/matter into the land of mists and vapors.

Brooklyn-based composer Michelle Nagai utilizes sound, physicality and
concept to create site-specific performances, installations, radio
broadcasts, dances and other interactions that address the human state in
relationship to its setting. Recent creative projects incorporate
through-composed and improvised music for acoustic instruments and
electronics, as well as natural environments, found objects, video,
costumes, texts and structures fabricated from a variety of media. In
addition, she has developed a number of web-based projects centered on the
topic of soundwalking. Nagai’s work has been presented throughout the US,
Canada and Europe. She has been supported by the American Composers Forum,
Eyebeam, Harvestworks, the Jerome and McKnight Foundations, Meet the
Composer and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Nagai is a founding member
of the American Society for Acoustic Ecology and holds a teaching
certificate from the Deep Listening Institute.

Ursula Scherrer is a video artist and photographer living in New York. Her
videos have been shown in festivals and galleries internationally and she
had solo shows with her photographs at the Kentler International Drawing
Space and at Studio Five Beekman. Scherrer is part of the international
artist group Biwak, which meets annually in isolated locations to focus on
art. Scherrer’s work has been shown at the New York Video Festival 2004,
BAC 36th International Film and Video Festival, Brooklyn Museum of Art, at
the Chelsea Art Museum, at Rencontres Internationales Paris/Berlin,
Dissonanze Festival in Rome, 9e Biennale de l'Image en Mouvement,
Saint-Gervais Geneve, Galerie Rachel Haferkamp, Cologne, among others.

Official Website: http://www.roulette.org