Smog Check Thursdays: Andrew McIntosh + M.A. Tiesenga
Overview
Cut through the haze with Smog Check Thursdays at The Broad and enjoy a fresh breath of air with literary readings as well as spoken word and acoustic performances—all against the backdrop of John Baldessari’s large-scale artwork that inspired the title of our collection exhibition, Desire, Knowledge, and Hope (with Smog). Smog Check Thursdays will feature short sets, so you’ll be in and out in 30 minutes, guaranteed!Do your part to conserve the literary environment and reserve your free spot online, hassle-free. To conserve the ozone, consider taking Metro to these events—the new Regional Connector Transit Grand Av Arts/Bunker Hill Station takes you directly to the East West Bank Plaza at The Broad.
The final installment of Smog Check Thursdays reflects over a half century of artistic and educational excellence associated with California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), and the impact the school has had on the creative communities of Los Angeles. Situated among the artworks of Broad collection artists John Baldessari and Mike Kelley, we are pleased to present short solo performances by CalArts School of Music Faculty member Andrew McIntosh and CalArts MFA holder M.A. Tiesenga. Baldessari studied at Chouinard Art Institute (which would become CalArts) and would go on to be an influential faculty member at CalArts and highly revered conceptual artist. Kelley was both a CalArts alumnus, having studied under Baldessari, and later a faculty member who taught while maintaining his iconoclastic creative practice. Come experience Desire, Knowledge, and Hope (with Smog) before it closes on Sunday, April 7–or revisit the exhibition for this very special performance.
Free tickets include same-day access to The Broad, including Desire, Knowledge, and Hope (with Smog) and our third-floor galleries. Come early to see the exhibition or stay late after the event–we’re open until 8 pm on Thursdays.
Standing room only with ADA seating available.
Tickets to this event do not include access to Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirror Room—The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away (2013), and must be booked separately.
For information on our current health and safety policies, visit Know Before You Go & FAQ. Visitor policies are subject to change.
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Andrew McIntosh
Andrew McIntosh is a violinist, violist, composer, and baroque violinist who teaches at the California Institute of the Arts, with a wide swath of musical interests ranging from historical performance practice of the Baroque era to improvisation, microtonal tuning systems, and the 20th-century avant-garde. As a solo artist he has performed at Miller Theatre in New York, REDCAT, and festivals and concert series across Europe and the US. As a chamber musician he is a member of the Formalist Quartet, Wild Up, and Wadada Leo Smith’s Red Koral Quartet, and has worked personally with a wide range of composers including Christian Wolff, Sofia Gubaidulina, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Helmut Lachenmann, Tom Johnson, and Jürg Frey. As a composer he often works with forms and ideas found in nature or in other artistic disciplines, and was described by Alex Ross in the New Yorker as “a composer preternaturally attuned to the landscapes and soundscapes of the West". His compositions have been featured at venues including Walt Disney Concert Hall, Ojai Festival, Big Ears Festival, the Gaudeamus Festival, Time:Spans Festival, Hamburger Klangwerktage, Moments Musicaux Aarau, Bludenzer Tage Zeitgemasse Muzik, Miller Theatre, National Sawdust, Issue Project Room, Monday Evening Concerts, and Tectonics Festival Glasgow. As a baroque performer McIntosh is a member of Tesserae, Bach Collegium San Diego, and Musica Angelica, has served as guest concertmaster for baroque operas with LA Opera and Opera UCLA, and was recently both music director and concertmaster of Long Beach Opera's all-Handel pastiche production "The Feast". He is also a frequent recitalist, performing with historical keyboardist Ian Pritchard and fortepianist Steven Vanhauwaert, and appeared at the San Francisco Symphony's SoundBox series in 2016 performing solo Bach on baroque violin.
Originally from rural Northern Nevada, McIntosh is currently based in Los Angeles.
Photo courtesy of the artist
M.A. Tiesenga
M.A. Tiesenga is a Los Angeles-based interdisciplinary artist, improvisor, composer, and multi-instrumentalist. Drawing from a love of the outdoors, Tiesenga is inspired by the ways improvisation is analogous to cartography, how a map is analogous to a musical score–and how these theoretical terrains might be musically navigated / inhabited / manipulated. Tiesenga’s interdisciplinary practice explores means of creating environments and communication. Tiesenga earned a dual MFA in Experimental Sound Practices and Experimental Animation with a Concentration in Integrated Media from California Institute of the Arts, where they studied with Michael Pisaro and Sara Roberts. As a saxophonist, Tiesenga earned their Bachelor of Music from the Eastman School of Music where they studied with Dr. Chien-Kwan Lin. Tiesenga’s creative collaborations include work with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, California Festival, Ojai Festival, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Wild Up, Zelter Quartet, WasteLAnd Ensemble, Théâtre Musical Tokyo, Kunsthalle for Music, SPEAK Percussion, Dog Star Orchestra, Brightwork Ensemble, Eugene Difficult Music Ensemble, Ensemble Supermusique, Euler Quartet, the New Century Players, and ensembles at the Eastman School of Music, New England Conservatory, California Institute for the Arts, and Yale University.
Photo courtesy of the artist
About Smog Check Thursdays Literary and Performing Arts Series
Cut through the haze with Smog Check Thursdays at The Broad and enjoy a fresh breath of air with literary readings as well as spoken word and acoustic performances—all against the backdrop of John Baldessari’s large-scale artwork that inspired the title of our collection exhibition, Desire, Knowledge, and Hope (with Smog). Smog Check Thursdays will feature short sets, so you’ll be in and out in 30 minutes, guaranteed! Do your part to conserve the literary environment and reserve your free spot online, hassle-free. To conserve the ozone, consider taking Metro to these events – the new Regional Connector Transit Grand Av Arts/Bunker Hill Station takes you directly to the East West Bank Plaza at The Broad.
December 14: Amelia Ada + Clement Goldberg + Naz Riahi
A look at what’s to come on the literary horizon of Los Angeles. Presented by DOPAMINE, highthting work that is experimental, by writers resisting assimilation; work that stretches the boundaries of what defines ‘queer,’ by writers with intersecting identities; work that is raw, by writers who are self-taught.
January 11: Myriam Gurba + Michelle Tea
Myriam Gurba and Michelle Tea revile societal norms with candor and wit. Gurba’s writing has been described as “profoundly insightful, thoroughly researched [and] incredibly inventive…” by Kirkus Reviews. Tea has received honors from Lambda Literary, The Rona Jaffe Foundation, PEN/America, and the Guggenheim Foundation.
January 25: Steven Reigns + Justin Torres
Steven Reigns, first Poet Laureate of West Hollywood and Justin Torres, winner of the Indies Choice Book Award and First Novelist Award, delve into buried or misrepresented histories.
February 8: Henry Solomon + Fuensanta
A glimpse into the richly varied world of Los Angeles jazz with saxophonist Henry Solomon and singer and double bassist Fuensanta, each performing 15-minute unplugged acoustic sets. Presented by Minaret Records, a local record label and events production concern whose mission includes the fostering of community/collaboration and connecting progressive art practices to the public.
February 22: Andrew Berardini + Lavender Diamond
A journey through color via words and music from author Andrew Berardini and musician Lavender Diamond, two quintessentially LA artists. The pair complement each other’s work, be it story or song, through creative output by turns lush, melancholic, whimsical, and deeply human.
March 7: Iris Berry + Pleasant Gehman
Reigning royalty of the raucous LA punk scene from the late 1970s onwards, Iris Berry and Pleasant Gehman regale us with tales from the City of Angels’ gritty underbelly. The pair provide firsthand accounts of life lived on the outskirts of mainstream society in their signature observational styles. Presented by Punk Hostage Press.
March 21: The Koreatown Oddity with Trenttruce
Described by Pitchfork as being “lodged comfortably in a scene of cerebral loners,” Angeleno and former Ras G collaborator The Koreatown Oddity puts a uniquely personal stamp on hip hop. For Smog Check Thursdays, he will perform a 30-minute set with opulent lyricist and experimental beatmaker Trenttruce.
April 4: Andrew McIntosh + M.A. Tiesenga
The final installment of Smog Check Thursdays reflects over a half century of artistic and educational excellence associated with California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), and the impact the school has had on the creative communities of Los Angeles. Situated among the artworks of Broad collection artists John Baldessari and Mike Kelley, we are pleased to present short solo performances by CalArts School of Music Faculty member Andrew McIntosh and CalArts MFA holder M.A. Tiesenga. Baldessari studied at Chouinard Art Institute (which would become CalArts) and would go on to be an influential faculty member at CalArts and highly revered conceptual artist. Kelley was both a CalArts alumnus, having studied under Baldessari, and later a faculty member who taught while maintaining his iconoclastic creative practice. Come experience Desire, Knowledge, and Hope (with Smog) before it closes on Sunday, April 7 – or revisit the exhibition for this very special performance.
